Black Juice - BoundCovers

eBook

English language

Published 2009 by Allen & Unwin Pty Ltd.

ISBN:: 978-1-74176-111-5

(1 review)

10 outstanding stories that delight, shock, intrigue, amuse and move the reader to tears with their dazzling imaginative reach, their dark humour, their subtlety, their humanity and depth of feeling.Black Juice is a book of breathtaking stories that defy boundaries. They are dazzling, ruthless, tender, fierce, unique - ten deeply moving stories from an exceptional author. 'A good short story, a really good one, is deceptively difficult to write. Which is why Black Juice is such an outstanding collection. Because every single story in it is, quite simply, perfect. That's what I said: perfect.' Outland, UK 'Black Juice is one of the most imaginative and attractive collections of short stories to appear in more than a decade.' The Weekend Australian 'Always moody, evocative and original, Black Juice is an intensely imaginative collection from an accomplished and distinctive author.' The Age 'These are stories that reward us long after they have …

10 outstanding stories that delight, shock, intrigue, amuse and move the reader to tears with their dazzling imaginative reach, their dark humour, their subtlety, their humanity and depth of feeling.Black Juice is a book of breathtaking stories that defy boundaries. They are dazzling, ruthless, tender, fierce, unique - ten deeply moving stories from an exceptional author. 'A good short story, a really good one, is deceptively difficult to write. Which is why Black Juice is such an outstanding collection. Because every single story in it is, quite simply, perfect. That's what I said: perfect.' Outland, UK 'Black Juice is one of the most imaginative and attractive collections of short stories to appear in more than a decade.' The Weekend Australian 'Always moody, evocative and original, Black Juice is an intensely imaginative collection from an accomplished and distinctive author.' The Age 'These are stories that reward us long after they have been finished.' Sydney Morning Herald 'I want to hire a plane and write BLACK JUICE across the sky so that people will read these intense, rich, disturbing stories.' John Marsden 'This is an extraordinary book of short stories, surprising, breathtaking and beautiful by turn.' Booktrust, UK BLACK JUICE has been recognised in 17 awards internationally. Winner of 2 World Fantasy Awards in 2005 and a VIC Premier's literary award in 2004, BLACK JUICE has also been shortlisted for the NSW & the QLD Premier's literary awards.

3 editions

Will Sargent reviewed Black Juice by Margo Lanagan

Review of 'Black Juice' on 'Storygraph'

3 stars

It has taken me over a year to finish this book. I think that's a record.

The issue I have with the book is that although the writing is inventive, it's well and truly a young adult book. You can tell by the plots. In most of them, there's a young adult who is on the verge of discovering that his parents, or his community, are assholes. Then, one or more of them of them dies. Then, the child is brought to an awareness that the world is larger than the world he has previously known with his parents and/or community.

There is one story, which is odd and catchy, about an old man who has been a servant of the castle for years. The lord has married a "young and wilful" wife who comes from the gypsies, and is utterly in love with her. The old man, try as …

It has taken me over a year to finish this book. I think that's a record.

The issue I have with the book is that although the writing is inventive, it's well and truly a young adult book. You can tell by the plots. In most of them, there's a young adult who is on the verge of discovering that his parents, or his community, are assholes. Then, one or more of them of them dies. Then, the child is brought to an awareness that the world is larger than the world he has previously known with his parents and/or community.

There is one story, which is odd and catchy, about an old man who has been a servant of the castle for years. The lord has married a "young and wilful" wife who comes from the gypsies, and is utterly in love with her. The old man, try as he might, cannot bring himself to love her, and cannot see what his lord sees. To him, she is simply and obviously Bad News.

And that's the issue I have with so many of the stories in this book. The world may be different, but the families are the same, and even when they're not bad news, it doesn't make any difference -- to an adolescent, families are, by definition, familiar. And that shows up in the stories... as soon as the tale turned to what his parents did or how annoying this particular habit was, my eyes would glaze over. It's not even that they're bad news... they're filler.

So. I'd give this book to a kid, and it would blow their minds. But I don't think I'll ever read it again.