Ravishing

Eshani Surya is a chronically ill South Asian writer living in Philadelphia. She holds an MFA from the University of Arizona, and is a 2022 Asian Women Writer’s Workshop mentee, a 2022 Kenyon Review Writer’s Workshop scholarship recipient, and a 2021 Mae Fellowship recipient. Ravishing is her first book.

Praise for Ravishing:“[An] absorbing debut . . .  timely and a hard-hitting takedown of the beauty industry and a nuanced and sensitive look at the pressure on those who don’t fit traditional beauty norms to assimilate.”—Booklist (starred review)“This debut is thoughtful in its handling of tricky themes of identity, belonging, and, perhaps most compellingly, the intersection of wellness culture and chronic illness. Surya handles this latter with unflinching—even discomfiting—clarity. A speculative take on the all-too-real rot at the heart of the beauty and wellness industry.”—Kirkus Reviews“Incendiary . . . Surya blends her stirring whistleblower plot with a heartrending depiction of Kashmira’s delusion . . . This one hits hard.”—Publishers Weekly“An emotionally resonant and deeply profound book, Surya captures the cost of what it’s like to chase ‘perfection.’ It is a luminous story about learning that we were never broken to begin with. Incredibly written and moving. This will stick with me for a long, long time.”—Debutiful“How far will you go to keep running from yourself? Eshani Surya’s Ravishing takes this question to new heights, conjuring a dazzling dystopia even as it points a hard finger at our present. You will never look in the mirror the same way again.”—Mira Jacob, author of shortlisted National Book Critics Circle Award Good Talk“Ravishing is a marvel of a debut that hums with the ache of becoming—a place where even the mirror is a battleground and every shimmer of beauty carries the weight of longing: for love, for a face we can call our own, and for a world less cruel. Surya expertly reminds us that even though the body remembers grief and abandonment, there can also be a chance to bloom.”—Aimee Nezhukumatathil, author of New York Times bestselling author of World of Wonders and Bite by Bite“An ode to community that also excoriates so-called wellness companies that privilege growth above all, Ravishing is a deeply tender novel about the illness of wellness, familial love, and the power of communal care to withstand the most corrosive elements of capitalism. I couldn’t look away.”—Ling Ling Huang, author of Immaculate Conception“As swift as the discourse, as deep as girlhood friendship, and as terrifying as beauty itself: Ravishing is a necessary novel for our times.”—Meg Elison, author of Number One Fan“A smart and assured debut, Surya delivers an intricate dissection of the beauty and wellness industries against the backdrop of late-stage capitalism. Plus, it’s a damn good read.”—Sara Nović, author of True Biz“Eshani Surya's Ravishing is an incredible accomplishment. Surya writes a heartfelt and engaged novel of ideas that examines familial love, friendship, and complicated relationships to our bodies. There's so much to praise here, but nobody writes bodies—in sickness, in health, in love—with such empathy and care like Surya does. A brilliant debut.”—Megan Giddings, author of Meet Me at the Crossroads“For anyone who's ever looked in the mirror and wondered what lengths they'd go to change themselves, Ravishing is a poignant portrait of what it often feels like to be a woman in the world, up against impossible standards and a beauty industry determined to capitalize on them by any means necessary. I can't imagine a novel more perfect for the current moment we're in, or more important. In a time when it feels like the only acceptable option as a woman is ceaseless self-improvement, Ravishing is a much-needed moment to pause and remember exactly who benefits from ever-changing beauty trends and standards — and who is hurt by them.”—Olivia Muenter, author of Such a Bad Influence“In this book, a coming-of-age story about a young South Asian American woman grappling with her identity develops into a speculative dystopia skewering the beauty industrial complex. Surya's visceral portrayals of a body breaking down are especially compelling and complex.”—Ayesha Manazir Siddiqi, author of The Centre"Incisive, resonant and full of compassion, Eshani Surya’s riveting debut examines our cultural obsession with beauty and technology, taking us to the limits of what it means to control our own bodies. Ravishing will, cell by cell, reshape your understanding not only of the beauty tech industry, but of the human heart.”—Josh Riedel, author of Please Report Your Bug Here