Reviews
Short stories, no translation rights, no Australian rights, US (and first world) hardback published this month. Sometimes writing is so extraordinary that you just have to publish it. Even if it breaks all the rules.BLACK JUICE is such a collection. However few copies we sell of this book, Margo Lanagan is the sort of writer that every list has to publish if that list cares about good writing.These are stories of immense confidence, the faith they have in the believability of the worlds they describe is such that they explain nothing, concede nothing but still leave you entranced because of the beauty of the writing and the intense clarity of the characters.Whether a family singing their daughter to her death, a young boy braving pestilential angels to give his grandmother the death she deserves and himself the freedom he deserves, or clowns on a sniper spree at a clown convention these are people you believe in, peopling stories of quite extraordinary power.
"Coming across like a punky version of Angela Carter crossed with Geoff Ryman, Lanagan conjures up a series of bizarre and arcane worlds. It's all described with rich, detailed prose and a wonderfully strange approach to language. All we need now from her is a full length fantasy novel that maintains this level of eye-opening quality, and we'll know for sure that a seriously talented new voice has arrived."
Saxon Bullock
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