Lanagan, Margo. Black Juice. New York
Annotation:
A series of strange and mythical short stories that take the reader into a very unfamiliar world that can either be embraced or leave you in the dark.
Justification for Non-Nomination:
Where to start? I absolutely loved the very first story in Margo Lanagan’s book, “Singing My Sister Down.” I was completely enthralled in the mysterious storyline of a girl being executed for her actions by standing her on hot tar that acted like quicksand. Amazingly and beautifully written through the voice of the sibling of the girl being executed, Lanagan had me hooked as I turned each page. That changed however as I progressed through the rest of the book.
I was initially hoping that the first story would continue throughout the remainder of the book. I did not initially realize it was a series of short stories until I was midway through the second story and had found no connection to the previous.
Confusion and the inability to make sense of characters, word usage, spelling, and storylines of several of the short stories left me feeling frustrated and baffled. When I thought I figured out an aspect of the work, it took a sharp turn and left me standing in the dark again.
Enough of the challenging aspects of this read and onto the wonderful side. This book is the first I have come across in our Mock Printz assignment that was a collection of short stories rather than one complete novel. It was beautifully written by Lanagan that takes the reader into a completely unknown world that is no longer confined to reality and logic. Though it is a hard read, I find myself thinking about some of the stories, still trying to sift through them and make sense of them. It’s likely that a reread and an openminded outlook will make the book itself more enjoyable.
This collection of short stories houses some of the components of Science Fiction and Fantasy in that it often contains a battle of good versus evil in a unique and unknown world that works to highlight human nature and challenge the mind.
Genre Catalog: Science Fiction and Fantasy, Thriller, Printz Award Winner, Supernatural, Coming of Age
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