The Hanged Man: A Dark YA Novel of Family Secrets and Shattered Passions

by Francesca Lia Block

After the death of her father, Laurel is haunted by a legacy of family secrets, hidden shame, and shattered glass. Immersing herself in the heady rhythms of a city that is like something wild, caged, and pacing, Laurel tries to lose herself. But when she runs away from the past, she discovers a passion so powerful, it brings her roundabout and face-to-face with the demons she wants to avoid.

In a stunning departure from her enormously popular Weetzie Bat books, Francesca Lia Block weaves a darkly exhilarating tale of shattered passions and family secrets.

Genres: Young Adult, Fiction, Fantasy, Magical Realism, Teen, Contemporary, Romance

137 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1994

About the author

Francesca Lia Block is the author of more than twenty-five books of fiction, non-fiction, short stories and poetry. She received the Spectrum Award, the Phoenix Award, the ALA Rainbow Award and the 2005 Margaret A. Edwards Lifetime Achievement Award, as well as other citations from the American Library Association and from the New York Times Book Review, School Library Journal and Publisher’s Weekly. She was named Writer-in-Residence at Pasadena City College in 2014. Her work has been translated into Italian, French, German Japanese, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, Finnish and Portuguese. Francesca has also published stories, poems, essays and interviews in The Los Angeles Times, The L.A. Review of Books, Spin, Nylon, Black Clock and Rattle among others. In addition to writing, she teaches creative writing at University of Redlands, UCLA Extension, Antioch University, and privately in Los Angeles where she was born, raised and currently still lives.

Reviews

[Jorie · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Craft's Rachel True, both an actress and esoteric practitioner, describes tarot as "a shrink in a box".

This use of tarot has always stuck with me (a science-minded skeptic, but also a fantasy lover); to look at what cards are drawn by chance and glean perspective from them. What we see in the images is informed by our life experiences, revealing our unique associations, interpretations, and insights. But never our futures - no card (or person) has the power to do that.

Each chapter of Francesca Lia Block's excellent book The Hanged Man is titled for a tarot card. They reflect main character Laurel's thoughts, memories, and fears. Never do they speak to what will happen in the book, but what already has occurred. Slowly, abstractly, they help us learn why Laurel is the way she is.

A teenager whose father has just passed, Laurel meanders through life in 1990s Los Angeles and, in a stream of consciousness, tries to make sense of it all. Her relationship with her father gets slowly revealed, one where his sudden passing is both a blessing and a curse. It impacts every aspect of her life - her relationship with food and those around her, how she sees the world and her own potential, and what behaviors she's willing to partake in.

Laurel's mother and her circle of friends identify as "witches", which is why such iconography as tarot is so constant in her life. But nothing, not the cards, not the crystals littered throughout the house, not the supposed "magic", protected her from abuse in the home. Rather, it convoluted her experience. None of it helps to heal her, but instead puts a roadblock to her truth by trying to find alternative meanings.

The language throughout cuts both ways - beautiful, but devastating. The atmosphere established is dreamlike, accompanied by words out of both fairytales and drunken nights. I love such blends of fantasy and gritty realism; somehow, the unreal makes the truths hit harder.

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

did i mention that i have a tattoo because of this book? francesca lia block is the sophia coppola of young adult literature. she explores the inner workings of young women via dreamy, romantic, imaginative language that is potent and visceral. and while sometimes her tactics are heavy-handed --- ie, i find what her character emotes in this book is typical to most 14/15/16 year old girls, not sure that she necessarily needed to use incest as a means of achieving an emotional whollop of a point --- the book's ultimate message of strength over self-doubt and self-hate and finding one's place in the world is told in shimmering prose that i have read over and over again since i was 13 years old.

[Mely]

It would probably be too romanticized for me now, and the race and culturally appropriative bits make me flinch, but it does capture something of what adolescence was like for me as a girl in the 80s, this mix of desire and fear and the sexuality looming dangerous (men, rapists, AIDs). This is only barely hopeful, ending with something like the decision to try to heal rather than healing itself; the book itself is full of indirections and asides that tell the story, so perhaps it's fitting that the ending is incomplete as well. It's only made explicit that Laurel's father molested her near the end, but you can tell that something's wrong very early, when she thinks of the sunshine being so beautiful she wants to shoot it up her veins, and you can tell what it is once the Midas references come in.

