The God of Good Looks represents a vibrant, nuanced, and entertaining view of Caribbean culture, a perspective that transcends both trauma and pure escapism. At the sweet spot between popular entertainment and literature, it's riveting and transportive—a summer read with bite.” — NPR
“Breanne Mc Ivor is a talented Trinidadian author and regional literary prize-winner making her international debut.” — Oprah.com
“Alternating between smart, self-aware and snappy diary entries written by Bianca and first-person chapters told through Obadiah's perspective, Mc Ivor tells a powerful redemption story about two hardscrabble, brilliant creators and their battle against class, the patriarchy, growth and the commodification of beauty…. Entertaining, humorous and then jaw-droppingly poignant, The God of Good Looks is a smart, cleverly crafted debut that manages to both delight with its portrayals of the beauty industry and shock with its searingly current observations on class and the patriarchy…. The connection between truth and victory is on perfect display, and it makes for an ending that satisfies as much as it educates.” — Bookreporter.com
"Entertaining...Under the glossy surface of this story about two skittish, driven people finding each other in complicated circumstances, this novel has bigger ambitions. Mc Ivor uses the beauty industry to explore the rifts created by poverty, sexism, and class in modern-day Trinidad, revealing how ingrained misogyny can be in a patriarchal society and how hard it can be to overcome.” — Kirkus Reviews
“Mc Ivor shines in this pitch-perfect narrative of power imbalances…. Mc Ivor combines tight plotting and strong character development….This makes for a winning story of comeuppance.” — Publishers Weekly
“Mc Ivor’s first novel is an entertaining story with vivid depictions of the history, culture, and current social challenges of Trinidad and Tobago…. For readers who enjoy allusions to Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, blended with Lauren Weisberger’s The Devil Wears Prada.” — Library Journal
“[R]ich in social commentary…Mc Ivor effectively captures a surprising and evolving relationship in a mix of humor and drama. Along the way, she innovatively expands the established tropes of Caribbean literature, cleverly using the beauty industry to challenge conventional notions of womanhood and attractiveness. Memorable characters, evocative descriptions, and a well-paced story make this an eminently enjoyable novel.” — Booklist
“A will-they-won't-they tension ensues as Mc Ivor uses the metaphor of make-up (there's an awful lot of it) to examine privilege, corruption and truth. It's wickedly funny ... Bianca is a hugely endearing heroine.” — Daily Mail (UK)
“Mc Ivor uses Bianca's attempt to rebuild her life to examine issues surrounding the beauty industry and the poverty, violence and corruption blighting life in Trinidad . . . There's lots to enjoy, particularly a more authentic picture of Caribbean life than the postcard fantasy.” — The Times (UK)
“Part ribald farce, part feminist tract, part love letter to an island, The God of Good Looks takes a look at Caribbean island life and culture rarely seen in books, that of its bristling, competitive carnival culture and beauty world. McIvor writes with wit and confidence of a world where female beauty is celebrated and monetized. Her heroine, an outsider tarnished by scandal, navigates both with skill and satire. Every page we wince and smirk. A self-aware, modern, female-centered novel out of Trinidad which breaks new ground.” — Monique Roffey, author of Costa Book of the Year, The Mermaid of Black Conch
"Phenomenal! A book worthy of a standing ovation. I will never forget how this novel made me feel. It's effortlessly beautiful." — Lizzie Damilola Blackburn, author of Yinka, Where is your Huzband?
“Beautiful inside and out, The God of Good Looks is big-hearted, life-affirming, and salty-sweet. A glittering will-they, won’t they Bridget Jones re-boot, it transported me to the Caribbean. LOVED IT.” — Nikki May, author of Wahala
"Bursting with vivid imagery and a striking voice, The God of Good Looks boldly tackles complex topics and characters with remarkable nuance and grace. Immersive and impossible to put down." — Shirlene Obuobi, author of On Rotation
"A dazzling delight of a debut. The God of Good Looks is a captivating portrait of contemporary Trinidadian culture, a canny exploration of makeup's power as artifice and art, and a tender celebration of unexpected connections and the human need to love and be loved. I gasped, I laughed, I cried—I didn't want it to end!" — Coco Mellors, author of Cleopatra and Frankenstein
“Get ready for a gorgeous literary snapshot of what life is like in twenty-first-century Trinidad without any of the usual tropes. The God of Good Looks paints a vibrant portrait of the contemporary Caribbean as you’ve never read it before. It’s full of characters whose struggles you feel to your bones—and will be rooting for all the way through. Bianca might just be one of my all-time favorite heroines. Mc Ivor’s writing is fresh, smart, and packed with razor-sharp social commentary—a perfect blend of page-turning and thought-provoking. I can’t recommend this debut enough.” — Caroline Mackenzie, author of One Year of Ugly
2023-03-14
A young Trinidadian writer strikes back at the patriarchy with the help of a famous beauty entrepreneur.
Though it’s set in the world of the Caribbean beauty industry and its fascination with makeup might seem frivolous at first glance, Mc Ivor’s entertaining first novel is anything but skin deep. Under the glossy surface of this story about two skittish, driven people finding each other in complicated circumstances, this novel has bigger ambitions. Mc Ivor uses the beauty industry to explore the rifts created by poverty, sexism, and class in modern-day Trinidad, revealing how ingrained misogyny can be in a patriarchal society and how hard it can be to overcome. At the heart of the story is Bianca Bridge, a promising young writer who’s the daughter of a wealthy businessman. When her affair with a powerful married man becomes public, her reputation and hopes for success are crushed. She refuses to ask her father for help and works as a model to make ends meet though she hates the work. (She is, of course, conveniently beautiful.) Then makeup guru Obadiah Cortland hires her to work at his magazine. Obadiah is cold and supercilious, but his carefully cultivated public persona is a mask. Growing up in poverty, Obadiah has fought for everything he has, and to him, his success seems precarious. Still, he and Bianca and the magazine staff decide to make a powerful statement on crime and corruption in spite of the risk. The novel sputters on occasion—Bianca’s attempts to write fiction about her late mother are an unnecessary distraction, for example—but the irony of her needing her father’s support to carve a path for herself is not lost on the author. Mc Ivor’s ultimate message is clear: We all hide behind something, whether it’s makeup or privilege, and only by being true to ourselves can we triumph.
An entertaining novel that uses the beauty industry to examine issues of poverty, class, and sexism.
