The Beauty

Aliya Whiteley's THE BEAUTY offers a compact dose of weird fiction, body horror specifically, in which humanity is evolving into mushrooms. Expect a mashup of William Golding 1954 Lord of the Flies and P. D. James' 1992 novel The Children of Men: a cluster of men survive in a dystopian future where all the women are dead (no hope for reproduction). The Beauty is saturated with philosophy on "what is beautiful?" and "what is humanity?".Bob Milne's Beauty in Ruins Book Reviews led me to this wonderful story. This edition has two parts, the first half is the titular story, and the other half is a bonus shorty story called "Peace, Pipe."Some may think 100 pages is too short, but for a weird fiction shorter is often better. Each sentence of "The Beauty" is packed with meaning. Don't expect any fluffy filler. This style is not suited for mega-tome page epic-fiction! Instead, it begs to be read aloud, like a poem... as the protagonist would tell a story. The best way to communicate the style is with Excerpts (see below). No worries, I left out any mushroom/human romance.Don't let the intellectual narrative fool you, there is plenty of action. Each section ramps up the tension dramatically as Nate and the other men are confronted with fungal manifestations of women, and they struggle with repulsion and attraction. With the future of humanity on the line, and the desire to reproduce, there is much at stake. Jealously and murder ensue. Incidentally, my son and I are playing Dark Souls 1 (remastered) and Dark Souls 3, and the vision of the Parent/Child Mushrooms from Darktoot Garden and Ash Lake were evoked. Imagine if you were encouraged to start a family with those!In summary, The Beauty offered everything I expected and desired: a mysterious adventure, evocative prose, and unique storytelling. It is deep, but thrilling.PEACE, PIPE, is a bonus story that is 50% of this book. An alien diplomat chronicles its exploits (having accidentally started a war on Demeter) while quarantined and communicating to a pipe (which speaks as water flows through it, and evokes the sounds of a flushing toilet). Again, the themes of storytelling and communication are foundations, as well as an invitation to the reader to change perspectives on different cultures. No body horror in this one.Excerpts from "The Beauty":"There are signs, I don't care what William says. There are signs of change, of regeneration, and I saw the first mushrooms in the graveyard on the morning after I ripped up the photograph of my mother's face and threw the pieces over the cliff, into the fat swallowing folds of the sea..."My name is Nathan, just twenty-three and given to the curation of stories.I listen, retain, then polish and release them over the fire at night, when the others hush and lean forward in their desire to hear of the past. They crave romance, particularly when autumn sets in and cold nights await them, and so I speak of Alice, and Bethany, and Sarah, and Val, and other dead women who all once had lustrous hair and never a bad word on their plump limps...Language is changing, like the earth, like the sea. We live in a lonely, fateful flux, outnumbered and outgrown.""When [William] told me of his journey, that was how he finished it--he fitted there. I find this to the strangest of expressions--how does one fit in with other people, all edges erased, making a seamless life from the sharp corners of discontent? I don't find anything that fits in such a way. Certainly not in nature. Nothing real is meant to tessellate like a triangle, top-bottom bottom-top. The sheep will never munch the grass in straight lines.""[Doctor Ben] told me diseases were like people. They fight and fight and throw themselves around to escape the walls of tighter and tighter boxes.""They were found in the graveyard, springing from the decaying bodies of the women deep in the ground, and they were found in the woods, spreading themselves like a rug over the wet earth. The Beauty were small at first but they grew and took the best qualities of the dead. They sucked up through the soil all the softness, serenity, hope, and happiness of womankind. They made themselves into a new form, a new north, shaped from the clay of the world and designed only to bring pleasure to man.But the Beauty knew form the many experiences of the women that had gone before, that men did not always love what was good for them. Men could attack, hurt, main and murder the things that came too fast, too suddenly, like love...."

I was not quite prepared for what I found as I ready "The Beauty". I was in the middle of a particularly long book hangover and looking for something short that would capture my attention and draw me in again. "The Beauty" was a strange fit into that space.This is not a story for the squeamish. The horror elements are not scary in the traditional sense. They explore what could happen in the world as it's drawn and the behaviors of the humans within it. It speaks to base needs and the standard biological imperatives- especially the one for connection and love. It also explores the role of storytelling and story re-telling/re-writing in drawing our narratives and our sense of identity as individuals and in groups. I imagine a literature class would have a great time breaking this story down into it's themes and addressing them in the context of the stressors and fears of the time it was written [now]. In the end, that's really how horror stories are most effective. They put pressure on the nerves of the society during which it was written. One could easily see the connection between this story and modern issues of reproductive rights, gender identity, sexual orientation, us/them thinking, the re-writing of history/fact, and the fear of the Other and the change of status-quo.At times I found myself disgusted but I also simply could not bring myself to put it down. I highly recommend taking the time to read this wonderful story.

I had no idea what to expect when I started reading The Beauty. Honestly, I’m still not sure how I feel about it. Aliya Whiteley has written an intriguing tale. The women are all dead, killed off by a strange disease, and men are all that is left. The age of humanity is coming to an end. But a young storyteller in a group of men, Nathan, has found what he believes to be their saving grace.What follows is a story that is reminiscent of H.P. Lovecraft’s works. After finishing The Beauty, I felt as if my brain and been taken out and played with. While I thoroughly enjoyed Whiteley’s writing style and poetic prose, I was left wanting. I wanted more details on the downfall of humanity, a more complete ending, just more. That being said, I was kept on the edge of my seat. The Beauty is indeed a unique story, unlike anything I’ve ever read. It will keep you thinking and you won’t be able to put it down.

A different take on a post-apocalyptic story. Again, the world has ended and the remnants of society cling to a life that will not linger long. Quite a lot of body horror, "fall of the old ways", and philosophy in this story. A great read, and definitely from the mind of a mycologist.

the idea was cool and it seemed like the story was ramping up into one big crazy ending (something about the weird ahh babies) but then it seems like the author got bored of the story and just published what she had so far. cool concept that ultimately goes nowhere but if u want to be a little weirded out it’s an okay read

I was expecting a story about fungus zombies aka The Last of Us to tithe me over between seasons. This was an absolutely wild ride. Highly recommend going in blind like I had. That was a rollercoaster.

I don't know what other reviewers mean when they say this is horror-based. I found it a fascinating statement about the world, almost a Lord of the Flies meets Logan's Run. The premise that all women are dead and just men and boys survive is a good one. When one of them finds mysterious mushrooms growing on the graves of the women, and when those mushrooms begin to morph and change, what follows is a strange and provocative story about surviving, needing comfort, and what it means to be who you are and who you are meant to be. The ideas of modern society and expectations are explored. I don't want to give away too much. It's a short read with a lot in it. There is a bit of sex and blood, but no more than we see on many TV shows. Highly recommend. I am loaning it out to all my friends.