Mona Awad’s ‘Rouge’ is an irresistible elixir of dark comedy and gothic horror.

On this week’s episode, Mona Awad joins us to discuss Rouge (Marysue Rucci Books, Sept. 12), a contemporary fairy tale—inspired by Snow White—skewering beauty culture and youth obsession, from the critically acclaimed author of Bunny, 13 Ways of Looking at a Fat Girl, and All’s Well.

Canadian novelist and short story writer Awad, who teaches fiction in the creative writing program at Syracuse University, specializes in dark comedy with a twist. Rouge is an outstanding addition to her oeuvre: Set primarily in sunny California, it charts the strange days of a skin care–obsessed dress shop clerk who’s traveled from Montreal to attend her mother’s funeral.

Here’s a bit from Kirkus’ starred review of Rouge: “Mirabelle Nour hasn’t lived with her mother in years, but she’s built a life that nevertheless feels like both a reflection and rejection of Noelle Des Jardins. She works in a dress shop, but not the one her mother co-owns in Southern California. She goes by Mira as an adult instead of Belle, the nickname Noelle always preferred. She puts a high premium on her appearance, just like her mother, but in a way Noelle struggles to understand: prioritizing elaborate skin care routines and collagen shakes over red lipstick and sun hats. When Noelle dies in a supposed accident, Mirabelle must come home to La Jolla and confront their disconnect. In the process, she finds her way to La Maison de Méduse, the home of the titular Rouge, which offers otherworldly spa treatments to clients in pursuit of their ‘Most Magnificent Self,’ and uncovers long-suppressed childhood memories of a man who resembled Hollywood royalty.…This is the stuff of fairy tales—red shoes, ballrooms, mirrors, and thorns but also sincerity, poignancy, and terror.”

Awad describes Rouge as “a gothic fairy tale about beauty, envy, and grief” and discusses how social media skin care videos and a famous fairy tale helped inspire the story. We then discuss the pleasures of writing the novel; the fact that fairy tales are often horrifying; how horror (genre) plays with the loss of autonomy; racial inequality in the beauty industry; critical reading of the words “Mirror, mirror on the wall, who’s the fairest of them all?”; fraught mother-daughter dynamics; what artists can learn from their art; Rouge’s unforgettable cover; development deals; and much more.

Then editors Laura Simeon, Mahnaz Dar, Eric Liebetrau, and Laurie Muchnick share their top picks in books for the week.

Editors’ picks:

Everyone’s Thinking It by Aleema Omotoni (Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins)

A Letter for Bob by Kim Rogers, illus. by Jonathan Nelson (Heartdrum)

Exit Interview: The Life and Death of My Ambitious Career by Kristi Coulter (MCD/Farrar, Straus and Giroux)

Wednesday’s Child by Yiyun Li (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)

Also mentioned on this episode:

Skippy Dies by Paul Murray

All the Way to Havana by Margarita Engle, illus. by Mike Curato

Property: Stories Between Two Novellas by Lionel Shriver

Thanks to our sponsors:

Cryo by Blake Fisher

A Long Time Dead by T.L. Bequette

The Wisdom of Beasts and Boogeymen by Allen (Pud) Deters

Fully Booked is produced by Cabel Adkins Audio and Megan Labrise.