October Book Club: Natural Beauty by Ling Ling Huang

We'll be kicking off our ongoing partnership programming with Early Yves Cafe with a book club celebrating spooky season with one of our favorite bisexual horrors, Natural Beauty by Ling Ling Huang. Copies of the book can be purchased through our website or at Early Yves Cafe in Bed-Stuy starting 10/4. This event will be hosted at Early Yves Cafe in Bed-Stuy (210 Patchen Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11233). Tickets include a specially crafted cafe beverage from our incredible host and one entry for a raffle of YPB goodies! Doors open at 6:00pm, Book Club discussion begins at ~6:30pm

About Natural Beauty by Ling Ling Huang

Winner of the Lambda Literary Award in Bisexual Fiction

Longlisted for the PEN/Hemingway Award for Debut Novel

Sly, surprising, and razor-sharp, Natural Beauty follows a young musician into an elite, beauty-obsessed world where perfection comes at a staggering cost.

Our narrator produces a sound from the piano no one else at the Conservatory can. She employs a technique she learned from her parents—also talented musicians—who fled China in the wake of the Cultural Revolution. But when an accident leaves her parents debilitated, she abandons her future for a job at a high-end beauty and wellness store in New York City.

Holistik is known for its remarkable products and procedures—from remoras that suck out cheap Botox to eyelash extensions made of spider silk—and her new job affords her entry into a world of privilege and gives her a long-awaited sense of belonging. She becomes transfixed by Helen, the niece of Holistik’s charismatic owner, and the two strike up a friendship that hazily veers into more. All the while, our narrator is plied with products that slim her thighs, smooth her skin, and lighten her hair. But beneath these creams and tinctures lies something sinister.

A piercing, darkly funny debut, Natural Beauty explores questions of consumerism, self-worth, race, and identity—and leaves readers with a shocking and unsettling truth.

About the Author

Ling Ling Huang is a writer and violinist. Committed to expanding the concepts of tradition, Ling Ling is a violinist and writer, appearing on stages from Carnegie Hall to National Sawdust. Her debut novel, Natural Beauty, was published in April 2023 by Dutton, an imprint of Penguin Random House. Her second novel, Immaculate Conception is out now.

Book Club Rules

• You commit to treating everyone with respect and care

• Stay home if you feel sick!

• You do NOT need to have read or finished the book, but you do have to be ready for spoilers! We'll be discussing the themes of the book and you can still participate :)

If you would like to attend but the ticket cost is prohibitive, please reach out to contact@yellowperilbooks.com and we will try to find a solution! We never want lack of funds to be a barrier to entry.

Refunds and Exchanges

Ticket purchases cannot be refunded. Because we don't have our own storefront, we host our events in partnership with other local small businesses, meaning we share all operational costs as well as revenue with them based on anticipated attendance. The only way for our partner businesses to properly prepare supplies, space, and food/drinks for these events is to have a clear idea of how many attendees to expect, meaning that any last-minute changes make it that much harder to host.

Exchanges for future events are allowed if you reach out a minimum of 10 days before the start of the original event you signed up for. Our events are usually sold out and we want to make sure that we'd have enough time to fill any open spots with people who are hoping to join. Please reach out to contact@yellowperilbooks.com if you have any issues with your ticket.