A piercing and provocative debut about the myth of beauty and assimilation in modern day America, told through the lens of a tumultuous mother-daughter relationship.

'Horror, crime, and coming-of-age . . . inventive and brilliant' - Chris Kraus

'A page-turner that feels equal parts cinematic romp and serrated analysis of the most important issues of our day' - Maggie Nelson

'Intense, engaging, original and hilarious' - Colm Tóibín

When Linli Feng returns home to LA after a three-year absence, she is shocked to find her mother, Fanny, unrecognizable. In her endless quest to achieve the ‘right’ kind of beauty, Fanny has spent the intervening years having bargain procedures in basement beauty parlours.

But even as Linli tries to wean Fanny off her addiction, Fanny has another secret in store. She has won a spot on America’s Beauty Extreme, a reality television competition in which botched plastic surgery addicts compete for reconstructive surgery.

In Linli's attempt to rescue her mother from the sinister subculture that has claimed her face, she must at last confront the corrosive reality of the American dream at the heart of their relationship.