The Latest Mona Awad-Fix: Reviewing "Rouge"

“In poetry, the era of the blond, rosy cheeked, perfect Petrarchan beauty is over now,” shouts Herr Professor Prissnitz* pointing his finger to blond, rosy cheeked, perfect Michaela* whose leisurely gum-chewing provides a sharp contrast to the zest and energy with which our literature professor delivers his lecture. While she hides her surprise behind an arrogant smirk which in turn hides behind arduous and rhythmic jaw motion, he ups his voice a note and nearly screams “It's YOUR time now!”

To my sheer dread and terror he turns that finger to me, while I, pathologically introverted and socially awkward, quickly bury my head in the colossal Norton Anthology of English Literature Seventh Edition/Volume One in front of me, at the same time trying to control the black clouds of anxiety obscuring my vision and to regulate my breathing and pulse by taking slow, deep breaths. The open page before me shows William Shakespeare's Sonnet 130, the infamous sonnet in which he courageously describes his lover as a real woman, someone with black wire hair and stinky breath, someone who has a screechy voice and walks like a peasant.

And yet, he loves her.

Not very flattering, I reckon, Herr Prissnitz* often says things without thinking. But despite my distress I feel a smile forming on my face. First, because of pure Schadenfreude. I hate Michaela from the bottom of my heart and if I could, I would personally and readily high-five William Shakespeare himself for terminating her era. And second, because it's the birthing hour of a lifelong and much deeper appreciation for old William for loving his mistress in an honest and true way.

The me back then at university would also have appreciated Mirabelle, Mona Awad's latest main character in her novel Rouge. She would have appreciated Mona Awad's complete work and all of her characters had she known them, since their very distinct patterns of speech; their questioning themselves, their wonky reality; their internal turmoils escalating to a clash of madness and sanity isn't that far from what the world's best playwright and (arguably) best writer offers in his work.

With her Oriental father and European mother, and all the identity crises that entails; her mother fixated on beauty and skincare and the resulting self doubts about her own appearance, and finally her closeness to her grandmother who allows her liberties she's not normally granted, Mirabelle is a character which hits close to home for me. Put that character in the aftermath of her parent's death, her obsession with skin care taking alarming dimensions and a cult-like formation claiming to help her, actually driving her more and more into some psychedelic adventure and add some jellyfish... Voilà, Rouge!

Awad's almost hypnotic writing can be perceived as monotonous or dull by some readers, who obviously don't vibe with the author's rhythm, but this style in actual fact serves to lull the reader into the reality, the addictions, longings and wishes of the lead character, their impotence in the face of their life situation. She then takes all this to escalate it slowly slowly to metaphoric absurdity, often resulting in the reader "waking up" at some point of the story, wondering how it ever could have gotten this far. Delicious.

I have been a fan of Mona Awad from the very first book I've read by her, All Is Well - a strange retelling of Shakespeare's Scottish Play with a main character preoccupied and buried so deep into her physical pains (and who lets us know all about it) that she would accept any deal with any three shady Scottish blokes to end it. Awad's absolutely unique understanding of horror and her absolutely original, yet similar, main characters speak to me like few other authors do and if there's a new release by her, it's natural for me to automatically purchase it, no questions asked. So it was for Rouge and I wasn't disappointed. I understand her writing isn't for everybody but with me she always, al-ways hits the mark, she makes me chuckle with her humor, makes me sigh with understanding of her characters' state, makes me wonder how anyone can be so kooky - I'm a big fan. And this eerie, yet strangely heartwarming tale that Rouge is has evoked all those feelings in me yet again. Even though I just got my fix I already can't wait for her next.

*Names redacted, of course.