This moody debut novel, with shades of My Year of Rest and Relaxation and speculative fiction, takes a look into the ugly side of Internet beauty as a former influencer confronts the demons of her past. At 19, Anna Wray was the Instagram celebrity @annawray. Now, at 35, she works behind the cosmetic counter at the "black and white store," peddling anti-aging products to women seeking physical and spiritual transformation. Anna too is seeking rebirth. She's about to undergo the high-risk surgery Aesthetica(TM), which will reverse all her past plastic surgery procedures, returning her to her truest self. Provided she survives the knife.
But on the eve of the surgery, Anna's traumatic past resurfaces when she is asked to participate in the public takedown of her former manager/boyfriend, who has rebranded himself as a paragon of "woke" masculinity in the post #MeToo world. With the hours ticking down to her life-threatening surgery, Anna must confront the ugly truth about her experiences on and off the Instagram grid, all while wondering: who could believe a woman like Anna Wray?
Propulsive and dark--yet ultimately hopeful--
Aesthetica is a
Veronica for the age of "Instagram face," delivering a fresh, nuanced examination of feminism, #metoo, and mother loss, all while confronting our collective addiction to followers, filters, and faux realities.
