Fast Forward Book Review for January 2006

 

Black Juice
by

Margo Lanagan
New York: Harper Collins, 2004
http://www.harpercollins.com/global_scripts/product_catalog/author_xml.asp?authorid=28266

A review
by Colleen R. Cahill

There are works marketed for young adults that really better suited for an older audience because even though the lead characters are young, the ideas are mature and speak to those with more life experience. One such work is Margo Lanagan's collection Black Juice. The power of these stories was recognized at the World Fantasy Convention this year when they awarded Black Juice not only best collection, but also best short story. All this acclaim is not surprising as these are weird, haunting and beautiful tales that span a range of emotions, touching the mind and the soul. And although many of these focus on younger characters, the collection definitely has something for an adult reader.

An Australian author, Lanagan does not limit her literary vision to one country, culture or time. With echoes of old ballads, "My Lord's Man" tells the tale of the wild, wayward lady who has left her lord for the gypsies, all seen through the eyes of the Master's closest servant. Many of the stories show a different view, as in "Sweet Pippit" where a rescue mission of a young boy is taken on by a herd of elephants. Or the darkly disturbing "Red Nose Day", with a world where clowns are an elite that are both loved and feared, and their power drives some to murder. Magic is evident in some stories, such as a young boy's search to find an angel for his Nan in "Earthly Uses", while others seem devoid of sorcery but have a strange landscape, as in a young woman's memory-filled journey to bury her grandma in "Perpetual Light". Each story takes us to a different world, a place not like any other in the collection. In "Wooden Bride", the description of girls marching through the town in white dresses to a church seems vaguely Italian, but as in all these stories, the details are hard to pin down. It is the images in the stories, sometimes sharp and other times dreamlike, that give the feeling that somewhere before we have seen these places and people, yet we just can't remember where.

The one theme running through all these stories is family, be it parents, children, or spouses: the ties of home, for good or bad, are at the center of much of Lanagan's work. This shows the greatest in the most warm and yet frightening story in the collection, "Singing Down My Sister". A young boy recounts his sister's unusual execution, to slowly sink in a tar pit. Her family stays beside her, spending their last moments together providing what they can with courage and love. This story is so rich in images and thoughts that I will ponder on it for many years.

These are not happy tales, but there is tenderness in them that keeps them from becoming harsh or bitter. I can only guess that the publisher released this as a young adult work because so many of the protagonists were young, but the ideas and actions are very adult. This is not to say this book has sex or strong language, far from it: but the concepts are very complex, with issues such as child neglect and abuse, murder and death. I would caution anyone to read this book before offering it to a younger person to be sure it is appropriate for them. But I also encourage any adult to enjoy these beautifully written tales for their depth, their emotion and the dark, wild worlds that live in Black Juice.