We Could Be Beautiful (Huntley)

We Could Be Beautiful
Swan Huntley, 2016
Knopf Doubleday
352 pp.
ISBN-13: 9780385540599


Summary
A spellbinding psychological debut novel, Swan Huntley's debut is the story of a wealthy woman who has everything—and yet can trust no one.

Catherine West has spent her entire life surrounded by beautiful things. She owns an immaculate Manhattan apartment, she collects fine art, she buys exquisite handbags and clothing, and she constantly redecorates her home.

And yet, despite all this, she still feels empty.

She sees her personal trainer, she gets weekly massages, and occasionally she visits her mother and sister on the Upper East Side, but after two broken engagements and boyfriends who wanted only her money, she is haunted by the fear that she'll never have a family of her own.

One night, at an art opening, Catherine meets William Stockton, a handsome man who shares her impeccable taste and love of beauty. He is educated, elegant, and even has a personal connection—his parents and Catherine's parents were friends years ago. But as he and Catherine grow closer, she begins to encounter strange signs, and her mother, Elizabeth (now suffering from Alzheimer's), seems to have only bad memories of William as a boy.

In Elizabeth's old diary she finds an unnerving letter from a former nanny that cryptically reads: "We cannot trust anyone...." Is William lying about his past? And if so, is Catherine willing to sacrifice their beautiful life in order to find the truth?

Featuring a fascinating heroine who longs for answers but is blinded by her own privilege, We Could Be Beautiful is a glittering, seductive, utterly surprising story of love, money, greed, and family.

Author Bio
• Birth—ca. 1984
• Raised—La Jolla, California, USA
• Education—B.A., Eckerd College; M.F.A. Columbia University
• Currently—lives in northern California and Hawaii


Swan Huntley's debut novel, We Could Be Beautiful, came out in 2006. She wrote the book while living in a commune in Brooklyn (New York City) and working as a nanny for a well-off couple in SoHo. Huntley grew up in La Jolla, California, and attended Eckerd College in Florida, which also happens to be Dennis Lehane's alma mater. From there she headed to New York, where she attained an M.F.A. in creative writing at Columbia University.

Huntley knew she wanted to be a writer from a very young age:

One important moment that happened in my childhood was when I was in the fourth grade at Bird Rock (elementary school). I was very preoccupied about the state of the environment at the time, and I had written something about the rain forest. The teacher said, “You’re going to be a writer” or “You are a good writer.” I’m not sure which. But what I do remember is he said it with such feeling. And I heard him.

(Author bio adapted from The San Diego Tribune.)

Book Reviews
Catherine's hyperactive self-awareness serves multiple functions throughout We Could Be Beautiful. With her privilege pre-emptively critiqued, readers don't have to worry about doing it for her; instead, we can relax into the pleasures of gawking at, envying and deriding her 1 percent lifestyle, which is almost as much fun. Catherine's acknowledgment of her own absurdities, as well as her perilous proximity to stereotype, is also a source of much of the book's humor.… Huntley writes with wit and verve, excelling at economically hilarious descriptions….The book's strengths lie…in the zippy social satire, in the portrait of a dysfunctional family…and, most of all, in Catherine's voice—strange and funny and engaging to the very end.
Jennifer Dubois - New York Tiimes Book Review


Quite the psychological thriller that keeps readers on edge wondering how far Catherine will go and how much she'll sacrifice for the truth.… Brilliantly exposes the life of an affluent family and what greed, lies and wealth can do to them.
New York Daily News


Here's a thriller we can sink into. Deeply psychological and nuanced, Huntley's We Could Be Beautiful follows one wealthy Manhattan woman who has nearly everything. The one thing she lacks, however, is a relationship. That is, until her white knight comes along one evening. But it never quite works out that way, does it? (Not in a book like this, certainly.) Huntley's novel is a twisting, turning, secret-filled story that's worthy of your precious summer reading time.
Meredith Turits - Elle
 

A novel that is deeper than its heiress-meets-man-of-her-dreams setup. The reason: Huntley’s uncanny ability to detect the fault lines in Manhattan’s glitterati as if flaws in a precious diamond—and make us laugh about them.
O Magazine
 

A riveting psychological thriller, Huntley’s debut takes you inside the world of Manhattan’s elite—and keeps you on tenterhooks (Book of the Week).
People
 

A sparkling dark romance… Huntley strings you blissfully along (like a great con man)…right up until that epic twist.
Redbook


In her meditative psychological debut, Huntley explores the effect of the lies we hear from others and the ones we tell ourselves. The buildup is nicely done, but the emotional payoff doesn't live up to expectations. —Jane Jorgenson, Madison P.L., WI
Library Journal


(Starred review.) Posh Manhattanite Catherine West has everything but the family she's always wanted. But when she falls for the man of her supposed dreams, she unravels a web of deception that upends life as she knows it.... An intoxicating escape; as smart as it is fun.
Kirkus Reviews

Discussion Questions
1. How do you feel about Catherine as a character? Do these feelings change as the book progresses? If so, how?

2. Catherine says that people don’t feel sorry for you if you have money. Did you feel sorry for Catherine when she starts to lose hers?
  
3. Money defines Catherine’s life in obvious external ways. How does it define the way in which she sees herself on an internal level?
  
4. How does Catherine begin to see herself differently through her relationship with Susan? Why does Catherine question this friendship?
  
5. Catherine is very concerned with the idea of being a good person. Do you think she’s a good person?
  
6. Are Catherine and her mother similar? If so, in what ways?
 
7. What is it about Dan that Catherine finds so appealing?
  
8. Why does Catherine ignore William’s odd behavior? Why does she ignore her mother’s negative reaction when William’s name is mentioned?
 
9. In what ways has Catherine changed by the end of the novel?
  
10. What do you think is the meaning of the title “We Could Be Beautiful”?
(Questions issued by the publisher.)

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