The House of Impossible Beauties

 

The House of Impossible Beauties by Joseph Cassara  400 pp.

In the 1970s Drag Ballrooms were created when Crystal and Lottie LaBeija created the first "House" of black and Latinx queer, gay, and trans people to hold their first ball in reaction to the drag beauty contests where non-white contestants were ignored. The phenomenon spread in Manhattan and more "houses" were created run by the house "Mother" and sometimes "Father" and the queens who came to live with them. This novel is a historical fiction version of those days and many of the more famous queens of the time are featured as characters. Focusing mainly on House Extravaganza and it's members, especially it's founder, Angel Extravaganza, and Venus Extravaganza. Their lives were gritty and dangerous as many worked as gay prostitutes on the streets of Manhattan. Others were purveyors of drugs and often used what they sold becoming addicts. Then, with the appearance of the HIV virus, death became even more prevalent than before. Many succumbed to violence, drugs or AIDS during that time and this book doesn't shy away from the horrors of the period even as many tried to keep putting their best face (and costumes) out there for the world to see. The real Venus Extravaganza was murdered, probably by a john, both in the story and real life. It is heart wrenching how the Houses came together out of the need for places to stay and became found families for so many that were estranged from their blood families. The film "Paris is Burning" is about this era and the balls and Queens who populated them.