Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced reader Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced reader copy.


"Beautyland" by Marie-Helene Bertino takes readers on an interstellar journey through the eyes of Adina Giorno, a child born with a unique perception of the world. The novel unfolds at the moment Voyager 1 is launched into space, paralleling the birth of Adina in Philadelphia. Bertino skillfully weaves a narrative where Adina, tiny and jaundiced, possesses an otherworldly awareness, recognizing her differences and holding knowledge of a distant planet.

The introduction of a fax machine enables Adina to communicate with her extraterrestrial relatives, sharing her observations of Earth's oddities. As she moves through life among humans, she dispatches transmissions detailing the terrors and joys of their existence. The novel takes an intriguing turn when a dear friend encourages Adina to share her messages with the world, prompting questions about her isolation.

What sets "Beautyland" apart is its startling originality and exploration of the fragility and resilience of life in our universe. The narrative experiment of an alien child communicating through a fax machine about human antics feels both whimsical and profound. The storytelling captivates, offering a fresh perspective on human relationships and the intricacies of existence.

One particularly compelling aspect is Adina's observations of her earthly mother. Bertino crafts Adina's clinical yet sensitive observations, expressed in minute physical detail in her reports, creating a poignant portrayal of the mother-daughter relationship. This adds a layer of humanity to the narrative, making the characters more relatable and endearing.

The audiobook, narrated by Andi Arndt, enhances the experience with a stellar performance that brings the characters to life. Arndt's skillful delivery adds depth to the narrative, making it an engaging and immersive listening experience.

"Beautyland" offers a fascinating blend of literary and science fiction, attracting fans of both genres. The fragmented narrative style may appeal to those seeking a unique storytelling approach, while the novel's exploration of Adina's journey from childhood to adulthood captivates readers with its humor and relatability.

Despite initial reservations about the bildungsroman aspect, the novel proves to be a delightful surprise. Adina's humor and navigation through a world she struggles to connect with resonate with readers, reminiscent of the charm found in novels like "Convenience Store Woman." "Beautyland" is a testament to Marie-Helene Bertino's narrative prowess, making it a must-read for those who appreciate imaginative storytelling with a touch of the extraterrestrial.

Beautyland Audiobook Marie-Helene Bertino

First I want to point it out, that I really loved Andi Arndt reading this book, she did a fantastic job, but there is where my praise ends, I requested to listen thinking it would be a story about an alien, but by the end I don’t think she was an alien, but like many of us she didn’t feel like she belonged where she was, and that is alright… after all what cant be changed is already solved…

I don’t mean the book is bad, just is not science fiction, is more like speculative fiction, and I do like speculative fiction, but then again, besides some odd comments adina don’t feel alien, she is someone that we follow from childhood to adulthood and grow and learn with her, feel her pains, the reject and even how she feels like an ugly duck.. but I wont give spoilers, maybe this book is for you.

Thank you NetGalley and Dreamscape Media, for the free AAC and this is my honest opinion.

BEAUTYLAND
Marie-Helene Bertino

I don't know what I just read, but it was cool. Let's talk about it.

BEAUTYLAND stars Adina. Adina is from outer space and was “sent to Earth to study human beings.” She communicates with her home planet through a fax machine, what else? And tells them all about the weird and quirky things we humans do.

We follow Adina over her lifetime, and we see everything through her eyes. It’s fascinating, it’s weird, and oh so much fun.

I’ve never read Bertino before. I had no idea what to expect. I had no idea at all.

BEAUTYLAND feels like that dream you dream when you dream of creating the universe. It is conceptual, imaginative, and weird with a curious humor. It has a 70’s vibe; it’s psychedelic, funky, and full of soul. I’m not sure character names matter, I’m not sure setting matters, I’m no longer sure of anything, and none of that matters.

BEAUTYLAND, a lifetime of humanity in a capsule 336 pages long. Adina was such a cool lens through which to see the world. Reading it is like reading in vivid color.

It was long, maybe too long. I listened to the audiobook and several of the chapters were over an hour long. Which at times felt like holding your breath underwater for a long time, it is endurance-building but also exhausting.

