Author Ling Ling Huang anxiously awaits release of ‘Natural Beauty’

Published 12:15 am Sunday, March 26, 2023

New Portlander Ling Ling Huang has been pleasantly surprised by the feedback she received once news of her debut book, which inspired a potential television series, went out — via the Portland Tribune in a feature story.

Huang, a classical violinist who plays with the Oregon Symphony, penned the book “Natural Beauty” (Dutton, $27) and it has been picked up for television by a team that includes actress Constance Wu and producer Drew Comins.

The story of “Natural Beauty” follows an unnamed narrator — a talented young pianist and the daughter of Chinese immigrants. When a family crisis strikes, the narrator abandons her budding musical career to take a job at a high-end New York City wellness store featuring remarkable products, extravagant procedures and an unusually attractive and mysterious staff.

Huang’s experiences mirror the narrator’s, and they guide the novel’s examination of consumerism, self-worth, race and identity, as well as its evisceration of the beauty and wellness industry. “Natural Beauty” weaves together elements of satire, horror and thriller.

“A lot of my orchestra colleagues saw the piece in the Portland Tribune and congratulated me at the next rehearsal, which was so lovely,” Huang said. “I’ve received starred reviews from the Publishers Weekly and Booklist, as well as being one of the 10 picks for April’s Library Reads and a Buzzfeed pick for ’30 books you’ll love this Spring.’”

Wu, of “Crazy Rich Asians” fame, remarked after reading the book: “A propulsive, captivating read, ‘Natural Beauty’ pulled me into its world like a fever dream.”

Fellow Portlanders can read what the fuss is all about soon — as in Tuesday, April 4, when “Natural Beauty” is released and available via bookstores and Amazon. The day after, at 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 5, Huang appears at Powell’s City of Books in downtown Portland.

“I’m very excited for this book to be out in the world,” she said.

Meanwhile, the television series has made progress.

“Things are official with the showrunner/writer and I’ve been told that there are some amazing directors attached,” Huang said. “I’m not sure if I can share the names, yet … I’m hoping I’ll have more news to share as soon as next month.

“I’ve been laying low and working on the various publicity things for ‘Natural Beauty.’”

Huang continues work on her second book in her new hometown of Portland.

She’s originally from Beijing, China, and moved to Houston with her family at a young age, attended college at Rice University and then lived in New York City, all of which served as inspiration for her story. She wanted to work as a classical violinist, but it didn’t pay off; she got some gigs in New York City, but didn’t strike it rich and also went to work at a wellness and beauty store.

The dichotomy of the story was the “evisceration” of the wellness and beauty industry. She explained:

“I try to uncover ways it depends on our insecurities. It’s manipulative and fear-mongering, how much time you spend thinking about these things when you could be thinking about liberation or different communities. Most clients at the beauty store and who can afford beauty and wellness products are white and very wealthy. It was an eye-opening experience thinking about it racially and through a class lens while working there. Growing up in Houston, I tried my best to assimilate in many ways.”

Basically, it’s an examination of the daughter of immigrants finding the reality of life in America, where commercialism often supersedes real value, like family. There are parallels between music and beauty, she said — both being aesthetically inclined, but “there are dark things about them.” She trained to be a classical violinist, and lived in a dense city (NYC) where things appeared close, but “I didn’t feel closer to my dreams.”

In the book, “some of it is funny and you have to laugh at stuff or it’s too upsetting,” she said. “The ‘horror’ stuff — it’s about some body horror. I think of body horror as the great antithesis to femininity or gender in particular. It’s definitely a genre I love.”

Huang looks forward to the public’s and critics’ reaction to her book.

“Oh, I’m pretty insecure about it,” she said. “Even if it connects with one person, or emboldens anyone to be themselves, that would be the most exciting.”