Beautiful People: My Family and Other Glamorous Varmints

By Simon Doonan

Book Overview

A wickedly funny memoir with echoes of David Sedaris and Augusten Burroughs, Beautiful People (originally published in hardcover as Nasty) is now a BBC comedy hit series from the producer of Ab Fab and The Office.

Proclaimed "the most brilliant, brash thing in type" by Liz Smith, Simon Doonan's saucy prose has established him as an emerging star among literary humorists. In this break-through memoir, reminiscent of both Sedaris and Burroughs, he revisits the landscape of his youth, and displays the irresistible charm that earned him his dedicated audience.

Long before he became a celebrity in his own right--as the author of best-selling books, as the style arbiter of VH1 and America's Top Model, and the marketing genius behind Barney's New York--Simon Doonan was a "scabby knee'd troll" in Reading, England. In Beautiful People, Doonan returns to the working-class neighborhood of his youth, and chronicles the misadventures of the Doonan clan in all their wacky glory. Readers meet his mother Betty, whose gravity-defying, peroxide hairdo signified her natural glamour; his father Terry, an amateur vintner who turned parsnips into the legendary Chateau Doonan; his grandfather D.C., a hard-drinking betting man who plotted to win his fortune by turning Simon into a jockey; and his demented grandma Narg and schizophrenic Uncle Ken, both of whom lived upstairs.

Fearing he would fall victim to the insanity that runs in his family, or, worse, the banality of suburban life, Doonan decamps with his flamboyant best-friend Biddie to London, where they hope to find the Beautiful People, that elusive clan who luxuriate on floor pillows and amuse each other with bon mots. Throughout the memoir--in essays about family holidays, the tart who lived next door, his first job--Doonan continues his bumbling pursuit of the fabulous life, only to learn, in the end, that perhaps the Beautiful People were the ones he left behind.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0743267052
• ISBN13: 9780743267052
• Release Date: April 2009
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 0.68 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.4" x 8.3"

Customer Reviews

Lots of Fun

This is the book that is the basis of Beautiful People on the LOGO Channel. It is bright, whimsical, and funny. I enjoyed it greatly.

Hillarious, touching memoir from one of TV's top style gurus.

Before he became known for his bestselling books, his marketing savvy at Barneys New York, and his reign as chief of the "style police" for VH1 and "America's Next Top Model" on TV, or even before he immigrated to the US from his native UK, Simon Doonan was a self-described "scabby kneed troll" coming of age in Reading, England. In this deliciously tart and witty memoir of his boyhood and early career moves, Simon hilariously details how, mostly with his boyhood friend, Biddie, they dreamed of escaping their boring lives and becoming one with the "beautiful people" they read about in magazines, developing their own style and making their way in the world, without giving the world having the upper hand in the process. From his attention-getting freelance display windows, to drunken evenings bonding with his flat mates, and from remembrances of his stylish but non-nurturing mother to an unfortunate day when he got in the way of a colt going after a young mare, Simon tells each story with relish, detail and devastating humor, but also with solemn emotion where appropriate, relating how each has affected his life and made him what he is today, for better or worse. Originally released in 2005 under the title "Nasty," this novel became the basis for the BBC series "Beautiful People" which is currently being shown, stateside, on Logo. A refreshing and entertaining light read, which you will remember with a smile for years to come. Five sequin-frosted stars out of five!

Absolutely Hilarious!

I had started watching the show on Logo, and was in one of the local gay bookstores and while looking for some new books to read, one of the clerks highly suggested this one. I am SO glad he did. From the first chapter, I had a hard time putting it down. It almost makes me a little jealous that I didn't have NEARLY as colorful a childhood or life that he has (though with some of his very detailed descriptions, maybe that's not such a bad thing:) ). I will definately have to check out some of his other books. If you're looking for a really funny, well written book to read on those hot summer days at the park, or anywhere, definately pick this one up!

I laughed, I cried, I sneezed my dentures across the room!

Absolutely a MUST READ! It is funny as well as touching. My favorite of all of Simon Doonan's books. This book is a great opportunity to get a window into a style maven's method/madness/genius. Simon's family and friends are simultaneously relatable and absurd. Take for instance the opening of the book when Betty Doonan sneezes and sends her dentures flying across the kitchen. Beautiful People was also made into a great comedy series that is showing on the LOGO network and is well worth checking out!

Unvarnished Varnish

Any book that has me laughing out loud on the subway - while being crushed between an Asian woman wreathed in the aroma of kim chee and a toddler in need of a diaper change - earns five stars. I go on vacation in a few weeks and am presently kicking myself for not saving this one for the beach. I feel that I have wasted it on the R train. It's the type of book you want to take away with you, as it will contribute to the overall merriment of your voyage . . . that is, should you find the antics of a couple of extremely creative drag queens and their friends your cuppa tea. As for me, the subject matter is irrelevant. Had Mr. Doonan taken on an entirely different profession - say that of a professional boxer - I'm sure I would find it just as amusing. It's all about the writing. And the writing here is first rate. We do hop around a bit, but it's never confusing. And certainly never boring. I really couldn't get through it fast enough. I lived in Los Angeles during the time Mr. Doonan did and I remember the Vivienne Westwood bondage pants available in the newly-hip Melrose Avenue area. His description of being arrested for drunk driving and being forced to walk a straight line in those bondage pants for the giggling police officers was what had me in hysterics on the train this morning. There comes a point where you look around to make sure people realize you are reading a book and not in need of medication or assistance. I noticed someone looking my way and waved the book at her. "It's funny!" I said. And it is.