I noticed this audiobook is available on the Everand app (which used to be Scribd).

Thanks to Libro.fm, Netgalley, and Dreamscape Media for the advanced copies. It was a pleasure to read!

BEAUTYLAND…⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A menudo me resulta más fácil darle una oportunidad a una obra de la que no tengo referencias si el formato en que lo leo es audiolibro, quizá porque lo puedo compatibilizar con otros temas de mi vida diaria o quizá porque la labor de los lectores profesionales es casi siempre bastante destacable. El caso es que he escuchado Beautyland sin demasiadas expectativas y aunque reconozco que es una novela bien escrita y entretenida, el barniz que tiene de ciencia ficción me parece una excusa para que Marie-Helene Bertino haga un repaso por los últimos cuarenta años de historia norteamericana y cómo los cambios van afectando a la vida de las personas, pero no esperéis encontrar especulación.


La premisa de la que parte es que, coincidiendo con el lanzamiento de la sonda Voyager 1, nace en Filadelfia una bebé que en realidad es un alien enviado para conocer la vida en la Tierra y comunicar sus investigaciones mediante faxes (sí, habéis leído bien, faxes) a sus superiores.

El libro sigue las aventuras y desventuras de Adina a una vida tan anodina como plausible, mientras intenta descifrar el sentido de la vida humana y cumplir su misión, aunque nadie le ha dado un manual de instrucciones sobre cómo hacerlo. Beautyland se transforma por tanto en una novela de rito de madurez, una exposición sobre lo bello y lo grotesco de la vida humana y sobre todo, una exquisita muestra de la alienación y de la otredad que siente un ser que se considera ajeno a todo esto.

La labor de la lectora Andi Arndt es muy buena, porque consigue imprimir al libro una pátina de frialdad, por definirlo de alguna manera, que se ajusta perfectamente a la forma de ser de la protagonista.

La novela tiene una estructura fragmentada, con idas y venidas temporales que nos permite ver el collage que forma la vida de Adina, pero también la de los compañeros de su viaje por el planeta Tierra. Los secundarios que la acompañan, desde su madre hasta Carl Sagan (por la obsesión de la protagonista con su figura no porque aparezca como personaje), están trazados de forma elocuente y resolutiva, para ayudarnos a situar en el espacio y el tiempo las aspiraciones de Adina.

Beautyland es un canto a la individualidad y al ser diferente.

This book was not the book for me. I dnf'd it. The first few chapters had me cringing and sometimes mad. I couldn't make it thru the whole book.

I listened to the audiobook and the narrator was great. The book I DNF at 35%. I could not get into it. The writing style was chaotic. It felt like nothing was happening but at the same time all different things (that seemingly had nothing to do with each other) happened one after another. I’m sure this will be a favorite for some but this was not the book for me.

I could NOT get into this book. The pretty purple cover and premise had me opting to listen to the audiobook and I am usually a fan of narrator, Andi Ardnt but for whatever reason this one didn't work for me. I think it mainly had to do with the stream-of-consciousness style of narrative structure. It felt all over the place. I had to DNF at only 15%. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to give this one a try. It might be more for sci-fi fans.

This is addicting and beautiful and so so so weird. I love the narration and the way our protagonist thinks. I love the setting and the fax machine. I love everything about this weird book.
More of these please!

What a fun book to read. Love Adina. I found this entertaining and great to listen too. Refreshing concepts. Thank you for the read. I think lots of people will enjoy this one.

I enjoyed every moment of this novel. I was riveted by the storytelling. Why does this conceit, of an alien child communicating with her home planet via fax machine about the antics of human beings, hit so hard, and feel so true? The heck if I know. But somehow Marie-Helene Bertino's outrageously imaginative narrative experiment results in exactly the right distance for me to see the world anew. I was especially moved by this wise-alien-child's perceptions of her earthly mother, the way Adina's quite clinical observations about her mother's body language, described in minute physical detail in her reports back to her alien home, become a marvelously sensitive way to understand the relationship between this mother, this daughter, and make each seem all the more human. A fascinating narrative experiment that pays off brilliantly. Read as an audiobook: Andi Arndt's performance was stellar.

