Product Description
Meet the Knights of Creation, a group of artistic friends struggling with society?s standards of beauty. Barb, a stunningly beautiful costume designer, chooses to don a fat suit in hopes that it will help her meet the man of her dreams? a man who can see beyond her looks. Lily, Barb?s brilliantly talented, unfortunate-looking musician friend, goes to fantastic lengths to attract the shallow man she loves. Penelope, neither beautiful nor talented, makes her living by selling hideous clay pots after convincing customers they?ve broken them.
To complicate matters, the friends discover they may have a murderer in their midst, that Barb?s calm disposition is more dangerously provocative than her beauty ever was, and that Lily?s musical talents are more powerful than anyone could have imagined. Imbued with Amanda Filipacchi?s characteristic twisted charm and absurdist, satiric wit, The Unfortunate Importance of Beauty is touching, whimsical, and gorgeously strange.
To complicate matters, the friends discover they may have a murderer in their midst, that Barb?s calm disposition is more dangerously provocative than her beauty ever was, and that Lily?s musical talents are more powerful than anyone could have imagined. Imbued with Amanda Filipacchi?s characteristic twisted charm and absurdist, satiric wit, The Unfortunate Importance of Beauty is touching, whimsical, and gorgeously strange.
Reviews/Praise
—Library Journal [May 1, 2015]
?Amanda Filipacchi writes with a deceptive ease, creating magic out of thin air. She makes the ordinary come alive with possibility and stuffs her pages full of laughter, sadness and characters that are unforgettable? Filipacchi is one of our best satirists.? ? Neil La Bute ?Amanda Filipacchi is one of the most original storytelling minds I know. Here, she has written a seductively powerful fable about the ugly powers of beauty, the redemptive powers of creativity, and the nature of true love. Every page abounds in mystery, delight and surprise.? ? Sheila Heti ?The best comic novelist writing today.? ? Ed Park ?Amanda Filipacchi has crafted a delightful gem, an unusual mixture of laughter and suspense. One never knows what's going to happen next in this odd and charming universe. This is a wonderfully absurd and comedic novel that also reads like a page-turning whodunit.? ? Jonathan Ames