The Blue Spong and the Flight from Mediocrity

by St. Sukie de la Croix

Mediocrity is now, as formerly, dangerous, commonly fatal, to the poet; but among even the successful writers of prose, those who rise sensibly above it are the very rarest exceptions.
~William Gladstone The year is 1924; the place is Chicago’s Towertown, home to the city’s Bohemian set. The Clam Sisters, their staff and guests at Palourde Parlor at 35 E. Chestnut Street, are about to have life as they know it turned on its head. When one of the Clam Sisters purchases a rare blue spong from an exotic songbird dealer, the aristocratic sisters find themselves exposed to a flying oddity that leads them to shed their commonplace and staid way of life, for something altogether bold and daring. Chinese tongs, vaudeville shows, fraudulent spiritualists … St Sukie de la Croix's novel is a humorous historical fantasy that showcases the follies of leading a mediocre existence.

Genres: Historical Fiction, LGBT

100 pages, Paperback

Published June 7, 2017

Reviews

[Rick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Because this is an acid-trip of a book, with wild and vivid imagery and a dollop of magical realism, mediocre readers may fail to notice that it's also a blueprint for a life filled with unpredictability, integrity, and yes, joy. Read it and feel your own blue spong throb-throb-throbbing just above your head. If you're lucky, it might enter your body and you too will see your own mediocrity beat a hasty retreat. Highly recommended.

['Nathan Burgoine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review to come, but this was quite the amusing ride.

[Charles · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a weird, rather delightful read. It's very quick but the takes on how to escape mediocrity are fun and the book itself is a wonderful look at historical Chicago. Quirky, smutty, and magical.

[Cinnia Literary Raccoon · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a very short yet bizarre read, but I enjoyed it overall. I'd give it a solid 3.

Stuff I liked:
- This book was genuinely funny to me. Admittedly, I have a strange sense of humor, but this definitely tickled it, which is probably why I found it fun to read, even the really fucked up parts. This book is very extra and dark-humored, just as an FYI.
- I appreciated all the research that went into this book. Even though it's technically historical fantasy, there was a lot of attention to detail on what it would be like to live in Chicago in 1924 and I thought it definitely made it a lot more fun. The bizarre stuff with the spong contrasted realistic details nicely.
- I liked the writing, since it was funny and balanced dialogue and descriptions/exposition nicely.
- I also liked the satire of conventional society and how the book called out the sheer boredom that is heteronormative, white, and wealthy high society.
- Casual adult LGBT rep is my jam and I liked how it really wasn't treated much differently from the heterosexual characters' relationships, with the exception of historical considerations.

Stuff I didn't like so much:
- I can appreciate some hilarious sexual humor, but I do have limits that were pushed a few times throughout this book, mostly because it got too weird, even for me. Maybe people with an even weirder sense of humor wouldn't mind so much, though.
- Maybe it's just me not getting something or whatever, but the increasing symbolism towards the end of the book got really confusing to me? I get that the spong is there to end mediocrity etc. etc. But then there were opium dreams (those were okay, just a little confusing), then angels, then hawk wings? I think the meanings of those things flew right over my head tbh.

Concluding Thought:
I'd say this book is worth reading if you think it's something you might like, but be aware that this book may not appeal to everyone.