Black Juice [Hardcover]

Margo Lanagan (Author)

Book Description

Release date: March 15, 2005

As part of a public execution, a young boy forlornly helps to sing his sister down. . . . A servant learns about grace and loyalty from a mistress who would rather dance with Gypsies than sit on her throne. . . . A terrifying encounter with a demonic angel gives a young man the strength he needs to break free of his oppressor. . . . On a bleak and dreary afternoon a gleeful shooting spree leads to tragedy for a desperate clown unable to escape his fate.In each of Margo Lanagan's ten extraordinary stories, human frailty is put to the test by the implacable forces of dark and light, man and beast. black juice offers glimpses into familiar, shadowy worlds that push the boundaries of the spirit and leave the mind haunted with the knowledge that black juice runs through us all.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Starred Review. Grade 9 Up–Every selection in this rich collection is strange and startling, a glimpse into weird, wondrous, and sometimes terrifying worlds. "Singing My Sister Down," "House of the Many," and "Earthly Uses" use the death of a character to illustrate the trajectory that grief gives to those who surround those characters. In "Sweet Pippit," a group of elephants break from captivity to rescue the one human who can lead and love them. "Wooden Bride" centers on Matty Weir and her decision to change herself forever by participating in her town's anonymous group marriage ceremony, providing a sly, unconventional commentary on today's consumer-heavy wedding culture. "Red Nose Day" provides a glimpse into the hearts of two assassins who are killing clowns. "Yowlinin" is a story of ostracism and disaster; an outcast girl warns of a plague but is unheeded, with catastrophic results. The 10 stories all hover near a 20-page range. Lanagan uses beautiful, lyrical language to tell peculiar, disturbing tales. This collection may need some introduction, and would work especially well in a classroom setting; it is full of teachable moments. The selections are subtle and scary, and are remarkably different from most short stories aimed at teens. This book will satisfy readers hungry for intelligent, literary fantasies that effectively twist facets of our everyday world into something alien.–Sarah Couri, New York Public Library

From Booklist

Gr. 9-12. Lanagan's 10 fantasy short stories are set in cultures both familiar and unknown and are peopled with empathetic characters who battle nature, individuals, and events. The stories begin slowly, in part because readers must acclimate themselves to new worlds and situations, but Lanagan gradually draws readers into each brief, fresh reality. Perhaps the most memorable story is the first, "Singing My Sister Down," about a family that lovingly crafts a celebration of grief as one of their own sinks deeper and deeper into tar pits. Other moving stories include "The Wooden Bride," about a bride who is late for her own wedding, and "Youlinin," a strange story of unrequited love. Each selection is carefully crafted and uses both familiar and inventive language to such intriguing effect that English teachers may want to incorporate the stories into classroom writing exercises. Frances Bradburn
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 208 pages
• Publisher: HarperTeen; First Edition edition (March 15, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060743905
• ISBN-13: 978-0060743901
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #528,376 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Buy this book March 18, 2005

By Gavin J. Grant

Format:Hardcover

This is Lanagan's first collection published in the US (she has a # of other titles available in Australia) and it is a cracker! I almost recommend reading the first story last: it is so good and odd and different that you might have to take a break after reading before you read the rest. And you won't want to take that break, because this is one of the best collections you will read this year.

Recommended for smart readers of any age.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Deep Dark Fantasy April 29, 2006

By Joshua Koppel

Format:Paperback

A Bit Unusual. This is a rather interesting fantasy collection but it is not for everybody. These ten tales are dark but they are not horror. Some seem to be in our world while others are in worlds twisted and strange. The very first story where a family participates in an act of justice against one of their own should warn the reader of what is to follow.

While there are some elements of the fantastic in some of the stories, they are not the focus of these tales. These are not stories of dragons, wizards and fairies, although some may appear. Instead they are tales of the heart and the mind. They take us deep inside the characters in tales where thoughts and not actions are the focus. A fine collection all around.

If you enjoy the introspective tale then this collection is for you. If you are looking for dragon slaying and spell casting, then you might want to check out something different.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars black juice, indeed June 12, 2009

By delzey

Format:Hardcover

Having been given a number of "warnings" about the intensity of Lanagan's most recent book, Tender Morsels, I decided to get a better sense of her writing through one of her short story collections first.

I wish someone had warned me about this collection as well.

