Customer Reviews

Ecstasia

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This was possibly the most difficult book I ever tried to find. But I doubt I could have picked one more worth the trouble! As a huge Francesca Lia Block fan for years now, I've always heard of these 2 impossible to find books, Ecstasia & Primavera. Finally I located them this past December.

Block has always crafted her words into beautiful modern day fairy tales of love and music but never has it created such a enchanting result as with this novel. I think part of the reason is because she completely creates a new world... one of carnivals, music, love, and youth. But there is also a scary flip side to this world. One that the 4 lead characters are struggling to accept.

If you are a Block fan and have yet to read these 2 novels you should really, look into them. I think they are essential reading of the authors.

Ecstasia was another Block masterpiece. Many of the readers I have talked to simply tell me that there is too much going on, all fluff and no substance - I'm afriad I must whole heartedly disagree. The text is hard to understand at first because it is stuffed with metaphors and other literary devices that sometimes trick the mind. I have read Ecstasia a few times and it gets better with each read. You have to look between the lines with this novel. The message is not instantly clear, but this is common in her writing. The reader must go through a mental journey with the characters. They need to expierence the love, the want, the fear, the pain, the challenge that the members of Ecstasia do. The characters themselves are wonderful, with their faults and strenghts, and sheer will to live outside a world of age restriction. The words are beautiful, like always; the descriptions, the poetry/songs, the emotions, the everything. Once again Block makes me wish I could weild such skill with a pen. This is an amazing read, wonderful in so many ways. I highly reccomend it to those willing to take on a literary challenge. If you thought it was garbage well, let me quip this "One mans trash is another mans treasure", and this novel, once given a good twice over, glistens like gold.

Francesca Lia Block's novel Ecstasia is her most difficult to read. The story is told through visions, songs, poems, letters and third person passages. Due to the many metaphors and unique storytelling, the plot can be difficult to follow. I have chosen to interpret the deeper meaning of the book in my review rather than summarizing it, which has already been done thoroughly.
Block, who lives in L.A., says Ecstasia "was born of my lifelong love of Greek mythology and of music, combined with an exploration of deeply personal issues."
Many of the names in this story are of Greek origin. Under, for example, originates from underworld, the Greek word for the world below the living. A further example is Calliope, the muse of epic poetry in Greek mythology. Her name means beautiful, originating from the Greek word for beauty, kallos.
Elysia, the desert and Under are described as far away, fairy-tale lands. The characters have extreme personalities that accommodate the worlds surrounding them. These worlds may seem far fetched, but I believe this novel is to be interpreted as socially critical.
The people and environments Block describes are today's world. Elysia, the gorgeous city full of glitz and glamour, its inhabitants physically flawless and young, represent Hollywood and the beauty industry. "The only crime is growing old."
Under, the place one grudgingly goes when one no longer fits Ecstasia aesthetically, represents the people and the things we can no longer consider valuable due to their age.
The band called Ecstasia is made up of Paul, Rafe, Calliope and Dionisio. They're poster children for the modern music industry. They're young, good looking and healthy. They have lovers, go out a lot, drink and sing catchy songs about love, flowers and beauty, regardless of their actual knowledge on those topics. Their careers will not necessarily be over when they are no longer able to play instruments and write songs, but when they are no longer young and gorgeous.
Today's average singer is very similar. Stars like Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera make headlines for their looks and the parties they went to, rather than for their songs. They often lip synch during concerts, allowing them to dance easily in their explicit outfits. Their careers wouldn't be over if they weren't able to write good songs anymore or if they suffered from liver poisoning as a result of a drunken night out. Song writers and hospitals can fix that. Their careers would be over, however, if they got fat or old.
Lily, Rafe's girlfriend, represents a model. She's a skinny, delicate girl who entertains people with her body. On page 45, she says, "We're supposed to be thin, like kids," during dinner, after Rafe tells her how surprised he is that she actually eats.
Those are just a few example of how symbolism is important in this story. There are countless others, such as Orpheus, which symbolizes opium. I wouldn't want to bore anyone or give away too much of the story, however.
The bottom line is that Ecstasia is a complex, socially critical and intriguingly told story. I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys thought provoking tales with no definite plot (such as the movie "Swimming Pool," directed by Francois Ozon, for example,) because they can mean different things to different people.

