Ulteriori informazioni
Combining the raw honesty of Queenie and the warmth of a modern-day Bridget Jones''s Diary , this entertaining, transportive, and luminous debut novel from award-winning writer Breanne Mc Ivor follows a young Trinidadian woman finding her voice and reclaiming her name. Bianca Bridge is at her wit''s end. Fired from her editorial job after scandalizing Trinidad''s tight, conservative society by having an affair with a married government official, she''s resorting to modeling for even the sleaziest of photographers to make ends meet. Her mother, were she still alive, would be stunned by whom her daughter has become. Her father--and his ample checkbook--is off somewhere with his second family. And the government official? It was his wife who got her fired. With nothing left to lose, Bianca takes a job assisting the brilliant but aloof makeup artist Obadiah Cortland, a rising star in the Trinidadian beauty community. Yet Obadiah is not the elite tyrant he seems. Born in the poorest part of Trinidad, he''s clawed partway up society''s ladder and built his company around his meticulously crafted persona. And he''s not about to let anyone see past his facade. As Bianca''s ex-lover continues to wield power over her and the colleagues she''s come to love, she, with Obadiah''s help, finally decides she''s ready to fight back like her mother taught her--and to reconsider, at last, the nature of what, and whom, might deserve to be called beautiful. Alternating between Bianca''s irreverent yet poignant diary entries and Obadiah''s clear-eyed first-person narrative, The God of Good Looks portrays the everyday realities of modern Trinidad''s rigid class barriers and the fraught impact of beauty commodification in a patriarchal society. Amusing and entertaining, yet sharp-witted and full of meaty, universally relatable questions, Mc Ivor''s sparkling debut is an open-hearted, awakening tale about finding one''s voice. ...
Relazione
"Bursting with vivid imagery and a striking voice, The God of Good Looks boldly tackles complex topics and characters with remarkable nuance and grace. Immersive and impossible to put down." - Shirlene Obuobi, author of On Rotation
"Get ready for a gorgeous literary snapshot of what life is like in twenty-first-century Trinidad without any of the usual tropes. The God of Good Looks paints a vibrant portrait of the contemporary Caribbean as you've never read it before. It's full of characters whose struggles you feel to your bones-and will be rooting for all the way through. Bianca might just be one of my all-time favorite heroines. Mc Ivor's writing is fresh, smart, and packed with razor-sharp social commentary-a perfect blend of page-turning and thought-provoking. I can't recommend this debut enough."
- Caroline Mackenzie, author of One Year of Ugly
"Phenomenal! A book worthy of a standing ovation. I will never forget how this novel made me feel. It's effortlessly beautiful." - Lizzie Damilola Blackburn, author of Yinka, Where is your Huzband?
"Part ribald farce, part feminist tract, part love letter to an island, The God of Good Looks takes a look at Caribbean island life and culture rarely seen in books, that of its bristling, competitive carnival culture and beauty world. McIvor writes with wit and confidence of a world where female beauty is celebrated and monetized. Her heroine, an outsider tarnished by scandal, navigates both with skill and satire. Every page we wince and smirk. A self-aware, modern, female-centered novel out of Trinidad which breaks new ground." - Monique Roffey, author of Costa Book of the Year, The Mermaid of Black Conch
"Beautiful inside and out, The God of Good Looks is big-hearted, life-affirming, and salty-sweet. A glittering will-they, won't they Bridget Jones re-boot, it transported me to the Caribbean. LOVED IT." - Nikki May, author of Wahala
"[R]ich in social commentary...Mc Ivor effectively captures a surprising and evolving relationship in a mix of humor and drama. Along the way, she innovatively expands the established tropes of Caribbean literature, cleverly using the beauty industry to challenge conventional notions of womanhood and attractiveness. Memorable characters, evocative descriptions, and a well-paced story make this an eminently enjoyable novel." - Booklist
"The God of Good Looks represents a vibrant, nuanced, and entertaining view of Caribbean culture, a perspective that transcends both trauma and pure escapism. At the sweet spot between popular entertainment and literature, it's riveting and transportive-a summer read with bite." - NPR
"Mc Ivor uses Bianca's attempt to rebuild her life to examine issues surrounding the beauty industry and the poverty, violence and corruption blighting life in Trinidad . . . There's lots to enjoy, particularly a more authentic picture of Caribbean life than the postcard fantasy." - The Times (UK)
"A will-they-won't-they tension ensues as Mc Ivor uses the metaphor of make-up (there's an awful lot of it) to examine privilege, corruption and truth. It's wickedly funny ... Bianca is a hugely endearing heroine." - Daily Mail (UK)
"Mc Ivor shines in this pitch-perfect narrative of power imbalances.... Mc Ivor combines tight plotting and strong character development....This makes for a winning story of comeuppance." - Publishers Weekly
"A dazzling delight of a debut. The God of Good Looks is a captivating portrait of contemporary Trinidadian culture, a canny exploration of makeup's power as artifice and art, and a tender celebration of unexpected connections and the human need to love and be loved. I gasped, I laughed, I cried-I didn't want it to end!" - Coco Mellors, author of Cleopatra and Frankenstein
"Entertaining...Under the glossy surface of this story about two skittish, driven people finding each other in complicated circumstances, this novel has bigger ambitions. Mc Ivor uses the beauty industry to explore the rifts created by poverty, sexism, and class in modern-day Trinidad, revealing how ingrained misogyny can be in a patriarchal society and how hard it can be to overcome." - Kirkus Reviews
"Breanne Mc Ivor is a talented Trinidadian author and regional literary prize-winner making her international debut." - Oprah.com
"Alternating between smart, self-aware and snappy diary entries written by Bianca and first-person chapters told through Obadiah's perspective, Mc Ivor tells a powerful redemption story about two hardscrabble, brilliant creators and their battle against class, the patriarchy, growth and the commodification of beauty.... Entertaining, humorous and then jaw-droppingly poignant, The God of Good Looks is a smart, cleverly crafted debut that manages to both delight with its portrayals of the beauty industry and shock with its searingly current observations on class and the patriarchy.... The connection between truth and victory is on perfect display, and it makes for an ending that satisfies as much as it educates." - Bookreporter.com
"Mc Ivor's first novel is an entertaining story with vivid depictions of the history, culture, and current social challenges of Trinidad and Tobago.... For readers who enjoy allusions to Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, blended with Lauren Weisberger's The Devil Wears Prada." - Library Journal
