Help me identify a book

August 8, 2006 8:08 PM

Help me identify a book. This book was so creepy that I'd classify it as horror. The protagonist was a scientist who invented a way to make people beautiful by applying layers of artificial skin to people's faces. The tale took place in modern-day California and, of course, was a statement on society's quest for perfection (but still a ripping good story).

Two things I remember in particular. The protagonist's quirks were well-developed. At a restaurant, he'd order several different drinks at the same time and sip from all of them. The second thing is just very creepy. At the end of the book, he tried to poison a rival scientist by adulterating his facial soap with radioactive isotopes.

Disquieting is the best way to describe the story.

posted by TorontoSandy to Writing & Language (7 answers total)

If you don't get an answer here, the Fiction-L list is full of knowledgable librarians who answer questions like this for free. It's great for this sort of thing; just sign up, post your "id this book" question and wait.
posted by mediareport at 8:55 PM on August 8, 2006 [2 favorites]

Brian D'Amato, Beauty? Been a while since I read it. Does it have a bit where they try to create composite beauty by combining the faces of famous, beautiful people? It's pretty screwed up.
posted by adipocere at 9:40 PM on August 8, 2006

I was also going to suggest Beauty, but it's definitely a Manhattan book. The city features strongly. Otherwise it's very similar to what you're describing.
posted by goo at 11:52 PM on August 8, 2006

!!! I started reading Beauty years ago but stopped when it creeped me out. I'd forgotten all about it! I distinctly remember when he hooks up with the girl and starts planning her new face, and that it wasn't going to have any two planes that were parallel. That bit always stuck with me. And his surgeries definitely involved replacing bits of people's skin with the skin they grow for burn victims.
posted by web-goddess at 12:05 AM on August 9, 2006

Murder-by-radioactive-soap is definitely Beauty. Is it possible that you've misremembered the novel's setting?
posted by thomas j wise at 7:07 AM on August 9, 2006

Response by poster: Thanks so much, it was Beauty. Next stop - Amazon since I'd love to reread it to see if it still creeps me out.
posted by TorontoSandy at 9:24 AM on August 9, 2006

Response by poster: I just found this on Wikipedia: "D'Amato's 1992 novel, Beauty, a thriller about cosmetic surgery, was translated into several languages. His next novel, a trilogy tentatively titled In the Courts of the Sun, will be published by Dutton beginning in the fall of 2007."

1992 to 2007 is a long time to have not published.
posted by TorontoSandy at 9:28 AM on August 9, 2006