I haven't done any book reviews in a while. I have been reading ravenously and have found plenty of excellent ones lately, but not many that I must share.
Tender Morsels by Margo Lanagan is one of those that I must discuss. I chose it for its cover; isn't it striking? The gist of it is this: Liga has escaped a world of cruelty to live in her own personal heaven with her two daughters, Branza and Urdda. But the real world begins to intrude, chewing at the boundaries to admit magical men, wild bears, and other troubling things. It is a dark story about two worlds and the frayed fabric that separates them. The overall question seems to be, is it really better to be safe than sorry?
Tender Morsels isn't for everyone. It is overwhelmingly grim and violent in parts and tough to get through for those reasons, although I found that the aching beauty of the lighter parts more than made up for the darker. I had a strong feeling of dread for most of the characters throughout, but I felt that putting down the book would be another hurtful abandonment for them. Lanagan is also a poet, and it is evident that every line of prose is lovingly crafted with imagery.
I enjoyed the shifting points of view in the book. Sometimes first-person narration, sometimes third, and with many people taking over. When you are receiving story from a person who is "I" and is speaking in past tense, you might assume that this person will be alive and well in the end. Therefore, I was unsettled and disturbed when one of these "I"s disappeared. It kept me on my toes for the rest of the book. And it is a good thing that I was alert for surprises, because the ending was deliciously shocking.
1 comments:
Fascinating. I have been in a book drought. Strangely, I do not feel the urge to delve into adventures of any sort. Perhaps it's the weather? Maybe my book hunger will come back once the snow starts to fall. I certainly hope so.
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