My Sister from the Black Lagoon: A Novel of My Life

by Laurie Fox

"I was born into a mentally ill family. My sister was the officially crazy one, but really we were all nuts."
So begins My Sister from the Black Lagoon, Laurie Fox's incandescent novel of growing up absurd. Lorna Person's tale is wrested from the shadows cast by her sister, Lonnie, whose rages command the full attention of her parents. Their San Fernando Valley household is off-key and out of kilter, a place where Lonnie sees evil in the morning toast and runs into the Burbank hills to join the animals that seem more like her kin. Lorna, on the other hand, is an acutely sensitive girl who can't relate to Barbie. "Could Barbie feel sorrow? Could Barbie understand what it's like to be plump, lonely, Jewish?"
My Sister from the Black Lagoon is a wisecracked bell jar, a heartbreaking study of sane and crazy. Laurie Fox's delightful voice is knowing yet wide-eyed, lyrical, and witty.

Genres: Fiction, Mental Health, Mental Illness, Contemporary, Psychology, Novels, Adult

336 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

About the author

Laurie Fox is the author of the autobiographical novel, My Sister from the Black Lagoon (Simon & Schuster; Publishers Weekly starred review; full-page New York Times Book Review), The Lost Girls (Simon & Schuster; featured in USA Today) and the "interactive" haiku poetry book, Sexy Hieroglyphics (Chronicle Books). In turn, she has published two chapbooks, Sweeping Beauty: Notes on Cinderella and I Love Walt (both from Illuminati), and her poetry has been included in several literary journals.

A graduate of UC Santa Cruz in Creative Writing and Theatre, Laurie has written and performed in many theatre and performance art works. A former bookseller of both new and antiquarian books, Laurie was a longtime creative writing teacher and freelance editor. She is presently working on a new novel as well as completing the book for a musical, anotherwhere (a sample of the songs can be heard on MySpace).

A native of Los Angeles, Laurie currently resides in Berkeley, CA, in author Philip K. Dick's teenaged home. And yes, she does dream of electric sheep!

Reviews

[Pevebe · Rating 5 out of 5]

I quite like the book, it is not boring.

[Becca · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh. Neither sister was crazy enough to keep things interesting.

[Leo · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars. Far from the worst I've read and I was interested in the story, however it wasn't as enjoyable as I hoped. The characters was a bit odd but wasn't dramatictly crazy as I first thought they would be and I got a bit disappointed in that. It wasn't a bad book, just wasn't for me

[Victoria Mariosa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Personally, I loved it. The characters are well developed, and each of them is just crazy enough in their own way, but it's very clear that one of them outshines the others in that sense. I love books like this because you can see almost inside each of their mind through the only "sane" character. There are also some relatable lines throughout the book, which caused me (a very lazy person) to annotate and analyze them because they were so interesting. This book is very well written for its time, and I'm really glad I picked up this book because I don't regret it.

[Deb (Readerbuzz) Nance · Rating 1 out of 5]

Hated this book.

[Sophie · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's alright.

[Stephen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Laurie Fox subtitles My Sister from the Black Lagoon, "A Novel of My Life." This leaves us to guess whether the book's covers are wrapped around a fictionalized autobiography, or autobiographical fiction. In either case, Ms. Fox tells the hard story of Lorna's growing up in the presence of a dominant, abusive, bullying, passive-aggressive, light-sucking-needy, tortured psychotic younger sister, Lonnie. Could you imagine Lorna growing into adulthood without Lonnie's acidic fingerprints etched indelibly into her personality? But there is another story here too. That is the story of the sister of the sister from the black lagoon: the story of Lorna, who grows beyond the scars inflicted by her bizarre sister to discover herself as a creative force in the world.

[jenna · Rating 4 out of 5]

“I distrusted ease with all my heart. Simple people bored me. And healthy simple people were like creatures from Mars. Problems gave you depth, I reasoned.”

“So why do I enjoy playing a character that walk around in a sweaty, stinking world of men and drink and drug? I suppose it’s her passion and instinct for revenge. I relate to it. Plus trying on a personality so opposite to my own is very liberating.”

“No matter how great an artist I become, I’ll never be an asshole. I will stay true to my bright, dorky self. This I promise.”

“And what would arts and literature be without feelings? Dead in the water, that’s what!”

“I will never understand men. I believe that women are far more attractive in practically every way.”

[Sarah Nell Lader · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was written 20 years ago. Through the lens of 2019, the portrayal of persons (no pun intended) with disabilities left a lot to be desired, as did the (lack of) a acknowledgement of trans identity. Also, way too much focus and negativity about the sister's body and, to an extent, the main character's (specifically, fat shaming). The story itself was mildly interesting, but the complaints above really ruined the book for me.

[Mercurymouth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Back in the fifties they didn't know how to diagnose. Transgender wasn't a common term & crossdressing was what people did in privacy... For the most part. I would also say that the older sister may have had ADHD and been a tad sociopathic. Poor Lonnie was born before all the meds were created to repress those urges and in a time of not accepting the rainbow flag of sexual identity.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

an insightful memoir focusing on difficult and somewhat uneven family relationships.

