Barb and Lily, two friends at opposite ends of the beauty spectrum, have the same problem: each fears she will never find a love that can overcome her looks. To complicate matters, they discover that they may have a murderer in their midst, that Barb’s calm disposition is more dangerously provocative than her beauty and Lily’s musical talents are more powerful than anyone could have imagined. “Funny, surreal, absurd and charmingly preposterous” (The New York Times), The Unfortunate Importance of Beauty is a modern day, “loopily entertaining” (The Washington Post), fairy tale. With biting wit and offbeat charm, Amanda Filipacchi illuminates the labyrinthine relationship between beauty, desire and identity.