Tender Morsels by

24 August 2009


Genre: ,
Setting:

ISBN: 9780385613231

Liga’s father fiddled with the fire, fiddled and fiddled. Then he stood up, very suddenly.

I’ve been wanting to read this book for a while. It’s been stirring up quite a bit of controversy, what with its storyline involving rape, abortion, and incest, although none of that is the reason why I wanted to read it. I’ve really enjoyed what I’ve read by Lanagan up til now so I knew I’d get around to this one sooner or later. And I’m glad I did, as I did enjoy this one too. Not all of it, but it isn’t all meant to be enjoyed.

I will say that I love Lanagan’s style of writing. She creates wonderful worlds and atmospheres with her descriptions. But, in this case, I did have a slight issue with the characters. I didn’t like any of them. Apart from Bear, the noble bear that is :) Him I liked. But in the final third I felt the girls became more real. Liga too. After the horrors of the beginning and the dampened emotions of the mid-section I think that Liga grew into a more real character. Which I suppose is the point, and so something I should appreciate.

There is a lot of “objectionable” matter in this book, but it is never graphically described. It isn’t avoided either, or hidden away, in fact Lanagan does a great job of letting you know exactly what is going on without ever being overly explicit.

But I’m conflicted about how I feel about this book. I want to love it, because there are parts of it that are simply wonderful. I loved the little moments that seem just so truthful, especially the scene between the husband and wife, Davitt and Todda, talking in bed in the darkness. It was a small moment, but to me it was just perfect.

Despite not absolutely loving this book I think it is one that I’ll reread and most likely love more with each reading.

Other reviews: Neth Space ; the thinkings of a lili ; Books and other thoughts ; Things mean a lot ; SFX interview
Margo Lanagan tagged sites

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1 Response

  1. jean pierre says:

    that is difficult, when you find that you don't like too many of the characters. if it's satire, it's all right, of course. but otherwise it can be heavy going sometimes.

    when you review her work again, can you give a snippet of her writing style?