I think it glamorizes anorexia a bit -- I mean, it is clearly bad, one of the many ways in which Laurel is damaged, but she likes the aesthetics of it and the descriptions of her body aren't really any different from descriptions in Block's other books.

[Mikamae · Rating 5 out of 5]

Favorite book of all time. Dark and lucid with its imagery, it is one of Francesca's best. I first read it when I was 13 years old and then I have always found myself returning to it. With each read the soft language of her words are peeled back to reveal something deeper. Francesca's writing is like antique lace, you think that there is only beauty and that it is something soft and light but then you realize that underneath the lyrical nature of her words there is something hidden and sensual. There is something that is much deeper than you thought, she deals with issues such as death and sexuality in a way that could go over your head if you are not in tune with her language.
I loved the fact that there was a tarot card for each chapter, I really feel that this book changed my life.

[Jaemi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been an avid Block fan since a friend had me read Violet & Claire in 2001, after which I went out and bought all the books on the shelf at Barnes & Noble. Hanged Man has always been one of my favorites. It's always struck me as odd, as it's one of the touchier subjects, centering around molestation and repressed memories, but I suppose I felt I could identify, and her writing is just incredible.

As per usual with FLB books, her style is unique. Reality meats fantasy, poetry meets prose.

Laurel's father has died, and she and her mother spend their days floating around one another, like ships anchored just out of reach, or at sea always passing but never meeting. The AIDS scare has begun, and Laurel worries for her friends and their wild lifestyles. Though constantly urged otherwise, she doesn't eat. A man has been going around the valley breaking into women's rooms, and Laurel can't sleep, though her room is in a tower.

Phantasmic Jack haunts her dreams, appears at random at parties, on the streets. It's he who eventually helps her to break free of her internal bars, to let go of everything held inside. Only after this point can she and her mother then confront what's been between them for so long.

Laurel's emotional journey will likely resonate with many, even if they can't relate to her specific circumstances. The language alone makes it worth the read. I have a handful of favorite authors, but I've still yet to find anyone who can out-style Francesca Lia Block.

[Tabitha Vohn · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the more mature and unabashed of Block's works (as far as her YA novels are concerned). The Hanged Man packs a sobering punch and a very candid, sobering look at the very real issues that many adolescents are forced to deal with. Lia Block leaves no stone unturned; no subject is too taboo for her to tackle with her quiet, poetic grace, which makes the subject matter easier to digest.

I don't consider myself a very prudish person, especially with the novels that I was exposed to as a teen (and I feel that I turned out ok :0) However, if I were a mother, and knew that my daughter was reading this book, I would definitely want to open a dialogue about it (I imagine this was Block's intention as well). My hope is that young readers will possess the intuitiveness to see that this novel is not a glamorization of threesome's, heroine use, or the other self-destructive behaviors that the characters engage in, but will rather see them as harsh symptoms of an underlying damage.

Even reading this as an adult, this book resonates long after it has been put down. I recommend it, but not if you're in need of a pick-me-up read.

[Jack Strangie]

good

[mags · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book is weird as hell. five stars

[Kat · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book stirred me...a whirlwind of imagery; I read it in one sitting, about two hours. Although my experience does not match that of the characters exactly, I felt a vicarious link with Laurel and her emotional plight...this book took me back to a time in my life that I felt this same roller coaster; out-of-control grief. Anorexia connected us; one way to deal with the pain is to stop living as much as possible for a time, hole up, develop a numbness. Your life is unrecognizable, changed irrevocably against your will, and despite your longing, longing, longing, it can never change back. The entire book expressed the numbness of grief, while being alive with painful, dark thoughts expressed in such masterful language I agree with taryn's review - If I could write like this, I wouldn't do anything else. Wow. I want this one on my shelf, next to anything I write. My favorites and examples below:

"Then he says hello and his voice is the best thing - it cracks like ice when you pour the liquor over" (Block 4).

"I watch him and drink some of my margarita. Icy and salty and sharp-sweet and making me feel that way you feel just as you're about to fall asleep, your body so heavy and your mind beginning to flash dream-like fragments like coming attractions" (Block 99).

"And I wanted to freeze naked, cold bronze like those women he made. Captive. But impenetrable" (Block 121).

[Lala · Rating 5 out of 5]

"I will be strength with her lion."

