Kirjahaku

"This is not your grandma's fairy tale... Brilliant." --The Washington Post "The Force of Such Beauty grips with the strength of an Olympian and holds it with the endurance of a marathoner ... to] an ending that actually caught my breath, not once, but twice in quick succession."--The Associated Press One sunny afternoon in an idyllic kingdom by the sea, a princess named Caroline pretends to sleep. When her keepers strike up a card game, Caroline sneaks into her maid's car, turns the key, and drives right out of the palace. Alone for the first time in years, she gets on the next flight--only to land in the waiting arms of her guards. As she's forcibly escorted back to her marble prison, something in Caroline breaks for good. It's not her first failed attempt, and it won't be her last. Caroline suspects that she'll never escape. But she might find a way to be free. Barbara Bourland's stunning third novel, a phantasmagorical fable of love and marriage, is her most ambitious and inventive book to date. Inspired by the alleged escape attempts of real-life princesses, The Force of Such Beauty is both the story of an idealistic young woman trapped by a corrupt promise, and a deeply moving reminder that power structures around the world ultimately rest on the subjugation of women's bodies. "A fascinating novel about bodies, the way we use them, and the way we break them. It's one of several works to come out this year concerned with the appropriation of female beauty by powerful men, and examines a harsh choice in the lives of women dubbed desirable by the patriarchal state: do you participate, or do you say no?...Bourland is skilled at finding the noir in the everyday, and illustrating the mechanisms of control that keep us in our place."--Crime Reads, Best Books of the Year (So Far)

Every weekday morning, as the sun rose above Sixth Avenue, a peerless crop of women-frames poised, behavior polished, networks connected, and bodies generally buffed to a high sheen-were herded by the cattle prod of their own ambition to one particular building. They're smart, stylish, and sophisticated, even the one found dead in her office. When stylish Hillary Whitney dies alone in a locked, windowless conference room at the offices of RAGE Fashion Book, her death is initially ruled an unfortunate side effect of the unrelenting pressure to be thin. But Hillary's best friend and fellow RAGE editor Catherine Ono knows her friend's dieting wasn't a capital P problem. If beauty could kill, it'd take more than that. When two months later, a cryptic note in Hillary's handwriting ends up in the office of the NYPD and the case is reopened, Det. Mark Hutton is led straight into the glamorous world of RAGE and into the life of hot-headed and fiercely fabulous Cat, who insists on joining the investigation. Surrounded by a supporting cast of party girls, Type A narcissists and half- dead socialites, Cat and her colleague Bess Bonner are determined to solve the case and achieve sartorial perfection. But their amateur detective work has disastrous results, and the two ingenues are caught in a web of drugs, sex, lies and moisturizer that changes their lives forever. Viciously funny, this sharp and satirical take on the politics of women's bodies and women's work is an addictive debut novel that dazzles with style and savoire faire.

Refinery29's Best Books of 2017 People Magazine May Pick Recommended Reading from the New York PostEvery weekday morning, as the sun rose above Sixth Avenue, a peerless crop of women -- frames poised, behavior polished, networks connected, and bodies generally buffed to a high sheen -- were herded by the cattle prod of their own ambition to one particular building. They're smart, stylish, and sophisticated, even the one found dead in her office.When stylish Hillary Whitney dies alone in a locked, windowless conference room at the offices of RAGE Fashion Book, her death is initially ruled an unfortunate side effect of the unrelenting pressure to be thin. But Hillary's best friend and fellow RAGE editor Catherine Ono knows her friend's dieting wasn't a capital P problem. If beauty could kill, it'd take more than that.When two months later, a cryptic note in Hillary's handwriting ends up in the office of the NYPD and the case is reopened, Det. Mark Hutton is led straight into the glamorous world of RAGE and into the life of hot-headed and fiercely fabulous Cat, who insists on joining the investigation. Surrounded by a supporting cast of party girls, Type-A narcissists and half-dead socialites, Cat and her colleague Bess Bonner are determined to solve the case and achieve sartorial perfection. But their amateur detective work has disastrous results, and the two ing nues are caught in a web of drugs, sex, lies and moisturizer that changes their lives forever.Viciously funny, this sharp and satirical take on the politics of women's bodies and women's work is an addictive debut novel that dazzles with style and savoire faire.

