Charlie was once one of Britain’s favourite TV personalities, known for sneering at the weirder members of society in his cutting-edge documentaries. But now, after a battle with cocaine addiction, he wants to go straight and show his caring side. A programme about this bizarre new disease may be a chance to get his career back on track.
As he films and interviews a number of people with HEROS, or Rosies, as they call themselves, Charlie gets close to many of them, perhaps too close, and starts to question his role as a neutral observer. This may well be a career-changing experience, but not in the way he imagined.
Whatever You Are is Beautiful is a dark comedy, which celebrates difference and explores the immense human capacity for intolerance. It is both cautionary and joyful in equal measure.
The blurb for Whatever You Are Is Beautiful hooked me immediately. I liked the acronym play for the mystery illness and the mixing of crime fighting into this world appealed as it brought in an element of fantasy which reminded me of some favoured movies! The initially chapter is a bit puzzling but then as you read on, it all falls into place!
Charlie is a well imagined lead – he had all the attributes of someone you love to hate but also can’t quite tear your gaze from. I liked the little glimpses into his own life which pop up during his recording and his conversations with Sam. He made me wince at certain points where his subtly is rather brick like! Laura plays off him well and both eggs him on and reins him in at different points. The range of people they talk to as they make their documentary gives a fabulous window into this new and strange condition.
I think the concept behind Whatever You Are Is Beautiful is great! There are some really good parallels between the prejudice that the rosies experience and that of other illnesses in today’s society. HEROS is a multi stage illness which initially inconveniences the sufferer in strange and often unique ways before progressing to a more devastating loss of self and adoption of a new persona. The reaction of society to the afflicted is really mixed – sadly, as with modern times, some see the illness as a punishment from a higher power, some shun them and many just want to pretend they don’t exist.
This is a comparatively short book but I think it has a lot of great ideas and plenty of parallels with current issues and some interesting ethical dilemmas. It is quite different to my usual choice of book but I am glad I branched out! Well worth a read!
You can get your copy from:
Kobo: https://bit.ly/3dOP0RW
Amazon UK: https://amzn.to/3d09g47
Google Books: https://bit.ly/3cXuCir
About Richard Blandford: Richard is the author of the novels Hound Dog and Flying Saucer Rock & Roll and the short story collections The Shuffle and Erotic Nightmares.
He has also studied and taught art history. He has written for the art journals Frieze and Elephant and is the author of the visual history London in the Company of Painters. He lives in Worthing. You can find him on social media at:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/rblandford
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rblandfordauthor
Website: http://richardblandford.blogspot.com/
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Thanks so much for being part of the blog tour x
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