Discussion Questions
The narrator faces classism and racism during her time at the Conservatory. How do her experiences there compare and contrast to her job at Holistik?
Holistik is full of strange, unsettling, and invasive procedures, but they are believable extensions of the modern beauty world. What is the most unusual procedure you’ve heard of in real life and what did you think about it?
On page 82, the narrator says to Helen: “Beauty has always been one of the only ways women have been able to access power and I can’t fault any of them for wanting more of it.” How do you feel about this?
How do you think people can determine the line between self-care and self-destruction?
Victor doesn’t only work to promote mainstream beauty standards. He also invests in obscure, nontraditional alterations, like horse tails and crocodile skin. “He may not agree with other definitions of beauty, but he certainly wants to profit from them.” (pg 129). What do you think this says about the relationship between culture and counterculture?
How does the narrator’s understanding of her sexuality develop over the course of the novel? How do you think she understands it at the end of the book?
There are many parallels between music and appearance in the book. On page 153, the narrator thinks:
“I didn’t find it very interesting to practice solely beautiful music. Beauty only reaches so far. . . . At the end of the day, it was when composers tried to grasp something at the edge of beauty, or just past it, that made the most meaningful and challenging music to work on.” Do you agree?
When the narrator first starts at Holistik, she believes she may be a “diversity hire.” Later, she learns many of the other staff are also women of color, despite their appearances. How does the narrator’s understanding of race, culture, and identity change over the novel?
Victor and his staff claim that using nature both organic products and live animals—makes their products inherently more moral. How have you seen this occur in real life and what do you think about it?
“I am the throat by which my parents are sung and sustained.” (pg. 251). Discuss the narrator’s relationship with her parents.
There is a contrast in the book between the bodily changes caused by nature, such as age and pregnancy, and the changes made by beauty products and procedures. What do you think are the differences in the ways these change people?
“And it is a kind of power to embrace ugliness and its possibility of expression, so much more imaginative than beauty.” (pg 239). What do you think of this line?
