Beautyland by Marie-Helene Bertino
“Even the word itself, human, means flawed. It means everything is technically correct but some unanticipated trouble has fouled it up. If the assignment had been to be human, to fail, then I succeeded. But if it was to create a comprehensive document of life on Earth, I was always doomed. Language is pitiable when weighed against experience.”
Feeling like an outsider in our own world is something many of us can relate to.
As life becomes increasingly complex, that sense of alienation often deepens. Yet, every so often, a piece of art emerges that makes us feel seen and understood. Beautyland by Marie-Helene Bertino is one such work.
Adina Giorno is born the exact moment Voyager 1 is launched into space, and from the very start, she feels out of place. A tiny, jaundiced baby born to a single mother in Philadelphia, Adina reaches for warmth wherever she can find it. When she is four, after a traumatic incident of domestic violence, Adina is “activated,” unlocking memories of a distant planet. Desperate to reconnect with the extraterrestrial family she believes is out there, she begins sending messages to them through a broken fax machine salvaged from the trash.
For years, Adina documents her observations of human life, sending them to her cosmic relatives.
At first, her messages brim with wonder and curiosity, but over time, they evolve into expressions of frustration and confusion. As a teenager, after being chastised by a beauty store clerk for testing perfumes with her mother, she writes, “Human beings don’t like when other humans seem happy.” Her superiors in space respond with perplexity, to which she retorts, “If when I explain human behavior you insist on logic, we won’t get far.”
Throughout her life, Adina faces rejection, heartbreak, and the persistent ache of not quite fitting in. She moves to the city, forms friendships, falls in love, yet always clings to the hope that her extraterrestrial family will come for her one day and take her home.
While you may not be a child sent from space to study humanity, there’s much in Adina’s journey that will resonate.
Her awkwardness in puberty, her struggles to connect with her peers, and her sense of being different will strike a chord with many readers. Beautyland strikes a delicate balance between dark, introspective themes and a whimsical, otherworldly charm that pulls you out of the mundane and into a space of self-reflection and wonder.
This is a story that speaks to anyone who has ever felt out of place, celebrating our individual quirks and the complex, sometimes contradictory nature of being human. For the perfect cozy read, grab a copy from Bookshop Benicia or check it out from your local library.
Mystic Galaxy Gin Mule
Ingredients:
- 1 c. Tonic water (frozen into ice cubes, then crushed)
- 1.5 oz Ginger syrup
- 3 oz Lime juice
- Tonic water or club soda
- 3 oz Empress gin (or butterfly pea flower extract and NA gin)
Preparation:
- Fill a Moscow mule glass with crushed tonic water ice.
- Pour the ginger syrup and lime juice over the ice.
- Pour in the Empress gin and top with tonic water or club soda.
- This drink glows under black light, making it the perfect, out-of-this-world Halloween party cocktail!
