Immaculate Conception is a novel that I will be thinking about for a while.

It follows two artists, Enka and Mathilde who attend a prestigious art school. Mathilde is a prodigy - she is the star student and during her time at the Academy, has already achieved a level of success that Enka can only dream of. The two soon form a friendship that becomes borderline obsessive and co-dependent.

I really enjoyed how the author focused on themes of jealous, friendship, especially in the context of being envious of a friend's success and how that jealousy can manifest. I liked how we got a glimpse of the two's friendship over the years and how that evolved. Furthermore, I really enjoyed the various questions the author posed in this book: can we even create "original" art anymore? What are our inspiration for art and should we use all types of inspiration (especially trauma that is not ours) for art?. The use of technology in this book was very fascinating. I enjoyed how the author tied that with showing how art can be "extractive" and how jealousy can manifest.

Overall, this is a book that I would highly recommend to folks who enjoy reading stories of friendship and the role jealousy can play.

Thank you to PENGUIN GROUP Dutton for providing this ARC for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Immaculate Conception by Ling Ling Huang is a sophomore novel that brings the author’s signature shocking and evocative style to the worlds of high art and advanced technology. Centering on a pair of friends Enka and Mathilde, and their meeting in art school, or follows how advanced futuristic technology and the world of high art impact them. While Mathilde is considered a genius, her trauma looms over her personal life. Enka, by comparison, is not given the same laurels for her work, but is initiated into the world of the ultra wealthy elite and their “innovations” controlling the very essence of humanity.

If you’re not familiar with performance art, conceptual artists, or the darker sides of the art industry in elite circles, you may be lost at the earlier points of this book. Once the initial parts of the book have passed, that becomes slightly less relevant as the art elements become a scaffolding for the questions of friendship and humanity.

As a sci-fi book, this is a great triumph because it poses different wildly invasive ‘is this humanity’ technologies against each other. Rather than focusing on a singular issue—shared minds, cloning, parthogenesis, genetic scans to predict someone’s future, genetic editing, Huang has created a world where all of these things are not just probably but possible. Thought this ubiquity, it really dissects what it means to be human or to be an individual.

The lion’s share of this story is a reflection on codependent relationships. From the very first few meetings between Enka and Mathilde, their relationship takes an unhealthy dynamic. Through the course of the story it twists and writhes, becoming different iterations of unhealthy as they age. Jealousy, envy, isolation, mental illness, consent, and wealth all play a huge role in the complex and turbulent relationship.

While I’m not necessarily someone who likes science fiction as a genre, this book had the elegant writing and uniquely shocking elements that had me enjoying Natural Beauty, Huang’s last book.

4/5 stars


(Trigger warnings: parent death, 9/11 mentions, self-harm, birth trauma, child death, child sexual assault, religious trauma.)

The author’s debut was one of my favorite books I’ve read this year and am so happy I was able to read this ARC, which I think I somehow love even more than her first novel! 💯🤍🎨 🥹

I LOVED the complicated/toxic friendship between Enka and Mathilde explored through the competitive art world with a tech twist. This felt like a much better written Black Mirror episode. The writing held my interest and had me on the edge of my seat the whole time as it spiraled into madness with each passing chapter.

This book definitely makes you think about how we perceive artists and begs you to question, “what makes a great artist?” and shows you how far one will go to make it. It also explores friendship through the lens both jealously vs support. Enka is such a compelling mc since she makes choices that impact Mathilde's life to extreme levels.

I can’t wait to see what the author writes next! Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the E-ARC ❤️

Unsettling, timely, toxic, tense. A fascinating new take on the art world. Will be watching this author!

Imagine the art world, but make it dystopian, pretentious, and so toxic it practically radiates fumes. In Immaculate Conception, Ling Ling Huang drops us into the elite, bio-hacked world of artists Enka and Mathilde, where originality is as rare as a Monet in a dentist’s office. Enka is a struggling artist clinging to her friendship with Mathilde—a woman whose natural talent is so potent, she might as well be channeling art straight from the heavens. But this is no feel-good buddy story; Enka’s friendship with Mathilde is more like a study in jealousy-induced insanity.

Mathilde, blissfully creating her wildly avant-garde art installations, hardly notices Enka’s slow-motion train wreck of envy. Meanwhile, Enka is ready to push every boundary, including questionable tech, to prove that she’s relevant. Cue the darkly humorous descent as Enka leans into biohacking and her obsession for “creative justice.”

Huang brilliantly paints a world where technology and ego collide, mixing social satire with shades of Black Mirror. If you’re up for a dark, tech-dystopian rollercoaster of backstabbing and self-sabotage, this one’s for you. Just remember: the art world is apparently as dangerous as it is glamorous.

The world building this author does is incredible! I felt teleported into this futuristic elite art and technology world were everything felt wild and intense. The way the author conceptualizes all of these artists’ pieces and exhibitions feels very right for the characters and shows an impressive understanding of artists and the art world at large. As a working artist myself, it was hard not to be super invested and impressed with every aspect of this book; from those very real feelings of jealousy and idealizing of other creatives and their achievements- it all felt very real and relatable but dialed to 1,000. It’s was like what would happen if you let all your jealousy and insecurity actually manifest in the worst possible way- seeing it all unfold was wild!! I feel like there’s an interesting theme in there of how often everyone thinks of themselves as the protagonist of their own life; justifying their actions to maintain that image. I already want to read it again.

