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Excellent collection of super-weird shorts. Especially loved the title storry, Skeleton, and the last of the collection. Wry, witty, and squirmy.
AGAIN, BIASED
Darkly humorous and intoxicating, Jeanne crafts these dizzying passages that leave you breathless and wanting to desperately reread passages so as to capture the magic of how she's done it.I knew this book and I would get along quite well when I read the phrase, "She talked like a surfer, one whose mind had been so blown out by the waves that she could only whisper like beach sand moving over itself."
It would be unwise not to read this book. Be greater than Solomon: ask your Heavenly Father for wisdom, but also for faith, and a copy of The Black Emerald.
The Black Emerald is a collection of short stories plus a novella (the title of the latter being the same as the title of the book). I want to say from the outset that this books is amazing. It's not just the way that Jeanne Thornton writes with such a fluid and engaging voice, nor the diversity of the stories, nor the way the ordering of the stories themselves just seems to make so much sense; no, everything about this book just seems to come together naturally. I couldn't stop reading it. I me...
Finished this book in the bath last night! Delightfully weird, dark but not cynical, sexy, and very queer. Thornton's writing is often strikingly perceptive and beautiful. Stories include the titular one, about a queer artsy high school girl whose comics become haunted by a cult comics artist her ex-girlfriend loves, a girl who falls in love with a life size anatomical skeleton, a woman who runs a very unique hotel, and more. I loved this! Can't wait to read her next book, coming out in 2021.
Jeanne Thornton's The Black Emerald is one of the strangest books I've ever read. In each of the seven stories and two novellas that make up this collection, she manages to disarm the reader with unexpected choices and bizarre storylines. It's as if these stories were written by someone from a version of reality just slightly askew from our own. I read this book in just less than twenty-four hours, because I was so engrossed in the otherwordliness of the storytelling.Her work is reminicient of s...
Thornton’s writing hurtles along with an insane energy even when there is no destination to speak of, but it never loses its delicacy and emotional power. My favorite story in this collection was probably the titular novella, about a grasping, lovestruck teenager who finds a curse in the work of her ex-girlfriend’s favorite comic book artist, but I also loved the story about the Wall Street guy who becomes obsessed with his three tomato plants. There were no skips, either — even the weakest part...
This collection of stories is so good and the titular novella was one of the first things I've ever read that felt like "wow, this was MY high school and not a TV high school". The teen characters were spot on, the right balance of self absorbed and impulsive signature to the age but also the real passion, precocious intellect, and will power that come with being 16. Also it's beautifully written. The grossest stuff is like jewels on the page. Read it if you are a sad gay girl who loves messed u...
I cannot believe this book has sold only just over 100 copies. It's well written, original, and really engaging once it gets going. And there's another reason this should be popular: it portrays LGBT characters entirely without stereotype or preachiness. But don't get me wrong--this book stands on its own. I'm incredibly happy that such a wonderful collection has totally avoided so many stereotypes, but at the same time, even if we lived in a world where LGBT people were no longer persecuted and...
Solid, weird collection of short fiction--stories that swerve into unpredictable realms while staying rooted in emotional depth and weird humor. I love Jeanne's wry comedic sensibilities and the ways in which the absurdism deepens from quirkiness/preciousness into heavy discomfiture. Many of these stories *go there*. Favorites: the opening, titular novella about a girl who inherits a dead comic artist's enormous black emerald and uses it to start drawing obscene images and woo back her ex-gf; "E...
Discomfiting, supernatural, Austin-adjacent.
Beautifully written, strange book, that pays close attention to emotional detail, and the inner-workings of the characters. The more intense moments pluck every heart-string, never skipping a note. Scenes stay with the reader like they are moments you lived through.
This collection of short stories was perfect for taking me out of our current reality and into a slightly askew stranger one. Some selections being 50 pages long, some being 5, the writing style drew me in on every page. The characters were impressively fleshed out and felt like they could be real people. Lots of queer representation. Loved it.
Excellent weird clever unswerving in its devotion to taking every story to its furthest and strangest point. I want to reread it soon. I want to read large sections of it aloud to friends and strangers.
The black emerald took me on one hell of a journey. This was a really great and strange collection of short stories that are based in reality, but will also take you to another dimension.
These are so weird and striking and amazing, and make me want to be braver about writing weird shit
It's pretty nice
this is so utterly fucking phenomenal. totally inventive and unique. i keep thinking about "chairs" and Myra's 7 conversations especially. highly recommended to anyone who enjoys, you know, reading.
What strange and eerie stories. I did not like this nearly as much as SUMMER FUN, but I'm still glad I read it. Definitely another worthy addition to the weird queer genre. I wrote a bit more about it here: https://booksandbakes.substack.com/p/...
