‘West Girls’ Reflection
“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.”
When I think of beauty, I think of loveliness, of harmony. And when I think of beauty in people, I think of confidence, of grace, of humility. For me, it’s the heart that matters. But for arguably the text’s protagonist, Luna Lu, beauty is defined by botox, nose jobs, and private saltwater flotations. For her, it's appearance that matters, despite the deep discontentment and being empty inside. And this novel, like its depiction of beauty, is nuanced and convoluted, nothing like what I expected.
My favourite thing about this novel was how each chapter was written as though it was its own separate short story, though as you reach the final few chapters, you realise that everything is actually interconnected. Luna Lu acts as the anchor, the thread that connects everything and everyone together, and everyone else seems to be linked only by several degrees of separation.
One of the beautiful things about Laura’s writing is how she managed to encompass everything being a woman means and feels like. West Girls delves into the depths of the complexity of being a woman - it’s messy, dark and brutally honest. I love how the novel is structured in a way that almost every chapter explores a story through the eyes of individuals of varying race, identity and background. Every segment is a vignette that delves into the minds of a group of women from high school to motherhood, providing unique perspectives on similar events, really shining a light on the intricacies of womanhood. The novel explores this constant state of misery and longing and desperation that most women live in, touching on challenges which women face daily - image obsession, fear of standing out, ridiculous societal expectations… At first, reading this novel was hard to stomach, as Woollett touched on topics that are very close to my own life experiences and those of people who are close to me. Never before have I felt so seen by a novel - Woollett’s voice is strong throughout and she handled these complex shared experiences deftly and with care.
I also liked how Woollett didn’t feel the need to expand and define every moment and action of her characters, leaving the reader to fill in the gaps. As a reader, it took me a while and a lot of willpower to fit all the pieces of the puzzle together, to place all the tiles to create a beautiful, intricate mosaic of race, class, sexuality and fame. In essence, this different positioning of women across the stories coupled with their varying perspectives helps readers remember that we all view people, ideas and beauty differently, and every opinion should be equally valued and appreciated - beauty is in the eye of the beholder afterall. This murkiness sheds light on the ambiguous expectations that are imparted on women, and how this is what makes being a woman so strenuous yet gratifying.
A stellar moment for me when reading was when I realised that the toxic “CB” was actually also the characters of “Goddess”, “Caitlyn B” and “Cait” - she had actually existed from the very beginning of the story! It took me a while to put the two together, but when I did I was like “oh my god. Oh my god. OH MY GOD.” All my previous confusion as to where the story was heading had washed away, the murkiness had been replaced by new found enlightenment. It felt like I had completed that 1000 piece puzzle that took months to get through. Man, was I proud of myself.
This novel is like nothing that I have ever read before - it took a lot of patience and understanding for me to get through it, and to be honest, after reading the first few chapters, I found it hard to continue as I was soooo lost, but thankfully I pushed through. To me, it felt as though this structure and style reflects the discombobulation and uncertainty of the characters, and this only made it that much more rewarding and intriguing of a read.
Finally, I would like us all to take a second and appreciate the beautiful cover of this book. They say, “never judge a book by its cover”, but can I just say, this cover, like the contents itself, is pretty amazing. Not only are the colours gorgeous, but it also encompasses the complexities of the novel perfectly - this book is about women and the pervasive convolutions that come with being a woman. Thus, by the end of this novel, a new definition of beauty has come to light: it is really an all consuming leviathan, as shallow as it is skin deep.
On that note, I would like to end with one of my personal favourite quotes from the book, which is also the quote featured in the blurb, so no spoilers:
“I chose the jagged rocks, the broken bones, the spattered brains. I chose beauty. I'd choose it again.”
With love,
Cecilia
