Published 24th April 2021 by Lightning Books.
From the cover of the book:
A mysterious illness, called HEROS, is sweeping America. It changes those afflicted, stage by stage, into super-powered costumed crimefighters.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.
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Whatever You Are Is Beautiful imagines a world in which a mysterious illness called HEROS (Heterogenous Enhanced Replacement Organ Syndrome) is sweeping America, turning sufferers into an odd assortment of costumed would-be crime fighters - among other things.
Charlie, a former TV personality who indulged his sneering side with documentaries that took advantage of and laughed at the subjects of the programmes, is looking for a way to get back to the big time after his spectacular fall from grace into cocaine addiction. His idea is to show a more caring side by investigating the lives of those who are suffering from HEROS, and their families, in one of the small town hotspots of this strange disease.
HEROS has four distinct stages, and the symptoms associated with it get increasingly bizarre as the condition progresses. Initially, sufferers find that they wake up one morning with an organ or limb having been replaced with one which has weird new properties - the old human one having been discarded in a pool of blood in the process. There are stories of new larynxes that make unusual sounds, spines replaced with wings, hands that pass through objects, novel dental arrangements, and even sexual organs that do things they were never intended to - if you can imagine it, there is a story about it. The stages then sometimes progress to a point where the sufferer becomes convinced they are some kind of caped crusader, operating on a different plain of existence to those around them - often with tragic consequences.
As Charlie begins interviewing the Rosies, as they call themselves, he starts to understand many things about the disease, the wider world, and even himself, and undergoes an interesting transformation of his own, into the caring person he was intending to simply emulate on screen.
This is a quirky book, full of intriguing characters, lots of dark humour and more than a few poignant moments. The story may seem comically absurd, but through it Richard Blandford examines some very interesting themes - prejudice, discrimination and intolerance to people who are viewed as different are obvious ones, and at times, I was horrified at the scenes playing out, but there are also some lovely moments of joy, kindness, camaraderie and self-discovery. Much of this book reminded me of the TV series Misfits, in the way it combines humour with a close look at the people who find themselves with these new abilities, the way they come to terms with them, and the expectations placed upon them- and also those that take advantage of them. I guarantee this one will make you chuckle and give you lots to think about.
Whatever You Are is Beautiful is available to buy now from your favourite book retailer or via the links below:
Thank you to Lightning Books for provoding me with an e-copy of this book in return for an honest review, and to Emma Welton of Damp Pebbles Tours for inviting me to be part of this blog tour.
About the author:
Richard Blandford is the author of the novels Hound Dog and Flying Saucer Rock and 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.
Thanks so much for being part of the blog tour x
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