Aesthetica

Amazingly brilliant book. Had me there during every scene observing. So many things I want to say about this book all rolling around in my head in an enormous jumble. It is scary, very scary, to know that so many young girls (boys, also), believe that the altered images that are everywhere online are The Thing to aspire to. That they believe that everything is brilliant and fun and so many other things. There is a huge difference between someone feeling free to express themselves and exploitation. The lines are blurred so many times and people damaged enormously as a result. It is horrible to think of young children and indeed, young adults, feeling as though they are not good enough the way which they are. This book has made me think about me feeling the need to smooth my skin out in photos. No more for me as we are all perfect the way we are. In our own unique ways. So much more I want to say but I think it will already have been written in previous reviews. Thank you for the book that will stay in my head and make me think twice about myself and trying to ensure I am a good rolemodel also.

Couldn't take my eyes off this!

This book is pure Valley of the Dolls, but reprised for the influencer age. I partially enjoyed this read and partially found myself saying “Wait, what??”Using alternating timelines, Rowbottom tells the story of a 19-year-old social media star and her progressively extreme efforts to grow her followers. We meet her later, at age 35, days before she is scheduled for experimental surgery meant to undo her 15 years of cosmetic enhancements.The writing is definitely stream of conscious with little break. Several times, I wasn’t totally sure what was actually happening. Generally, I like experimental and dark books, but I felt this one (minimally) lacking somehow. The narrator is unreliable and parts of the plot were rushed while others were totally opaque. That combo makes for a fever-dream reading experience. I actually think this was Rowbottom’s objective.It’s a dark but fast read…you’ll finish it in a day or two.

"Aesthetica" by Allie Rowbottom is a striking debut novel that delves into the glittering yet toxic world of influencers and the lingering impact of fame. At 19, the protagonist is an Instagram celebrity, but by 35, she finds herself working at a cosmetics counter, selling anti-aging products to women yearning for transformation, both inside and out. Plagued by her past decisions, she prepares for Aesthetica™, a high-risk elective surgery aimed at reversing all her previous cosmetic procedures in hopes of reconnecting with her true self.As she awaits the life-changing surgery, her past comes rushing back when she is called upon to participate in exposing her former manager and boyfriend, who has reinvented himself as a champion of “woke” masculinity in the wake of the #MeToo movement. This confrontation forces her to confront the painful realities of her experiences in the shallow realm of social media. Rowbottom masterfully intertwines themes of feminism, the complexities of mother-daughter relationships, and the dark side of our obsession with online personas. "Aesthetica" is a thought-provoking and emotionally charged novel that critiques our collective addiction to superficiality, offering readers a fresh perspective on the pursuit of authenticity in an age dominated by followers and filters.

Mommy issues and #MeToo. Very "women's fiction." I thought it would be a little more interesting/edgier.

Genre: Contemporary FictionPublisher: Soho PressPub. Date: Nov. 22, 2022“Aesthetica” is both a cautionary tale and a contemporary horror-like story with a “Mirror, Mirror on the wall, who's the fairest of them all?” theme making me grateful that social media did not exist when I was in my teens. In the near future, 2032, a 35-year-old woman, Anna Wrey, is in Los Angeles lounging by a hotel pool, reflecting on her first cosmetic procedure back in 2017. The next day, she will have a radical, elective, and dangerous surgery called "Aesthetica," which claims to undo all of her cosmetic surgeries. Her goal is for her 35-year-old body to look as it should in hopes that it will reflect how she feels on the inside, making her a whole person, no longer a funhouse mirror—a fascinating concept to explore. As social media grips the world, the author asks if someone devoted to looking sexy and gaining fame can change. Moreover, is it their fault if they cannot?The author nails the desire to emulate a reality star’s life. Think Kim Kardashian. As the hours pass at the pool, Anna's mind wanders back in time, recalling her youth. In flashbacks, we see her as a teenager who had just moved to Los Angeles to become an Instagram celebrity. The reader can feel her urgency. The more followers she has, the closer she gets to stardom. Rowbottom is good at building suspense and keeping the reader engaged throughout the novel, especially as Anna begins a relationship with a pimp-like man who promises to make her famous by introducing her to a world of seedy gatherings, Botox, fillers, boob jobs, waist reduction surgeries, and butt enhancers, which leaves her with a pain med addiction. I wish the author had gotten into why so many practice this unhealthy behavior. Then again, Rowbottom is an author and not a shrink.Anna’s Liberian mother has a terminal illness. Anna goes back and forth from visiting her dying mom in the hospital to sex parties. She wants to stay with her mom until she has passed but cannot bring herself to take time off from Instagram. These scenes had such a heavy weight to them that I had tears in my eyes for both mother and daughter. Shrewdly, the author has made Anna’s Liberian mother a feminist, the opposite of her daughter, implying that she should be aware of ludicrous beauty standards. Yet, she often complains about her body’s size and shape. This is smugly in Anna’s mind as she “turned the camera to my face and spoke as I walked, Gonna be a big staaaah, I said and smooched the lens.”I am sure that the theme of how far we will go to feel beautiful, even if it means losing ourselves in the process, must have been covered in other contemporary literature. However, I have never read them in either a novel or a nonfiction format. The subject matter is fresh to me. This may be the reason why I am so impressed with this author. The book is not without flaws. I expected the ending to have the same vivid imagery as the rest of the tale. It did not. My ultimate feeling was that I missed some parts. Still, I now want to read the author’s memoir, “Jell-O Girls.” I recommend this debut novel that forces us, like Anna’s mother, to realize whether we like it or not society’s glare on our appearance influences all of us.

As someone with a long history with an eating disorder since I was eight and I’m now almost forty with countless relapses. The same person who’s had several breast augmentations, lipo, tummy tuck, my lips done to many times to count, Botox, and dysport and bought to many beauty products . I so related every version is a version of myself even if it’s a version of myself I hated at that time. Always looking for the magical fix to make me like myself. The so called “get rich quick scheme” version of a way to make to make you like your self. I see beautiful girls sell products they say make them look and feel beautiful so maybe it’ll work for me. I don’t need more therapy or more calories. I need more money to buy those procedures, and products. I haven’t found one yet that works lol. It’s a black hole inside of me created by trauma fed then by todays media . It’s awful. It’s a terrible way to live. It’s interesting I found this book.