Lanagan is an intense writer of dark, emotional, human fantasy worlds. There are echoes of older cultures and languages buried deep in these worlds, a sense not so much as coming from another planet but as if reading reports from undiscovered country. It is the type of fiction that reads like literary reportage from a past frontier transported through time. Like something forbidden, these stories are a black juice indeed.

The collection opens with "Singing Down My Sister," a strange description of a ritual that involves sending a woman out into the center of a lake of tar. Knowing Lanagan hails from Australia, and having grown up with the tar pits of LA, it wasn't too illogical a step for me to imagine a sort of hybrid Aboriginal culture that appeared to be redressing some sort of wrong through an old, odd cleansing process involving tar. But no, this is clearly something else as the event at hand is actually an execution, a slow death in front of an audience with a wake built in. Equally fascinating and disconcerting, the effect is how I would imagine it to be watching surgery being performed on myself while fully conscious.

Short story collections by their nature must start off strong and bold. They must open with a story full of promise for the rest of the collection yet not be so strong as to let the reader down along the way. Reading "Singing Down My Sister" it almost feels intimidating to continue with the rest of the book.... If the rest of the book is anywhere near this intense it might be impossible to finish.

Fortunately, the book wasn't impossible to finish. Unfortunately the rest of the book was equally intense.

Each of the stories contained so completely build their worlds - unique and richly textured worlds at that - this it is possible for each story to sustain its own book. "Red Nose Day" delves into a dark world full of professional clowns and the hitmen who kill them, with more than a hint of allegory aimed at the Catholic church. "The House of Many" posits a clash of parallel worlds that fluidly includes a Middle Ages cult surrounded by a more contemporary society rich with cars and candy. Demonic angels that help children break free of oppressive adults. Queens who prefer the company of dancing gypsies to their own kingdoms. Lanagan plucks the familiar image and icon and from our consciousness and folds them deftly into something new, a magical literary origami.

I think the warning I would have wanted was more in the form of advice. I think these stories should be savored slowly, with a lot of space between them. Perhaps as ways of cleansing the palate between other books. One after another, the power in these stories makes reentry into the world difficult. Better to dip into these waters with some reserve.

Whether this has helped me to better enter the world of Tender Morsels has yet to be determined. As it stands, I feel richer for the diversion. Read more ›

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Haunting October 2, 2006

By jon hay

Format:Paperback

A dreamy affair, this book traverses the boundary between reality and the hyper-real with breathtaking skill. The storylines are often unimportant, taking a back seat to the prose, which flows and twists with great dexterity and poetry. This is a strongly visual book that would certainly appeal to readers of all ages. It would be of particular interest to those with a predilection towards fantasy. There is a strong thematic of family bonds throughout, and though no time period is mentioned, the nature of the writing and storytelling (strong family themes, the near absence of any technology) gives me the impression that most of the stories are set in the distant past, which only adds to the otherworldly qualities. I like the title as well because blackness is a strong image created throughout, almost like the book is an anthology of stories from the dark ages.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars No Small Feat January 17, 2007

By Jonathan Stephens

Format:Hardcover

I have nothing but praise to offer for the range and depth of Margo Lanagan's creativity. Her worlds stretch beyond, her characters beneath, her eerie tone deeper than any collection of short stories I've ever read. These ten short stories, touted as young adult, might pass as such to some, but not to me. These tales are older than young adult, despite their characters' ages. The tone and voice of these stories is not distinctly young adult, but something more vast.

Community burial rituals, reeking wrestling angels, wandering hopeful brides, loyal escaping elephants, and other bizarre images litter this collection with a freshness that, when her worlds came to life, sang to my soul. Perhaps it was just this reader, but some of the stories lost me completely. Maybe I'm not as savvy a reader as I think myself to be, but I do expect myself to be able to understand what's happening in the story. There were a couple of the stories, I confess that I stuck through in hopes I would "get them" later on.

But those were the exception. I enjoyed her fresh use of language, her frequent linguistic inventions that worked, her bold exploration of words. The young adult world needs more short story collections like Margo Lanagan's, which was one of the 5 finalists for Best of Young Adult at the 2006 Los Angeles Times Festival of Books. To be named among such authors as Per Nilsson, John Green, Markus Zusak, and Andreas Steinhofel is no small feat.

And neither are her stories.

-- Reviewed by Jonathan Stephens