But when Hector dies of AIDS-related complications, Angel must bear the responsibility of tending to their house alone.Īs mother of the house, Angel recruits Venus, a whip-fast trans girl who dreams of finding a rich man to take care of her Juanito, a quiet boy who loves fabrics and design and Daniel, a butch queen who accidentally saves Venus’s life. When she falls in love with Hector, a beautiful young man who dreams of becoming a professional dancer, the two decide to form the House of Xtravaganza, the first-ever all-Latino house in the Harlem ball circuit. Burned by her traumatic past, Angel is new to the drag world, new to ball culture, and has a yearning inside of her to help create family for those without. It’s 1980 in New York City, and nowhere is the city’s glamour and energy better reflected than in the burgeoning Harlem ball scene, where seventeen-year-old Angel first comes into her own. “Cassaras’s propulsive and profound first novel, finding one’s home in the world-particularly in a subculture plagued by fear and intolerance from society-comes with tragedy as well as extraordinary personal freedom.” - EsquireĪ gritty and gorgeous debut that follows a cast of gay and transgender club kids navigating the Harlem ball scene of the 1980s and ’90s, inspired by the real House of Xtravaganza made famous by the seminal documentary Paris Is Burning Get inspiration from my favourite reads of 2020.NAMED A RECOMMENDED BOOK OF 2018 BY Buzzfeed

She can stare at my youth and suffer.” Now, this is the level of sass I aspire to live by. “I will tell her to look at my face – no lines, no wrinkles, no bags. With The House of Impossible Beauties, Cassara has managed to encapsulate the zeitgeist of not only an era but of a subculture. Showcasing the trials and tribulations of love & family and not to mention the relentlessness of the human spirit. I think Joseph Cassara handles this topic with the utmost respect and sensitivity. I can’t stress enough how much I adored this book.

This review is more of a gush of unadulterated admiration and love. Cassara uses a perfect blend of gallows humour (which as a Scottish person, I LOVE) and moments of pure joy. Incredibly tragic, heartwarming and serving all kinds of sass with no emotion overshadowing the other. One of the things I loved the most about The House of Impossible Beauties is how tragedy and humour go hand and hand with neither eclipsing the other.

The house of impossible beauties review