4 stars

This may be a clear example of science fiction, but WOW does Bertino come through with some wildly relatable and realistic sentiments. Prospective readers should prepare themselves to feel at times unsettlingly connected to the ways in which our lives in contemporary society are bizarre, alienating, and easy to question with even half a breath of distance.

Adina is a fantastic character, and she has the kind of robotic nature one expects a person with her identity to hold. This makes it all the more rewarding as she begins to not only evaluate emotion in humans but to experience it or at least observe it quite closely herself. The narrator of the audiobook does an excellent job of highlighting Adina's straightforward interpretations of the world and melding them with her touching and sometimes humorous explorations.

I'm not a frequent sci-fi reader, and it's a genre that often goes left for me. Prospective readers who are a bit hesitant about the genre but interested based on buzz and descriptions will, I hope, be as pleasantly surprised as I was with this one.

Thanks to NetGalley for the audiobook of this novel. The narrator had a dry style that fit with the main character of the book. That style also worked with the book's humor and i laughed out loud several times. Sometimes it was harder to follow the audiobook because the narrator did not vary her voice and the author used short, declarative sentences throughout the book. This sometimes made listening a challenge because you could not rely on tone for understanding.
I loved the book itself. The concept is that the main character is an alien sent to observe and report back on humanity. She may or may not be an alien but we would recognize her as a very decent, likely neurodivergent, human. She is a quick study of people and the world, and she transmits her observations to her alien counterparts via fax. These observations are often funny and nostalgic but are sometimes truly trenchant. There was a passage about class.in America that may be the best summary I have ever read on the topic. We come to love this honest, earnest woman who never takes anything personally. Her love for her friends and her dog and her mother is uncomplicated and ends up being aspirational. Thr alien conceit is extremely effective here. I thought it would get old but it did not. I had not thought about Carl Sagan in a long time but I will not forget him or his haberdashery anytime soon. Highly recommend.

While I loved the first half and thought it was a very unique way of portraying the childhood of a weird little girl, I don’t think the book itself lived up to the premise. Adina’s childhood was entertaining to read about (from a former weird little girl with many similar experiences), but her adulthood was painfully average and being an alien had very little impact. The summary makes it seem like her transmissions being shared with the world is either the inciting incident or the climax, but it’s barely a footnote around 60% in that doesn’t even change her life all that much. And the last 20% of the book being almost entirely about Adina going through the cycle of grief nearly made me stop listening—I stuck it out because I was curious to see the end, but that didn’t have much impact either.

If this was recommended more along the lines of a coming-of-age-and-beyond story about Adina, I probably wouldn’t have been disappointed, but I feel like the marketing went off-track when it came to what the book was about. Related an uncomfortably large amount to Adina, though.

(And no, the words for Dominic and Toni are “gay” and “lesbian,” not a slur.)

In 1977, at the same time Voyager I is launched into space, a baby girl is born to a single mom in Philadelphia. Adina Giorno knows she is different from the very start. She has been placed on Earth to report on life and her perceptions of humanity. She does this through an old fax machine her mother had found. A tender coming of age story that follows Adina from childhood to adulthood, begging the question are we alone?

*Special thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this audio e-arc.*

It looks like (at least according to Goodreads) I'm going to be an outlier on this one... it was a very well-written book, it was entertaining and held my interest throughout. I liked the characters, I enjoyed the plot, it was all fine. But my main takeaway was that it was just... generic. A coming of age story about a girl who leaves her small town and goes to New York. The attempt to create a hook with the alien angle fell completely flat to me. It read like a novelized version of those "Strange World" comics by Nathan W Pyle with just a touch of YouTuber Ryan George explaining everyday activities like camping or birthdays in an unconventional way. "Boy these humans sure are strange, aren't they?" I do love both those things, and I didn't hate it in the book, it just wasn't enough to pull the novel to any real heights.