Beautiful & Terrible Things by S. M. Stevens; Contemporary Literature Looks At A Beautiful Friendship and Terrible Events

 Beautiful & Terrible Things by S. M. Stevens; Contemporary Literature Looks At A Beautiful Friendship and Terrible Events 

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews 

This review is also on Reedsy Discovery.

Spoilers: S.M. Stevens’ novel, Beautiful & Terrible Things lives up to its name. It's a Contemporary Literature that is about a beautiful friendship among six diverse fascinating individuals but it is also about the terrible things that happen to them as they try to maintain that friendship against their various struggles.

Charley is a bookseller who has various disorders. She has Depression, OCD, Dermatillomania, and Agoraphobia. Her life is structured and rigid from the time she spends preparing her day in her apartment above the bookstore to the amount of time she plays word searches on her phone. One day, she encounters Xander, an eloquent customer who is also a political activist. Charley eventually accompanies Xander on an outing with his friends and is quickly welcomed into their inner circle. They are a truly interesting bunch consisting of: Terrence, Xander’s colleague and fellow activist, Jessica, a financial analyst and Xander’s roommate, Sunny, a nonbinary person who is Xander’s friend with benefits, and Buwan, an artist whose vacation home is the center of the first friendly gathering. Through a difficult few months of prejudice, political activism, violence, sexual exploration, romances, lost jobs, and new opportunities this sextet’s friendship is truly tested.

The best thing about this book are the well developed characters. The six protagonists have the type of friendship that makes the Reader think, “I want to live in that city and be a part of that group.” They are from various ethnicities, diverse backgrounds, three genders, and have different outlooks on life yet strive to retain loyal connections with each other.They are almost like the Friends gang, only more diverse and set in the 2020’s. 

The characters go through a lot of development over the course of the book, particularly in terms of relationships. During the novel, two characters tentatively begin a relationship, two more become romantically involved then break up, and one character reveals their amorous feelings towards another. That's not to mention the final pages when some are paired with different people than before, while others take their relationships to the next level. It can get rather confusing to keep track of all of the crushes, romances, and dissolution of relationships. 

Fortunately, the Super Six aren't consumed by romance and the pairings are written realistically without resorting to soap opera tropes like infidelity or love triangles. Some characters click as a couple. Sometimes they have a lot in common or visualize a future together. Sometimes they don't and that's fine as well. As strong as relationships are in their lives, their friendships are stronger. Even after a break up, they still retain those connections and think well of one another. 

As memorable as they are as a team, they also stand out as individuals. The group’s idiosyncrasies develop them and make them come alive. From Xander’s overly flowery language, Terrence’s monochromatic wardrobe, Jessica's insistence on referring to the others by their first initials, Buwan’s dragon tattoos, Sunny’s fascination with marriage and children, to Charley’s superstitious nature, these little quirks and characteristics reveal much about the people who inhabit them in a way that is natural and not cloying. 

Sometimes their quirks are tells of deeper issues especially when we learn that many of the characters have mental and emotional disorders. There's Charley with her various internal struggles. Buwan takes medication for Anxiety attacks. Terrence has an anxious and hyper aware personality stemming from his mother's lessons. Many of the other characters go through periods of loneliness, insecurity, and emotional turmoil as well. 

Once their deeper emotional cores are revealed, much of the earlier behavior that might have been waved off as “just them being them” makes sense and is sometimes seen as sadder and more tragic. These oddities were foreshadowing hints that some things may not always be right with our heroes and they get through their issues by acting out, speaking up, pairing up, hiding, conforming, or fighting against those who threaten them. They are lovable but also troubled.

Besides friendly, romantic, and internal conflicts, the friends struggle with outward controversial issues as well. Charley learns that her bookstore will be closed and she will be evicted. Not only that but one of her friends is involved with the business that wants to purchase that property. She is hurt and betrayed and dangerously isolates herself from everyone else. This economic conflict explores the class structure among the characters and how some in a higher status can unintentionally hurt others by their association.

The characters have various discussions about politics and current events and their beliefs reflect their own backgrounds and experiences. One of those conversations about undocumented immigrants becomes personal for Jessica. In the beginning, she speaks as the child of Colombian immigrants turned American citizens. She distances herself and her affluent family from illegal immigrants insisting that they are different from her. Her self-internalized xenophobia comes back to haunt her when a friend is in danger of being deported. Suddenly, those immigrants that she considered beneath her now have a recognizable face and she is forced to confront her previous views.

Race is a common theme. Terrence recalls many of his mother's advice on how he, as a black man, should go out in public. He has to consider things like his tone of voice and simple gestures like telling a police officer that he is reaching for his wallet before he does. These are things that many of his friends don't have to think about but are central to him so he doesn't get arrested or shot.

Xander encourages his friends to participate in rallies and protests, particularly involving environmentalism, sexuality, gender identity, and race relations. A Black Lives Matter protest becomes climactic when the friends face physical injury and one lands in the hospital. Xander himself displays violent rage filled behavior that he never had before to the point that he frightens Charley who observes him. While they fight for a good cause and have good intentions, the BLM protest takes a physical and emotional toll on the friends that alters their feelings for each other. Things have changed among them forever and may never be fully repaired.

Beautiful & Terrible Things is a book that is a lot like modern life. There are many terrible things, some that can be controlled like a broken romance or a lost job. Some that cannot such as a faltering economy or systemic racism. These things can test us physically, mentally, and emotionally. However, there can be beautiful things as well: a new relationship, time with friends, the pursuit of one's interests or occupation, a pleasant vacation, and a wonderful group that feels like a family and can experience those beautiful things as well.