'Biting, funny, brilliantly subversive' Louise O'Neill'Highly-polished satire . . . Hilarious' Sunday Times'Funny, fierce, feminist' RedCat Ono, feminist powerhouse and high-flying editor at RAGE magazine, knows the price of fashion. Her friend - found dead in her office - just paid it. Everyone thinks Hillary dieted to death, but Cat suspects if beauty kills, it'd take more than that. She's sure she can match the investigating skills of the smart (and conveniently hot) Detective Mark Hutton, solve the case and achieve sartorial perfection.But when Cat goes undercover, she gets in over her head. Soon she's snared in a very stylish web of drugs, sex, lies and moisturizer that will change her look - and outlook - forever.

CAREY LOGANShe was the genius wild child of the New York art scene, and my idol.FAKEI was a no-name painter from the Florida backwater, clawing my way into their world.LIKEWhen she died, she left a space that couldn't be filled. Except, maybe, byMEEverything that gets created destroys something else.When a fire rips through her studio and burns the seven enormous paintings for her next exhibition, a young, no-name painter is left with an impossible task: recreate her art in just three months - or ruin her fledgling career. Thirty-four, single and homeless, she desperately secures a place at an exclusive upstate retreat. Brimming with creative history and set on a sparkling black lake, Pine City and its founders - a notorious collective of successful artists - is what she's idolized all her life. She's dreamt of the parties, the celebrities, the privilege. What she finds is a ghost of its former self.The recent suicide of founding member Carey Logan haunts everyone, lurking beneath the surface like a shipwreck. And one thought begins to shadow her every move - what really happened to her hero?With a flair for sensational detail and acidic wit, Barbara Bourland delivers a darkly satirical thriller about art, money and identity with a twist so sharp it cuts.

CAREY LOGANShe was the genius wild child of the New York art scene, and my idol.FAKEI was a no-name painter from the Florida backwater, clawing my way into their world.LIKEWhen she died, she left a space that couldn't be filled. Except, maybe, byMEEverything that gets created destroys something else.When a fire rips through her studio and burns the seven enormous paintings for her next exhibition, a young, no-name painter is left with an impossible task: recreate her art in just three months - or ruin her fledgling career. Thirty-four, single and homeless, she desperately secures a place at an exclusive upstate retreat. Brimming with creative history and set on a sparkling black lake, Pine City and its founders - a notorious collective of successful artists - is what she's idolized all her life. She's dreamt of the parties, the celebrities, the privilege. What she finds is a ghost of its former self.The recent suicide of founding member Carey Logan haunts everyone, lurking beneath the surface like a shipwreck. And one thought begins to shadow her every move - what really happened to her hero?With a flair for sensational detail and acidic wit, Barbara Bourland delivers a darkly satirical thriller about art, money and identity with a twist so sharp it cuts.

From critically acclaimed author Barbara Bourland, comes an impressively intelligent thriller, nominated for the Edgar Allan Poe Award, about a young painter who tracks the mysterious life and death of her role model, uncovering strange secrets that lead to the truth of her demise (Refinery29). After a fire rips through her loft, destroying the seven billboard-size paintings meant for her first major exhibition, a young painter is left with an impossible task: recreate the lost artworks in just three months without getting caught -- or ruin her fledgling career. Homeless and desperate, she begs her way into Pine City, an exclusive retreat in upstate New York notorious for three things: outrageous revelries, glamorous artists, and the sparkling black lake where brilliant prodigy Carey Logan drowned herself. Taking up residence in Carey's former studio, the painter works with obsessive, delirious focus. But when she begins to uncover strange secrets at Pine City and falls hard for Carey's mysterious boyfriend, a single thought shadows her every move: What really happened to Carey Logan?