This is a very unusual book- even for Francesca Lia Block. It is fantasy novel with magic, but it is also a "civilization collapsed" kind of book. Some themes you'll find: environmentalism, antimaterialism, magic, acceptance of aging, anti-drugs, guilt over being gay etc.
Meaty, unless you're familiar with her other books, which consist of the exact same themes.

It is lyrical, sometimes too wordy (yes I know that most people love her for that very reason).

Lots of different plots, but ,sorry to say, not a very strong plot over all. Love, magic.

I would recomend getting it at the library before splurging. It's interesting and unusual, but not excellent. Primavera is better, so is I was a teenage faery.

I only wish I could have as much imagination as the author of this book. She has you exploring worlds ond people that we can all relate to within ourselves.Every teen age girl should read it.

Ecstasia is one of the best books I have ever read. The poetic style, the dreams, the music, it is all "up there". The emotions are so real and accessible to the reader and while the theme is filled with death the entire book is up lifting.

A poignant, hopeful look at a fantastic world, which could easily be our own. The characters are mysterious but their fears and longings are completely real. Ms. Block has a unique vision and I look forward to revisiting her world in future books.

Elysia is a city that is a carnival of light, sparkle, shimmer and joy. Sweet candy, hot house flowers, music, bars, clubs, circuses and carousels all make up this fun house city of youth and excitement. But, to stay in it you must pay the price. Only the young may stay above, when you grow old you go Under, to a labyrinth of dark tunnels and shadowy places of quiet, dark desperation, wrapped up in linen awaiting your death. In this beautiful city Calliope is a girl that has visions of the future and plays the piano. Rafe is her brother, an impulsive boy that plays the drums. They join a band called Ecstasia with a boy named Paul that writes poetic songs and sings while another boy named Dionisio, Calliope's lover, plays guitar when he's not drinking himself into a stupor.

They all want beauty and youth and gardens. They want what Elysia has to offer, but they want it real. They want real flowers that grow out of the earth, natural rain that isn't poisoned, beauty that isn't painted on. Will they ever find their garden of eternity? And, just what does that mean exactly?

Ecstasia is a beautiful poetic novel that tells it's story through the vehicles of poem and song, visions and dreams, third person and first person narratives, flowing from one story telling device to another as the tale unfolds. The book is full of metaphor, allusion and interpretation and to really help you get it you need to know quite a bit about Greek mythology to understand all of the references and to really help you follow everything that is going on. Just when you think you have it all figured out, something else hits you and you have to sit back and re-evaluate the message that is being given. Everything is a metaphor for something else, resulting in a novel which illuminates a social commentary on our modern day society.

I love Francesca Lia Block's writing and always have. Her words are just so poetic, so lyrical, and her descriptions so apt, interesting and thought provoking that you just savor every word and every sentence. Her metaphors and allegories weave the story together and the characters, the scenery, the dialog, everything just seems to sparkle.

Because it so open to interpretation, different people will probably get different things out of this book. But, some of the main themes are love and acceptance, the illusions of eternal youth and eternal life, the folly of merely chasing dreams and the hard truth of working to realize them. Don't go someplace to have magical things happen to you, make your own magic happen yourself.

As for the rest, you'll have to read to find out!

And, yes, this is the first half of a two book story. The sequel is Primavera.

When I originally read this book I found it difficult to follow and too full of confusing metaphorical language, however the charachters were quite realistically portrayed, and had 'real' emotions and thoughts. I am giving this book a second chance, so to speak, beacause after reading Dangerous Angels, which I highly recommend, I have a better understanding of Francesca Lia Block's writing style, and this has made Ecstasia easier to read and understand. Whilst this book is one of Francesca Lia Block's better works I would recommend reading any one of the Weetzie Bat books if you are new to Block's writing.

I am probably the biggest Francesca Lia Block fan you can find. I am always gushing about her books to all my friends and recomending her to everyone. So, you can imagine my dissapointment when I discovered the utter tripe that is Ecstasia and it's companion book Primavera. These books went out of print for a reason. Because they were horrible. What I have always loved about Block's books is her ability to blend fantasy with reality, and her awe-inspiring descriptive language. These two books have removed reality altogether, and what we are left with is overdone fluff with too much metaphor and no substance. Comparing these books to masterpieces like Violet and Claire, Echo or the Dangerous Angles series is like comparing a chocolate chip cookie to eating handfuls of sugar out of the bag.