First of all, a bit of history and context because I, for one, was not aware when I started this book that it is based on fact. I discovered this after about 50 pages or so when the story encouraged me to Google something and then, an hour later, I was more aware of the historical context. The book is set in New York in the period from the late 1970s through to the early 1990s.

Lifted from Wikipedia:

"Composed primarily of African American and Latino LGBTQ men and women, members of the ballroom community traditionally form “houses” which serve the dual purpose of providing a surrogate family structure, and competing for trophies and prestige in community organized balls. Houses are traditionally formed in a family-like structure, with a house “mother” and/or “father” who oversee and direct the group. In keeping with ballroom community tradition, members take the house name as their surname (e.g. “Jose Xtravaganza”). House members compete or “walk" in balls in various categories including representations of dance, fashion, costume design, runway modeling, and gender impersonation. The dance style known as “voguing”, which went on to be popularized by Madonna’s 1990 song “Vogue”, is perhaps the mostly widely recognized stylistic form to emerge from the underground ball scene.

The House of Extravaganza (original spelling) was founded in 1982 by Hector Valle, a gay man of Puerto Rican descent, recognized for his elegant and athletic style of voguing. While Hector Valle was familiar with the ballroom scene, he himself did not belong to a ball house. In the summer of 1982 he made a bold decision for the time to create an all-Latino ballroom house, in response to what was a nearly exclusive African American gay subculture. Hector undertook the task of building up the House membership among friends he socialized with in the West Village of NYC and at popular nightclubs of the era, such as the Paradise Garage. One of the first to join Hector in the new venture was a transgender teen of Puerto Rican descent who came to be known as Angie Xtravaganza and would assume the role of “house mother”. Mother Angie would quickly emerge as the dominant leader and driver of the House."

The House of Impossible Beauties, as the book blurb tells us, follows a group of gay and transgender people in the New York scene described above. Primarily, we follow Angel, Venus, Daniel and Juanito. It quickly becomes clear that Angel is the Angie Xtravaganza mentioned above. Venus Xtravaganza is a real person whose murder has never been solved. We realise we are reading a fictionalised version of the history of key players in the House of Xtravaganza. For me, this added an extra dimension to the story.

At the start of the book, I thought I was going to find the camp characters too much to cope with: they felt almost over the top:

"Bitch," Venus said, "you’re wearing rhinestone earrings during the day and you’re gonna call me ugly?"

And

"No, please," the boy said. "I hate sing-alongs—unless it’s raining men, and then only for a bridge and chorus—so let’s not do this."

And

"Gosh," she said to him, "you have the loveliest eyebrows. You know, I got this theory that if your eyebrows are done on point, then everything else in your life just falls into place. Just falls right into place, I tell you. Isn’t that a great theory?"

The other thing that takes some getting used to is the almost random insertion of Spanish words and phrases into the text. It’s not out of place given the background of the characters, but it is disconcerting for non-Spanish speakers like me to suddenly come across sentences like

"No me digas que los batteries freakin’ died out on us!"

But both the camp and the Spanish quickly become part of the overall context of the book and I rapidly became used to them: they were not a problem. Once you are used to these, what you get is a mostly well-told story. I say “mostly” because there were a few false notes for me. The whole book is organised into sections named after one of the main characters. Mostly this is one of the four mentioned above. But there is also a character named Dorian who you think is going to be significant but who only gets sections when when the author wants to pause for reflection. It feels like Dorian is just a holding place for philosophical thoughts rather than a person. Secondly, there are two key confrontational scenes and both these felt to me like they were rather cliched. Finally, in terms of criticism, the last section of the book suddenly becomes a lot darker (I believe there have been comparisons to A Little Life and they are only valid for this final section) and doesn’t seem to fit well with the rest of the book.

However, despite these three areas where I felt the book didn’t ring quite true, the overall story is well told. I even cried at a couple of points. It’s not at all unusual to read a book about a group of friends in New York, but this one has a unique context that is vividly brought to life. This context was completely new to me. A fifty-something heterosexual Brit is a long way from the New York LGBTQ community described here, so the story was both interesting and educational. The false notes (which is a personal view that others may disagree with) just took the edge off it for me.

3 stars seems slightly mean, but I don't feel it deserves 4 because of the three areas I've mentioned. This is a well-told and fascinating story.

My thanks to OneWorld Publications and NetGalley for a review copy of this book.

