The Last Party

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of graphic violence, death, child death, child abuse, emotional abuse, and addiction.

In the Wultzes’ upper-class gated community, appearances are essential, with residents carefully curating their public image to remain in the inner circle. Perla exploits her community’s obsession with looks and status to hide her true character, using her picture-perfect exterior to allay suspicion while she plans a cold-blooded triple murder. By contrasting Perla’s appearance with her unscrupulous character, The Last Party presents a cautionary tale about the deceptive nature of appearances.

After her induction into upper-class society at 12, Perla learned how to fit seamlessly into Brighton Estates. One key aspect of fitting in is adhering to the community’s stringent beauty standards. The other women are hyper-critical of one another’s appearances, with one Brighton Estates resident noting in Chapter 18 that Perla’s nose has a “speed bump in the middle of it” (72). Physical beauty is associated with a virtuous character, and Perla plays on this perception, curating her appearance with expensive clothes and plastic surgery to present the perfect façade.

Perla’s image curation extends to her family. The Wultz home “always [looks like] a magazine shoot” (10), belying the emotional abuse that Perla uses to control her family life.