[Kait]

This was a difficult read for me, but not because it was poorly written; it was absolutely fabulous. I felt sorry for Lorna and Lonnie, for different reasons. Lonnie was misunderstood by everyone who came in contact with her. Doctors, parents, her sister, and maybe even themself sometimes. I won't even begin to understand what that's like, but I imagine it isn't easy. Then you have Lorna, the younger sister, struggling with an inner image brought on by years of feeling invisible when raised alongside her sister. I don't blame the parents or anyone else for acting like they did. When the story took place was a time when mental illness was even less talked about than it is now. I can't even begin to understand how that was. Lorna is portrayed as the typical teenager; as expected, she became quite self-absorbed.

I won't give too much away because I feel like I'm telling y'all everything there is to know about this book. Just trust it was worth the read. I laughed. I cried. I wanted to DNF it at times. But I pushed through to the end and I was not disappointed. It's not a work of fiction, but I believe the names have been changed. It's wild to imagine a family going through this. The family is dysfunctional, that much is certain. The mother was struggling and had lost herself in the role of mother and wife. The father was the typical man from that era, unaware or uncaring of the goings-on in the household and certainly unaccepting of Lonnie and everything they stood for.

There is mention of suicide, divorce, hints at conversion therapy, mental illness, alcohol, sex, and drugs.

[Simon · Rating 5 out of 5]

(4.5 stars) I have literally no clue where or when I got this book but I've had it as long as I can remember and read it more times than I can count. It's been about a year since my last read through though and I don't think I've ever fully been able to understand it or even like it. it's fantastically honest and messed up and relatable and it feels good to know that someone who thinks like this exists. somewhat pretentious and over the top but in the best way

[Cilia Antoniou · Rating 2 out of 5]

TW: this book isn’t trans friendly

The way she wrote about her brother didn’t age well (the book would have been called my brother from the black lagoon if it was written today)

With the title, I thought the plot would be more exciting. The interest that kept me reading was that it took place around where I live and I was also a theater kid but this book was…meh.

[NK · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to give this book 4 stars. It tells the story of how all family members are deeply affected by one member that is profoundly mentally ill and how they cope with their own life struggles. Sections of Part 3 went off the track enough to cause a struggle getting through it.

[Cynthia · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a re read from about 20 years ago. Even though it is well written, I had a difficult time getting through it. The author seemed to come to peace by the final chapter, but the journey was a rough one.

[Noonie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very dark, poignant, & very well-written.

[Michael Martin · Rating 1 out of 5]

A disappointing book. Not believable, even as an "enhanced memoir"... with some truly unlikable characters. Finished it, but barely.

[Amatos · Rating 2 out of 5]

Messed up family but lacked specifics to support that.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Cynthia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting look at the effects on mental illness on a family and surviving

[Tania · Rating 2 out of 5]

Fox caught my attention with the first line of this novel, as she writes that "I was born into a mentally ill family. My sister was the officially crazy one, but really we were all nuts." This statement is simple on the surface, and yet it speaks to the overall impact on a family system when one person has an illness, be it mental or physical. In the first part of the book, she keeps a clear, steady focus on the Person family, and it works beautifully. I started to get a sense of knowing not only Lorna, but the whole family.

Even in the second and third parts of the book, the writing is still top quality. Fox has a clear narrative voice, and some of the prose is as poignant and heartbreaking as any I've read. Lorna is a delightful blend of innocent and cynic. She's smart, she's insecure, she's funny, she's brave, she's cowardly - she's human, and on some level, all of us, even if we've left our adolescence and can't remember that far back, can still feel an echo of recognition in reading her story.

Despite that, the pacing drops off so much in the middle part of the book that the reader is pulled out of the story. It seemed like Fox was being careful to not portray anyone (specifically Lonnie and her parents) in a negative light. Rather than risk casting such a shadow over the rest of Lorna's family, Fox simply pulls them out of the book for a key period in Lorna's life. The book devolved from a compelling tale about the nature of family, love, sisterhood, and mental illness into a standard insecure teen girl comes of age tale.

Despite what seems to be a low mark, and some serious criticisms, this is still a worthwhile book to read, simply to experience the depth of Fox's adroit use of the English language. Just don't read it expecting to learn a great deal about mental illness. I'm glad I bought it used.

[Kaion · Rating 2 out of 5]

So life’s too short for tiresome reads, so I’ll be quick. Confusingly marketed as an “autobiographical novel”, My Sister from the Black Lagoon starts out promisingly as Laurie Fox/Lorna Person tells of growing up in 50s/60s Southern California with her “crazy” sister Lonnie—who shouts colorful murder threats, fears toast with sharp edges, cares for a veritable menagerie of reptiles, and terrorizes babysitters, but has also, Lorna thinks, the sweetest insides of anyone she knows. It’s both comically weird and weirdly real how this early passage paints the dysfunction that is the status quo from the family members’ attempts to cope: be it weekly therapy (for stressed stay-at-home mom), a consuming music hobby (for short-tempered TV-business dad), or a frightening elaborate fantasy life (for Lorna herself).