It’s difficult writing a fictionalised account of real people. You have to do them justice, and I don’t know how historically accurate this book is but I do know that it’s heartbreakingly moving. Centred around the legendary House of Xtravaganza made famous in Paris Is Burning this book follows the lives of Venus and Angel, two transgender teenagers in NYC in the mid-80s. (You rarely read the word transgender however - the term in ball culture was “fem queen”) If you’ve seen the film you know there’s no happy ending - stories centred around gay lives in the 1980s rarely have a happy ending - but the love and friendships are pure and real. A fitting tribute to a wonderful and fascinating group of people. I loved it.

A wonderful story, sometimes hopeful and sometimes harrowing. I did get confused sometimes about what was biographical and what wasn't - but the fact that it sent me off to Google and read more about the real story is no bad thing, and is perhaps what the author intended. Also very beautifully written. I would certainly read more by Cassara.

Joseph Cassara has written a heart wrenching paean to the LGBT community, a blend of fact and fiction based on the critically acclaimed documentary on the House of Xtravaganza in the 1980s and 1990, Paris Is Burning. Set in New York, it tells of young gay and transgender characters, facing the trauma and rejection of their actual families and their efforts to set up their own chosen close knit and supportive 'family' circle that faces up to the challenges of identity, murder, abuse, brutality, the horrors of the Aids crisis, hatred, prejudice and tragedy. The character driven story unfolds with verve, humour, wit, anger, and colour as it follows its inevitable trajectory with the complications of life in this era in LGBT New York. It does not shirk from the grittiness of life as a sex worker, the perils of addiction and in its depiction of the never ending abuse.

17 year old Angel, has been traumatised by the way her family has treated her. She is transfixed by the glamour and vitality of the drag scene, and hones in on the legendary drag queen, Dorian. She meets and falls for Hector, a professional dancer, but yearns to create a form of family and home for others, who like her, now have none that they can fall back on. With this in mind, Angel and Hector set up the first ever latino House of Xtravanganza within the Harlem Ball circle. Tragedy beckons as Hector faces serious health issues. Angel brings in Venus who searches for the rich man to protect and look after her, the introvert transgender Juanita who obsesses over design and fabrics and Daniel. You cannot help falling for this cast of characters and their unflinching determination to be there for each other against all that the world throws at them.

I loved the humanity and courage portrayed in a lyrical narrative bursting with fizz and life affirming energy. This is a novel that is destined to leave a trail of tears and heartbreak in its wake. A wonderfully ambitious book that evokes an era, a place, a community and its history. Many thanks to Oneworld publications for an ARC.

It took me some time to relate to this book but then I was affected by the sadness of misguided youth and the despair of AIDS taking their lovers. The setting is well judged and the characters feel real. It is unlikely to appeal to a wide readership but those who persist will be rewarded by the sensitivity and waste it portrays.

sorry, I'm struggling with this one and just can't get into it. Its a case where its me not the book so I'd rather just pass on reviewing. Just a bad choice on my part.

The story of the House of Xtravanganza, New York City's first all Latinx drag house, is a fascinating one set in an incredible era but Joseph Cassara manages to give it the treatment it deserves. From the front page the story is gripping, the characters own your heart and the outfit descriptions are to die for. New York in the 80s and 90s is brought to life through the eyes of these Latinx queer and trans characters.

The House of Impossible Beauties is a moving and raw novel about gay and trans life in New York City in the late 1970s to the early 90s. It follows Angel, Venus, Daniel, and Juanito in the underground ball scene of Harlem as they come together and form the city’s first all-Latino house. The AIDS crisis, sex work, rejection, love, drugs, and a lot more feature in this novel that blends real life locations and characters inspired by elements of real people with fictional stories that are full of heart and fight for life.

Cassara moves between characters’ narratives to weave their personal tales and histories together before they even meet, in a way that does well to keep the reader invested in all of the main characters, who are flawed and desperate in the city and have all fled from something. The novel is about resilience and love—finding a new family as well as sex and romance—but also highlights how these cannot always protect people from the harsher sides of life. The ending of the book is quite heartbreaking, though the way it is written makes it seem part of life too.

The House of Impossible Beauties blends important LGBT history with moving and vibrant characters to show the ups and downs of life, particularly for its two central characters from the start, both trans women with complicated families who look for new kinds of family. The book isn’t a particularly happy read, but it gives a real sense of the city and the trans and gay culture that underpins it.