Read via ARC from NetGalley

The high-end art-world, possibly the most elitist, unobtainable sphere in society today, is ferociously deconstructed and set alight in the techno-dystopian, Black Mirror-esque tale of friendship and toxic insecurity.
Enka and Mathilde are the ultimate toxic duo molded by a patriarchal and classist society to distrust everything innately natural to themselves and yearn solely for what the other has. Enka needs Mathilde’s raw talent and ability to shock the world and profit from her art. Mathilde needs --- well Enka never really knows what Mathilde needs, but she’s going to do whatever it takes to guarantee that Mathilde will always need her.
The world of galleries and exhibits has never appealed to me – as someone who can’t deal in the abstract, literal meanings are worth more than undecipherable emotions splashed on a canvas. Somehow, Huang is able to use Mathilde’s Banksy-style exhibitionism and the monopoly of bio-hacking tech companies to make me feel DEEPLY about the right to make good art, and more importantly, the right to make mediocre art for the sake of nothing but art itself.

I absolutely loved this. It was one of my top reads of the year by far, but it doesn’t release until 2025. I enjoyed Huang’s other book, “Natural Beauty,” quite a bit and was very interested in this one’s premise. I’m always on board for anything involving artists, especially when the plot gets dark. To say that Huang did not disappoint with “Immaculate Conception” would be an incredible understatement.

There was very little in the book that did not work for me, actually. The story held my interest from start to finish and kept evolving. It focuses on the friendship of two artists named Enka and Mathilde, and is told from Enka’s perspective. Huang knows her characters intimately, and vividly portrays the experiences of struggling, successful and pretentious artists in a believable way. There were times that Enka and her colleagues were discussing their projects and I had trouble following what they were saying, but I think maybe that was the point. I LOVED reading about the wild art installations and performance art that the characters in this world came up with. (Honestly, I wanted even more.)

This was a book that went to very strange and unexpected places, some dark and terribly sad. I could never predict what exactly was going to happen next. There were twists that I did not expect. It was the kind of literary fiction that I can’t get enough of. I loved the strange but subtle magical realism that Huang worked into the story. (People with unnatural abilities, technology combined with the human body to assist with the art process, etc.) There is never really a spotlight shone on this, and I thought that was interesting. Though I will say that there were a few times that I had trouble picturing what she was describing. The chapters are also separated into “Then” and “Now” sections, like a lot of current books seem to be, and I kept forgetting about the changes in time. The story somehow felt linear to me despite the transitions.

I particularly liked how this book handled friendship vs jealousy among artistic peers. Envy has always been something I’ve struggled with on a very personal level. It’s absolutely a part of being insecure, and there’s a terrible guilt that comes along with it. The author understood all of that. It’s the worst when it happens with people you really care about, because those dynamics are so complicated. You do want them to succeed, but you want yourself to succeed, also. They say “Comparison is the thief of joy,” and they aren’t kidding. But it’s a compulsion.

I don’t want to give too much away about the plot itself, but bodily autonomy becomes a theme, as Mathilde is subjected to a situation in which her mental capacity is questioned and Enka is tempted by her inclination towards whether or not to take advantage. Their friendship evolves throughout their careers as success, failure and manipulation brings them closer and tears them apart repeatedly. The novel also questions whether or not trauma really contributes to an artist’s creativity, and if that artist would be the same person without it. (A fascinating concept!) There are multiple complex stories and concepts being explored in this book and I loved all of them.

You should know that this is definitely not a light or easy read. Things get very dark and unsettling. You are reading from the perspective of a character who can most likely never be truly happy, no matter what happens. Enka is potentially irredeemable, and very difficult to root for. However, there were still parts of her that I could relate to, as much as I hate to admit it. I wanted something a bit different from the ending, though I’m not entirely sure what that would be. And I still consider this to be a solid 5-star read and a new favorite in general. Highly recommend if you like dark stories about artists!

Thank you so much to Netgalley and to the Publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own, and it was an honor to read this early.

Biggest TW: Self-harm, Child death, Racism, Depression, Mention of Sexual Assault

Loved the premise of this novel but the pacing of the plot just didn't gel for me. Willing to give it another try.

This author is a new favorite. Satire and social horror can skew heavy handed and like the reader needs huge clues about the themes. This author has a great balance. Will be adding to my personal library.

Wow a brilliant read set in the art world a book that left me amazed.The authors writing from her first book to her latest is thoughtful captivating and I was sad to read the last pages #netgalley#duttonbooks

This novel stirred deep emotions in me. Having studied art in university, I connected strongly with the theme of competition. In this story, the protagonists meet at an art school set in a dystopian world where two castes live side by side, though this backdrop is only lightly explored. The real focus is the intense, tumultuous relationship between Enka and Mathilde, set within a cutthroat world where creative ideation is tightly controlled and monitored. An obsessive friendship drives one character to twisted extremes to stay close to Mathilde and stay ahead in this high-stakes, prestigious milieu.

