Sheer
A Novel
-
-
3.5 • 4 Ratings
-
-
- $14.99
Publisher Description
Told over nine charged days, Sheer is the gripping tale of a controversial beauty mogul’s insatiable ambition and the slippery ground between empowerment and abuse of power.
It’s 2015 and Maxine Thomas, the founder and creative director of the cult makeup company Reveal, has just been suspended by her own Board for a scandalous transgression. Housebound in her New York City apartment, where she awaits the verdict on her future, Max recounts her version of the events that have brought her to this moment.
From her start as a precocious suburban child in the eighties to her decades as a workaholic visionary, Max proselytizes a sheer, dewy look—cosmetics through a female gaze—all while battling sexist investors, the whiplash of cultural change, and the mounting pressure to keep her sexuality a secret. But when Max’s story catches up to her present, she must contend with the cost of true transparency. Who has she become in her relentless pursuit of success? And what will happen if she loses it all?
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In the engrossing sophomore effort from Lawrence (Ellipses), an entrepreneur navigates power dynamics in the beauty industry. At the outset, Maxine "Max" Thomas, 40, has been sidelined by the board of Reveal, the makeup company she founded. Lawrence then rewinds to tell the story of Reveal's origins, when Max, a college student in 1990s New York City, makes money by doing makeup for wealthy women. One of her clients, Ellen Atkins, sees Max's potential and agrees to help launch her company, but takes advantage of Max's naivete and has her unknowingly sign away her rights. Ellen also insists that Max keep her queer sexuality a secret. In the present, as Max waits for the board to decide whether to oust her over a scandal that is revealed late in the novel, she recounts the long road to success, including dealing with lecherous male investors at Ellen's behest, keeping up with the changing makeup trends of the last 20 years, and the power struggle between her and Ellen as the latter pushes to make the brand profitable. Max also has an affair with her 25-year-old assistant, Amanda Weston, who inspires her to develop a popular new product. Lawrence weaves all these threads with subtlety and nuance, and adds depth to the characterization of the complicated Maxine as she comes to terms with how she might have unwittingly exploited Amanda. It's a well-crafted tale of a striver's fall from grace.
