FICTION: Beautyland, by Marie-Helene Bertino

For this event, I've chosen this sci-fi read by Marie-Helene Bertino. I'm not usually a sci-fi gal, but I admit that the description and the beautiful cover drew me in! Sometimes you need to ponder what it means to be human. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/127282939-beautyland

"Beautyland, named after the 'dash-to-in-a-pinch supply’ store that, along with Auto World’s floppy inflatable man, are totems from Adina’s childhood, is written in a dry, matter-of-fact style, befitting of a novel where the protagonist sends daily memos to a home world she’s never seen. But it’s not dull. Most certainly not. I could easily spend the rest of this review quoting Adina’s hilarious, poetic, and wise observations. Here’s a selection: 'I require speech lessons and corrective lenses, and most likely teeth braces. I am an expensive extra­terrestrial’/ ‘Adulthood seems like a yearslong equation to beat traffic’/ ‘The ego of the human male is by far the most dangerous aspect of human society’ (to which the aliens respond: THIS HAS BEEN WELL DOCUMENTED) / ‘Death’s biggest surprise is that it does not end the conversation.’ My favourite line from the novel isn’t from a fax, but rather: ‘Adina smiles at the girl in the mirror. The girl in the mirror, bound by physics, returns her smile.’ It somehow typifies everything brilliant about Adina and this book." - Ian Mond, LocusMag

*This event will be held at Cafe Leila on San Pablo Ave in Berkeley. They have a large back patio, so hopefully we can sit outside. You can find their menu here: https://www.cafeleila.com/menus

Please reach out if you have any questions. Thanks!