A disturbingly fascinating story. A must-read.

Thank you #netgalley, #dutton, #penguinrandomhouse, #immaculateconception

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group for the DRC.

Immaculate Conception tackles a lot of interesting concepts and issues. Some are more fleshed out than others and what seems to suffer the most from having a book so jam packed with ideas is characterizations and character interactions that feel real. The world Huang creates feels surreal and heavily manufactured which seems to be the point but to have that extend to the characters themselves and how they interact with each other made this a difficult read for me at times. However, I appreciated and enjoyed the issues this book grapples with including privilege (of all kinds and levels), jealousy in female friendships, ownership of creativity, capitalizing and monetizing someone else's trauma, etc.

All in all, an interesting read but may not be for everyone.

Ohhh, she’s BRILLIANT! Utterly spectacular read that I might like even more than the first book, Natural Beauty. Same vibes - maximalist, femme, unsettling, world shattering… New themes - jealousy in female friendship, art intersecting with technology, the relentless pressure to create, the distinct malaise of not feeling quite yourself. Ling Ling Huang is THAT girl in the domestic horror genre and I will eat up anything she writes in the future. (Thank you soooo much for this ARC!)

I don’t even feel real anymore.

Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin Group Dutton for the advance egalley in exchange for my honest review.

This book put me in a state of fight, flight, freeze. There’s no one to fight because these are fictional characters. I can’t flee because I had to see how it ended. I could only remain frozen in perpetual, enthralled dread, and watch what happened.

Mathilde is a rising star in the art world after thousands of trademarks are placed on artificially generated “artwork.” Anything that could ever have been thought of, created, or combined has been done, and if it’s replicated by another artist, legal action can be brought against them. Mathilde is one of the only “original minds” who is wholly unaffected by this dystopia, because her specialty is in impermanence. Performance.

Enka is a struggling artist affected by this travesty. She struggles with the concept of originality, and never feels as if her creations are good enough or worthy of public scrutiny. She envies Mathilde’s authenticity.

The story follows these women through their youth as art students, their careers in the limelight, and their inevitable downfall brought on by the trust of one and the ambition of the other.

I was screaming. I was crying. If I could look away, I’d throw up.

Ten out of ten no notes. A plus for innovation, timely social commentary, expert weaving of genres, and incredible world
Building!

4.8 stars! I really enjoyed the ingenuity of this book! I've never read anything quite like it and I love how delicately and precisely handled the multiple subject matters were interwoven to make this a believable, beautiful, intriguing and powerful story. Would definitely recommend and I'm so glad I was given the opportunity to read it! Thank you to netgalley and the publisher!

This was SO spectacular, I wish I could give it more than 5 stars. I absolutely loved Natural Beauty and thought I might be disappointed by the new novel because I loved it so much, and I was completely wrong. Everything about it is so masterful, from the carefully selected glimpses at dystopian climate collapse to the structure of the novel's parts, to the way the form and characterization is so masterfully revealed. Enka is such a profoundly, frankly violently, unreliable narrator, but the way the plot points unfold camouflages the extent of it until a brilliant turn at the end. Enka believes so deeply that she loves Mathilde and, to a lesser degree, Logan, that the magnitude of her cruelty and abuse lands like a lead weight. There are so many little betrayals that add up to an avalanche of horror, but the "point of no return" choice Enka ultimately confesses to is thematically brilliant. There are so many lines that rip your heart out, but Mathilde's "Enka, we were equals" is on par with "I wish I could tell my parents I'm a famous pianist now, that I have achieved their American dream. It only took a gimmick and cost me nearly everyone I know" from Natural Beauty. It levels up an element of Natural Beauty that made it such brilliant speculative horror, the science fiction elements actually create the possibility of horrors otherwise unimaginable, kinds of suffering that could only exist to a lesser degree in the present world. You can betray yourself and the people you love without SCAFFOLD, but not like this.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ebook in exchange for an honest review.

“Artists create works of art. Geniuses curate an emotional response.”

“I would always shower with the heat turned all the way up, hoping my skin would melt and reassemble, turning me into someone else.”

“People are wrong about imitation, anyway. It isn’t flattery but an attempt at closeness.”

What a book!!! Ironically, I wish I could spend a few hours in this author’s mind. Unique and beautiful writing style, unique concepts, extremely strange and slightly disturbing.
At some points I hated it, but in a way that makes you realise that’s just how good the writing is.
I will admit I was not a huge fan of the main character, Enka. But my appreciation for Mathilde more than made up for it and kept me interested until the very last page.
The exhibits that are described, that the author has come up with were really fascinating, and extremely creative.
I have so much that I want to say about this book, but I want to keep the mystery for anyone who reads it.
I will definitely be recommending this.

I loved this novel, about a friendship between two artists, tracking their friendship in art school to the present, when one has gone missing. Ling Ling Huang's is a deft writer, and I look forward to whatever she does next.

Thanks to the publisher for the e-galley.