pithypants reviewed House of Impossible Beauties by Joseph Cassara
Review of 'House of Impossible Beauties' on 'Goodreads'
3 stars
I tend to seek out books set in NYC in the 80s/90s (eg. A Beautiful Life, Christodoro, Don't Tell the Wolves I'm Home, Bright Lights Big City). Something about the mash-up of the city, the drug culture and the gay scene then intrigue me. This book falls squarely in that territory - but with the fresh perspective of a Latino lens (based loosely on real people).
It feels a bit like it could double as backstory for a character from "Angels in America" or "Rent," so if you enjoy those, this might feel like a good prequel of sorts.
I'm giving it three stars because the author did a good job bringing that scene to life. That said, it was missing something for me. It felt a bit superficial - maybe because so much of its focus was on sex. Unlike "A Beautiful Life," where I found myself thinking about …
I tend to seek out books set in NYC in the 80s/90s (eg. A Beautiful Life, Christodoro, Don't Tell the Wolves I'm Home, Bright Lights Big City). Something about the mash-up of the city, the drug culture and the gay scene then intrigue me. This book falls squarely in that territory - but with the fresh perspective of a Latino lens (based loosely on real people).
It feels a bit like it could double as backstory for a character from "Angels in America" or "Rent," so if you enjoy those, this might feel like a good prequel of sorts.
I'm giving it three stars because the author did a good job bringing that scene to life. That said, it was missing something for me. It felt a bit superficial - maybe because so much of its focus was on sex. Unlike "A Beautiful Life," where I found myself thinking about those characters for months after finishing the book, I suspect this one will fade quickly and I'll simply remember it as "that book about transgender/gay/queen culture" in a broad stroke.