Summer '09 discussion thread: Tender Morsels

[Caryl]

Here is our discussion thread for Tender Morsels, one of our summer group reads. As always, be cautious of reading the posts below if you haven't finished, as they may contain spoilers.

[Caryl]

I finished this one awhile ago, and I've been meaning to post on this discussion thread ever since. It was a very good read, although much darker and stranger than I expected -- and I knew it would be dark and strange. It's considered a YA novel, but it's definitely for mature young adults.

One of my favorite quotes from the book is on the back of my copy:

You are pure-hearted and lovely, and you have never done a moment's wrong. But you are a living creature, born to make a real life, however it cracks your heart.

I thought this was a wonderful major theme of the book.

The ending surprised me somewhat, but I liked it better than the neatly-tied-up one I thought it was heading for. The way it ended fit the theme above much better than the one I imagined was coming.

Also, I cried when reading the mother-daughter scene at the end of chapter 14.

[SusanH]

I'm about 100 pages into it and wow, was this not what I was expecting! So very mature and dark for a YA book. The juxtaposition of her hell and her heaven was so deftly handled, though and I'm eager to see if she is able to survive the true world as it intrudes in her paradise.

I also want to re-read the Snow White and Rose Red fairy tale, as I can't remember it but her daughters strongly remind me of what little I can recall.

[Caryl]

Oh, I'm glad you reminded me of Snow White/Rose Red, Susan. I should re-read that, too.

Isn't this book so dark and strange? I'm really glad you're reading it, because I've been wanting to discuss it with someone. It's really stuck with me -- I still think about the characters and the pictures the book created in my mind. It's a very vividly painted story, with lots to think about.

ETA: Here's the story online: Snow White and Rose Red. It's nice to read it after finishing the book, I think.

[Caryl]

I just found her blog:
Among Amid While
Lots to explore here!

[SusanH]

I just finished a few minutes ago and am still trying to absorb it all. What a wonderful, mystifying, completely unique novel. Her use of language, her inventive recreation of the fairy tale, her fascinating characters.... It's a lot to take in and I fear that I rushed the last third too much in my hurry to find out what happens next. It is definitely a novel to be savored, not raced through.

So dark in the beginning, so not what you expect for a YA novel, but so rich, complex and interesting. I just started looking through her blog (thanks for the link!) and it seems that the novel has led to some controversy in the UK. I'm rather surprised that it hasn't caused any here, but I suppose it isn't on the radar currently.

[Caryl]

The book did win a Michael L. Printz award, which is from the American Library Association, and it was in the School Library Journal's Battle of the (Kids') Books. So, I think librarians in the U.S. are reading it -- maybe that's the difference? It is interesting to see the reviews from the UK that she posted on her blog. I like that she's not bothered by it, too. As she says, if you just open it up and read the first page, you're going to know it's not a book you should buy for your little grandbabby.

I love how YA lit is just booming right now, with good books for all ages.

What did you think of the ending, Susan?

[SusanH]

I think that was the ending that made the most sense. I was saddened for Liga, of course, in her disappointment, but I think it was all part of her maturation, part of her coming to see reality and the world around her rather than the fantasy world she had lived in. I'm still not sure what I feel about the cloth men scenes. I don't think we are supposed to be entirely comfortable with the vengeance, and I'm really not comfortable with it.

What did you think?

[Caryl]

I was really uncomfortable with the vengeance stuff, too! I was relieved that Urdda learned of her gifts and thankful she had access to a teacher who could help her to control them. Was it the old witch (what was her name?) that thought it was funny? Or said, "They had it comin' to 'em!" or something like that? Eek!

[SusanH]

Yes, Leddy/Muddy Annie thought it was funny and well-deserved but Ramstrong helped bring home to them just how not funny it was and I think it was clear that Urdda felt the full weight of what she had inadvertently done.

I was thinking over the book today and one thing that keeps striking me is how amazingly well the author was able to alter the narration/point-of-view as different characters told the tale. In particular, the opening chapters as what is happening to Liga goes from being nearly incomprehensible (because she herself doesn't understand it) to more clear to completely clear. There's a Russian term - ostranenie - which means "strange-making" or "defamiliarization". It's the way in which a writer can take an ordinary event and make it seem completely foreign or bizarre through their descriptions of it. I thought the writer did a terrific job of making what happened to Liga seem so bizarre and mysterious while at the same time allowing the reader to understand before she did what was going on.

I skimmed a few reviews today and noticed a complaint that there was only one positive male character in the novel's real world. Did that bother you at all? It didn't bother me as I didn't feel that the author was saying all men are evil, just showing Liga's fear of the men that surrounded her, which was obviously justified.