But soon the novel shifts from the focus on her sister and their family life into Lorna’s struggles growing up. It’s all typical obnoxious stuff, really, like why don’t I have more friends and first love angst and won’t I ever be a famous actress and my parents have a loveless 50s marriage and it was the 60s so there was lots of weed—particular emphasis on the I was just so tragically born as a person who feels too much all of which is terribly dull, predictable, and, given the claim of autobiographical basis, frankly seems like mega-self-absorption. At about the point about where Lorna says that her dates with her first boyfriend (the most truthful person on the planet) were all cry session in which he really listened to the truly deep pain within her (a development sans any irony), I figured I'd cut my losses. Rating: 1.5 stars

[Lauren · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book started off rather promising. It delved nicely into family dynamics of a younger sister placed on the back burner of her family because her family had to deal with a mentally ill older child. It strains the family and the girl, Lorna Person.

The book is told from Lorna's perspective and she grows from a child to a young adult attending UC Santa Cruz. It is really a coming of age novel which is shadowed in part by Lorna's guilt over her distance with her sister and her own desires.

This book was difficult to finish. I had to push myself to read the last 50-100 pages. This book fought within itself. It is a cross between a novel and a memoir. The protagonist is not that likeable and perhaps it's because it is difficult to slog through someone's journal that has been "elavated" to novel form. Some turns of phrase felt like they were written to sound like a novel instead of flowing organically.

That being said the beginning of the book was engaging, touching and funny. It isn't that the book takes a darker turn that makes it hard to read. It's as if the author needed to infuse more of her struggle onto the page in order to be "understood" but some therapy is best left in one's private journal. I would give this book 2 1/2 stars if I could because of the beginning.

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

While this novel has many complaints about the shift of focus about halfway through the novel, I have to argue that it is Fox's intention to do so. Growing up with a mentally ill sibling forced the main character to only see her ill sister as the main focus of her own life's story. However, this focus shifts for both the reader and the main character when the main character begins to go through puberty. Her time in adulthood near the end of the novel is the character's attempts at reconciling that shift of focus, or rather, the discrepancies in her own perspective as a child, then as a teen, and finally, as an adult.

Fox reminds us that, even though one may face unique hardships in childhood, we can still find a way to live for ourselves. Some of the emotionally-driven aspects of the main character can bog down the narrative at times, but the sincerity of her sentiments are rather endearing. This is a great novel for those living through this, or experiencing puberty. I only give it three stars, because I have never been inclined to read it a second time, especially as an adult.

[kates · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was loaned to me by a friend... say, 1-2 years ago.
I'm fairly certain at the time we had a conversation that was, "You might really like it... the narrator is sorta over-shadowed by her sibling, who situationally demands more attention..."

So as I'm reading about this jewish woman coming of age with a mentally ill, macabre, [gender dysphoric?] older sister, I kept thinking:

DID MY FRIEND THINK I WOULD RELATE TO THIS??

Reasons I did not relate:
1. The narrator has a LOT of feelings,
2. The narrator has a flair for the dramatic, which is nothing like my inner monologue, and
3. The narrator is clearly scarred from childhood.

Reasons I did relate:
1. Visiting an institutionalized family member is uniquely terrible,
2. Coming of age is just hard and lame, whether you feel a lot or think a lot.

Suffice it to say, a weird little autobiography.

Bonus points that the author clearly loves cats.

[Marlaina McCauslin · Rating 3 out of 5]

My Sister from the Black Lagoon was an interesting story. the older sister was something mental, her younger sister was trying to deal with her life and the guilt of having an insane sister, and the parents just dealing with everything in California during the 60s-70s. the first 2 parts of the story was based more on the older sister, which i partically enjoyed more than the younger one. the younger one, yes i understand that its hard, but after a while of her complaining, that got annoying

this story was okay, but what i didn't understand was that it was a memoir and a novel. which part was false and which parts were true?

[Janna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lindsey - I think you would enjoy reading this book, based off of what you've said at book club meetings and your own list (I have it if you would like to borrow it). It is told first-person perspective from a girl who's sister suffers from a mental disorder. I'm not sure if it is ever defined exactly what it is. The story is about how the narrator (the younger of the two sisters) copes and really how the whole family is far from "normal" as everyone is affected emotionally and is coping with the older sister's mental illness in different ways. Very interesting book.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm somewhere between "liked it" and "really liked it", but come to think of it, I told my daughter that I was slightly obsessed with this book somewhere along the line of reading it.
Told as a novel, but truly reflecting her actual life, Laura Fox writes about her life growing up Jewish in Los Angeles with a mentally ill older sister. At times touching and heart wrenching, at times hilarious she really hits on the awkwardness of growing up and trying to fit in, made especially difficult with a maniac in your midst.
I found it well written, a tad repetitive here and there, but not too much.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'd like to give the beginning of the book 5 stars.. and the end of the book three stars. In any event I gave it 3 stars overall.. the overly-wrought, personally introspective second half of the book really did not appeal to me. The first part of the book, that dealt mainly with the wild and crazy, out of control (and often funny, but in a "we're going to laugh at this someday" kind of funny), problems that Lonnie brought on her family was waaaay better than the second part of the book.