The House of Impossible Beauties

Joseph Cassara was born and raised in New Jersey. He holds degrees from Columbia University and the Iowa Writers' Workshop and has been a writing fellow at the Fine Arts Centre in Provincetown, Massachusetts. The House of Impossible Beauties is his first novel. He lives in Iowa.

NAMED A MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK OF 2018 BY Buzzfeed - Esquire - Bustle - The Millions - The Wall Street Journal - Entertainment Weekly - Nylon - Elle - Dazed - The Irish Times

'Cassara has written a heartbreaking tale of gay men struggling to survive in a world of clubbing and drugs. It is also an unexpected love story.' Graham Norton, Top Five Reads of 2018

'Cassaras's propulsive and profound first novel, finding one's home in the world - particularly in a subculture plagued by fear and intolerance from society - comes with tragedy as well as extraordinary personal freedom.' Esquire

A gritty and gorgeous debut inspired by the real House of Xtravaganza made famous by the seminal documentary Paris Is Burning

New York City, 1980

Nowhere is the city's glamour and energy better reflected than in the burgeoning Harlem dance scene.

Angel

Just seventeen years old and burnt by her traumatic past, she wants to create a family for those without.

Hector

When Angel falls in love with him, the two decide to set up the House of Xtravaganza, the first ever all-Latino house on the dance circuit.

The Xtravaganzas

They are joined by Venus, Juanito and Daniel, all with their own devastating stories to tell, each determined to survive.

Told in a voice that brims with wit, rage, tenderness, and fierce yearning, The House of Impossible Beauties is a gritty and gorgeous debut - a tragic story of love, family, and the dynamism of the human spirit.