Review:
Tender morsels by Margo Lanagan
Allen and Unwin, 2008. ISBN
9781741147964
(Age 16+) Published as an adult book in Australia, and young adult in
the US, this is an engrossing, horrifying tale of Liga, a young girl
who is abused by her father and raped by a gang of village youths. Liga
lives in a medieval-like community, where there is little help for a
young girl and less compassion for one who has a fatherless child.
Unable to tolerate her situation any more, she mysteriously manages to
retreat to an alternative universe where all the people are kind, and
where she brings up her two children, quiet Branza, and inquisitve
Urrda. It is a world which lacks conflict and danger. Inevitably the
real world intrudes on the trio in the form of a dwarf looking for
treasure and boys transformed into bears, and Urrda, longing to
explore,
makes her way across the border to reality. Eventually all three must
adapt to a place where good resides beside evil and kindness beside
cruelty.
The first section of this book is harrowing with its descriptions of
incest, abortion, gang rape and the effect it has on Liga. I felt
unable to continue with it and put it aside for a couple of months
until positive discussion on
Adbooks,
an online US based young
adolescent literature group, motivated me to
finish it. The second half was less traumatic and very thought
provoking. How much can we live in a fantasy world before the real
world intrudes? Should we retreat from the real world or live in it
fully? How much protection should a parent give a child and when do
they allow adolescents to move forward from the safety of the family
home? How does a parent help their children when they discover that the
real world is often hard and cruel?
Lanagan's writing is superb and she has created unforgettable
characters and events. This is not a book for the faint hearted with
its violence and dark themes, but it is a memorable coming of age story
for a mature and intelligent reader.
Pat Pledger
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Consulting, 2007