[PLQ]≡ [PDF] Yellowcake Ann Cummins 9781742374789 Books

Yellowcake Ann Cummins 9781742374789 Books

Download As PDF : Yellowcake Ann Cummins 9781742374789 Books

Yellowcake Ann Cummins 9781742374789 Books

Ten short stories from Margo Lanagan are anthologized here, spanning time and space. Ranging from fantasy to science fiction to horror, each tale is its own little universe, peopled with characters looking for connection, for explanation, for understanding. Whether the story plunges down to the Underworld for a day in the life of a ferryman or peels back the flapping entrance to a circus tent, Lanagan gives readers a peek into a strange world that’s not so different from our own.

I felt that the collection, as a whole, lacked cohesiveness. The only element that I saw recurring was that several stories were based on fairy tales or religious folklore. For example, “Night of the Firstlings” tells the story of the Passover as it might have appeared to one of children of the Israelites, while “The Golden Shroud” gives a rather happier ending to the characters of “Rapunzel”. But not every tale has a literary precedent, so it doesn’t serve as a true unifying element.

This is my first experience with Margo Lanagan. She has a very vague, dreamy style of writing that implies much but explains little. It’s often difficult to pinpoint anything with certainty. In some stories, like “Catastrophic Destruction”, it infuses an old narrative with new magic - but then again, if you aren’t familiar with Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Tinderbox” then I’m not sure the story will make sense, or be strong enough to stand on its own. The tales are often disjointed or jumbled. A Booklist review describes the text as “tricksy prose [that] feels as if it’s been translated into an alien tongue and back again”, and I think that’s a fairly accurate. I was often left wanting more, but not in a good way.

As with all short story anthologies, there are some strong stories that I would eagerly read again and others that I could barely finish. This is worth picking up for Lanagan’s takes on Rapunzel and “Into the Clouds on High”, a touching story about a boy whose mother keeps trying to float away into the sky, but you might want to find the book in a library first to see if the author’s labored telling will be enjoyable or a chore.


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Yellowcake Ann Cummins 9781742374789 Books Reviews

Lanagan's stories have a startling originality, in fact they are so fresh that a few of the them were confusing (The Point of Roses) but the best of them (Night of the Firstlings and Ferryman). These last two started obscurely and the truth was slowly doled out. Many of the stories were based in part on legends or received tales that Lanagan reworks to make them new.

Since this collection is designated as Young Adult I kept trying to imagine how they would read to the designated over twelve audience. I found that challenging. Young readers may not be familiar with the genesis of the tales yet that might be an advantage since they'd have an open mind with few preconceptions however there were unsettling concepts. I know most teens have seen more scary movies than us adults but those aren't usually psychologically complicated. These stories were and that's the problem.

"Yellow Cake' is well written and psychologically insightful and most of them have a moral lesson BUT they are brutal, some of them extremely so. They include rape, death, murder, casual violence, war, hunger, and drugs. It bothers to think of Young Adults reading them but definitely anyone under 18 should be discouraged away from them. I'm in my mid 50's and was deeply disturbed by the concepts which, of course, also speak to their power. My feeling is that there's enough horror all around us without reading fiction like this. Ironically I might have been less negative if Lanagan was not such an astounding writer.
I am a huge fan of the short story. It is such a powerful form of storytelling, In 700 pages anyone can tell a story that is gripping or otherwise compelling. But doing it in a handful of pages is much harder.

I absolutely loved Yellowcake. I think it is a wonderful collection of short stories for the more mature YA audience. While their writing styles are not the same Lanagan's ability to write stories using the horrible to the mundane with equal credibility reminded me of my beloved Shirley Jackson. Lanagan has that same eye for the simple details that makes the story unforgettable.

This is a good collection with a nice range. There are some retold stories and some entirely new. But all of them depend on Lanagan's ability to understand and convey human nature. I think this would be a strong collection for teaching the art of the short story as well.
Ten short stories from Margo Lanagan are anthologized here, spanning time and space. Ranging from fantasy to science fiction to horror, each tale is its own little universe, peopled with characters looking for connection, for explanation, for understanding. Whether the story plunges down to the Underworld for a day in the life of a ferryman or peels back the flapping entrance to a circus tent, Lanagan gives readers a peek into a strange world that’s not so different from our own.

I felt that the collection, as a whole, lacked cohesiveness. The only element that I saw recurring was that several stories were based on fairy tales or religious folklore. For example, “Night of the Firstlings” tells the story of the Passover as it might have appeared to one of children of the Israelites, while “The Golden Shroud” gives a rather happier ending to the characters of “Rapunzel”. But not every tale has a literary precedent, so it doesn’t serve as a true unifying element.

This is my first experience with Margo Lanagan. She has a very vague, dreamy style of writing that implies much but explains little. It’s often difficult to pinpoint anything with certainty. In some stories, like “Catastrophic Destruction”, it infuses an old narrative with new magic - but then again, if you aren’t familiar with Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Tinderbox” then I’m not sure the story will make sense, or be strong enough to stand on its own. The tales are often disjointed or jumbled. A Booklist review describes the text as “tricksy prose [that] feels as if it’s been translated into an alien tongue and back again”, and I think that’s a fairly accurate. I was often left wanting more, but not in a good way.

As with all short story anthologies, there are some strong stories that I would eagerly read again and others that I could barely finish. This is worth picking up for Lanagan’s takes on Rapunzel and “Into the Clouds on High”, a touching story about a boy whose mother keeps trying to float away into the sky, but you might want to find the book in a library first to see if the author’s labored telling will be enjoyable or a chore.