"NahNew NahNew BEAUTYLAND doesn't uncover new ground but there is charm to be found from an alien's point of view in the guise of a baby girl. She's assigned to observe and report back on earth's habitat and inhabitants. Robin Williams' hilarious antics on the 70s TV sitcom, "Mork and Mindy" had Mork reporting to his leaders his rye commentaries on human behaviors. On the TV sitcom, "3rd Rock from the Sun" the zaniness of aliens inhabiting human forms and cohabitating with earthlings highlighted the inherent absurdity of life. Marie-Helene Bertino's comical and morose philosophical sci-fi novel uses a tried and true formula but adds a unique spin in the form of a nascent foreign being who matures aligned with earthly revolutions. Adina's raised by her single working mother outside Philly. Her mom makes ends meet by stretching a dollar by serving cheap boiled chicken, diluting her Jean Nate spray, scavenging dumpsters and praying her VW will make it uphill. Adina instinctively knows she's from another galaxy. She corresponds by faxing her superiors reports of life as she sees it. Her reports are wise and humorous with her questions and observations. She asks, "What would these people say instead of I love you? I'm scared. I worry I will never recover. I love you is a can of soda that comes free with every meal. Yet every day humans suffer from lack of hearing it." Pop culture references are plentiful, mentioning Carl Sagan, ET, "Lost in Space" and adding sparkle. Adolescent female angst is a major bright spot and right of passage as in wanting to belong to the alpha girl group. Combining an alien and coming of age story provides enough poignancy to fill a blackhole. Feelings of grief and loneliness are the predominate emotions Adina experiences with regards to her lifelong friend Toni and her beloved dog. "Loneliness is a composite feeling: ironically unable to exist alone. It can contain anger, hunger, fear, jealousy. Adina had misidentified it for homsickness but it also meant restlessness when one is not in the place they long for. The most content she ever felt was with Toni and her little dog." BEAUTYLAND is smart, lyrical and tender; a delightful journey into being alive. The references to Wilder's "Our Town" transcend the wake up and smell the roses trope as if under a microscope. Above all, Adina's outside perspectives resonate throughout. "When they are in pain, human beings sing 'Amazing Grace'. It has transcended religious, cultural and racial context and is about the bases of human cultures, which is suffering."
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