Contemporary Gothic Reading Group 1: Natural Beauty

Join members of the Manchester Centre for Gothic Studies for the first of our Spring/Summer Contemporary Reading Groups for 2026. This is the first of a series of 4 reading groups (this year there are two in person and two online). These free sessions, which we run in the summer months, give us a chance to explore the prominent role of the Gothic in modern and contemporary culture. Come along for a relaxed conversation among enthusiasts and avid readers.

This reading group takes place in person at Manchester Poetry Library on Tuesday 5th May at 18.00-19.30.

FORMAT
The session will be led by two of our postgraduate Gothic researchers Georgie Kett and Bronte Crawford. There is no need to prepare questions or reviews. Please just turn up on the day ready to chat about the book.

AUDIENCE
This reading group is free and open to everyone, but please note that regular attendees tend to be postgraduate researchers and members of staff. For this reason, the group might not suit total beginners.

For more information on the Contemporary Gothic Reading Group and other events organised by the Gothic Centre, please visit our website: https://manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk/

or join us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1589997731237020

Sly, surprising, and razor-sharp, Natural Beauty follows a young musician into an elite, beauty-obsessed world where perfection comes at a staggering cost.
Our narrator produces a sound from the piano no one else at the Conservatory can. She employs a technique she learned from her parents—also talented musicians—who fled China in the wake of the Cultural Revolution. But when an accident leaves her parents debilitated, she abandons her future for a job at a high-end beauty and wellness store in New York City.
Holistik is known for its remarkable products and procedures—from remoras that suck out cheap Botox to eyelash extensions made of spider silk—and her new job affords her entry into a world of privilege and a long-awaited sense of belonging. She becomes transfixed by Helen, the niece of Holistik’s charismatic owner, and the two strike up a friendship that hazily veers into more. All the while, our narrator is plied with products that slim her thighs, smooth her skin, and lighten her hair. But beneath these creams and tinctures lies something sinister.
A piercing, darkly funny debut, Natural Beauty explores questions of consumerism, self-worth, race, and identity—and leaves readers with a shocking and unsettling truth.

Ling Ling Huang is a writer and violinist. She plays with several ensembles, including the Oregon Symphony, Grand Teton Music Festival Orchestra, ProMusica Chamber Orchestra, and the Experiential Orchestra, with whom she won a Grammy Award in 2021. Her debut novel, Natural Beauty, was a Good Morning America Buzz Pick, a New York Times Editors’ Choice, and winner of the Lambda Literary Award for Bisexual Fiction. Her sophomore novel, Immaculate Conception, was a Good Housekeeping and Aadvark Book Club pick for May 2025, and was named a Best Book of the Year by Elle, Katie Couric Media, and others.

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Host or Publisher The Manchester Centre for Gothic Studies