The Hanged Man [Library Binding]

Francesca Lia Block (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 3, 1994

After the death of her father, Laurel is haunted by a legacy of family secrets, hidden shame, and shattered glass. Immersing herself in the heady rhythms of a city that is like something wild, caged, and pacing, Laurel tries to lose herself. But when she runs away from the past, she discovers a passion so powerful, it brings her roundabout and face-to-face with the demons she wants to avoid.

In a stunning departure from her enormously popular Weetzie Bat books, Francesca Lia Block weaves a darkly exhilarating tale of shattered passions and family secrets.Francesca Lia Block once again breaks new ground in this compelling story about the secrets families keep. After the death of her father, Laurel is haunted by a legacy of hidden shames and family secrets.Immersing herself in the heady rhythms of the city, in the ever-quickening drumbeat of life on the edge, Laurel discovers a passion so powerful it brings her face to face with the demons in her past, and in doing so, threatens to send her spiraling out of control. "This is serious life Block is writing about--it's raw, hellish, heavenly, and real."--SLJ. "There can be no doubt about the book's literary merit."--BR.

1995 Recommended Books for Reluctant Young Adult Readers (ALA)
1995 Books for the Teen Age (NY Public Library)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Francesca Lia Block explores love in The Hanged Man, a novel that is not part of the Weetzie Bat series even though it shares the same Los Angeles backdrop. It's the story of 17-year-old Laurel, who lives just below the famous Hollywood sign. Her mind twisted and scarred from painful childhood experiences, Laurel becomes an addict and is driven toward reckless passions and empty mirages of "love." Only when she finds the strength to confront her inner demons is she able to reach out and feel a strong, true love for others, and herself.

From Publishers Weekly

"Block's novel is structured upon the conventions of a tarot reading, adding another layer of meaning and mystery to the hypnotic prose," said PW's starred review of this tale of a girl grappling with her abusive father's death. "Disturbing but ultimately exhilarating." Ages 12-up. (Oct.) r
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 14 and up
  
• Library Binding: 144 pages
• Publisher: HarperTeen (September 3, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060245379
• ISBN-13: 978-0060245375
• Product Dimensions: 7.1 x 5.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (49 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,452,054 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Francesca Lia Block, recipient of the prestigious Margaret A. Edwards Lifetime Achievement Award. has been publishing novels, short stories, essays, memoirs and poetry since 1989. Her work has been translated into many languages. Ms. Block lives in Los Angeles where she teaches writing workshops that are also available online.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Heartbreaking and magically beautiful., December 11, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (the seattle area) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Hanged Man (Library Binding)

"The Hanged Man" is somewhat of a loner in Francesca Lia Block's bibliography. It's not connected to her most famous series, the Weetzie Bat books, by anything other than location. The protagonist is Laurel, a seventeen-year-old girl whose father has just died. She flirts with death and anorexia in the dark magic of the LA that is her world, of devils and flowers, voodoo and fairies. When I first read this book, it made me cry-- somthing very few books have done. Block's writing is a very true approximation of a sensitive yet jaded teenager trying to come to grips with her life. The descriptions in the book are amazing-- one that stands out is this one, describing the voice of a man Laurel meets in the hospital where her father is dying. "His voice cracked the way ice does when you pour liquor over it." Your heart cracks, too.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A truly magical and complex book, October 25, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Hanged Man (Library Binding)

This is the first book I read of Francesca Lia Block's, and after having read all of them thus far, this still stands out in my head and the most powerful and deeply-moving one of all. Block transports us into Laurel's world with the same amount of confusion, frustration, passion, and bottled up emotions. Her beautifullt lyrical prose lets you escape up into the hills with the freaks, and the animals, and the sparks of fireworks, and popping bubbles. It is so grounded in the harsh reality of drugs, abuse, eating disorders, death, and relationships, but the writing has a magical feeling to it, YOU WILL feel different after reading it.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful, amazing, inspiring, September 19, 2000

By 

Stephanie Zuercher "book nerd" (Berea, OH USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Hanged Man (Library Binding)

Francesca Lia Block writes half in poetry, half in prose. This story incorporates the Tarot deck into a girl's life, a girl who is searching, like many of her characters, for her sense of self. Rather than having never had it in the first place, Laurel lost it when she was young, having been traumatized. The way this story unfolds little bits of Laurel's life, showing her past and finally building up to a point where it cannot stay hidden any more, is done masterfully. The quote used on the outside, when Laurel is rationalizing her anorexia, "I will be thin and pure like spun glass . . ." or something similar to that, is one of the most haunting and evocative quotes I have ever read. I found this book very inspiring, not as someone who had a traumatized childhood (I didn't, not like this) but as a reader who has found the magic and poetry of the nineties and "pop" modern culture in the writings of an author, finally.