A little bit dark, definitely intense and light as a feather! This was a beautiful read full of poetic prose. Francesca's writing is like a piece of art. You have to interpret what is before your eyes. I almost felt like I was walking through a gallery while reading this book. It was so vivid and colourful. The intense subject matter aside this story was told with such tenderness and passion. A magical journey of emotions that will lead you to triumph. This is only my second Block book and I am madly in love with her writing. There is something so compelling and irresistible about her characters, they possess a truth and an honesty that seems somehow so relatable.

"Everything was chocolate ice cream and kisses and wind."

"Jack grabs my wrist. He will not let me cover my mouth. 'Get rid of it."
"I am screaming ~ all the plates and glasses and mirrors I have ever broken are smashing around inside of me, flung against the insides of me. I imagine a storm of broken, glinting bits tearing at me. I pull away and bury my face in the pillows. I am screaming a storm of blood and broken glass and china."

[Christina · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was so similar to other books by Block that I was in a constant state of deja vu. Tragic girl, check. Sexual dysfunction, check. Characters that may or may not exist, check. Los Angeles, artists, drugs, faerie references, check check check check.

Although I did wish there was greater difference between The Hanged Man and others (Echo, I Was a Teenaged Fairy, etc.) I find it impossible not to appreciate Block's prose. The way she writes emotion is unmatched. Her use of symbolism and never explicitly stating what happens (until she does, which is sort of over-done) lead to such a satisfying experience as a reader that I always appreciate her books.

A great book dealing with recovering from trauma, loss, shame, and anger.

[Christine Gaza · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh. I really think she is overrated. Some of her writing is beautiful but mostly I think it’s overdone and trying too hard. I love symbolism but when I have to create that after every line is a bit heavy handed.

[Nomad · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think that this book will be hard for some readers, it deals with a lot of uneasy topics. Death of a parent, eating disorders, father/daughter incest and a distant mother who may or may not have known on some level what was happening to her daughter.

The story opens on the death of the protagonist's father and the start of her anorexia nervosa. It's unclear if this is her first bout with the disease or if it has been a coping mechanism of her's for years. There's evidence to support both in the book. Gradually the incest comes out, it's subtle and I know a few people who didn't realize at first that the abuse the main character suffered through was sexual. There's no other way to describe the mother other than someone you find your self pitying and wanting to strangle in equal measure. You never really can say whether or not she knew about the abuse. So if she didn't, you pity her, if she did, you want her dead.

If you're a parent, especially a mother, those feelings are tenfold.

The book ends on a note of hope. You reach the last page feeling like the heroine will truly be able to heal, that her mother has become a functioning woman once again and that the worst is behind them. 'The Hanged Man' is uncomfortable, but brillinant, the only reason that I didn't give it 5 stars was because I really wanted to know how much the mother knew and not having that information bothered me. Other than that, another stellar book from Francesca Lia Block.

[Lani Lenore · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was one among several in a lot I purchased, but it was the first one I read. I chose it because the description grabbed my attention, not because the book was short - which it was. I read it in a couple of hours.

I was excited when I found out it would be a dark tale, and I was also intrigued by the poetic style. This is the first book I've read by Block, by the way, and I did not know of her beforehand.

That said, I really wanted to like it more than I did. Some people might say that I don't understand/am being unfair to the author, but the writing style quickly got old, and the poetry almost seemed like a ruse, as if this writer was saying 'look at these words, now pretend they mean something'. The entire thing was written as if in a blur or a drug-induced haze. While the book dealt with similar themes, I'm not sure I felt it was the right voice for a seventeen year old girl - not really. To me, it was an odd sort of narrative with foggy characters and a couple of themes that seemed out of place.

[Maggie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 for this one.

It was dark. Very dark. It was more like reading a stream-of-consciousness epic poem than a novel because there were so many metaphors and beautiful, startling imagery. I would read it again just for the imagery because the plot and characterization definitely leave you wanting more. However, because it is told from the POV of a troubled young woman, it makes sense that her perceptions of the people around her are kind of muddled. You feel like you're looking at everyone through blurred vision. I really liked the way tarot cards were incorporated into the story.

I don't think I would recommend this for younger readers because, like I said, it was very dark and disturbing even though it was told in a beautiful way.

[melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Francesca Lia Block is always a beautiful, but someone difficult read. Both the subject matter and the kind of stream of consciousness flow tends to make this one a little more difficult than others. Given the theme, I really wouldn't suggest this for anyone under 16.

Laurel is struggling through the death of her father. She was struggling before, but everything seems to become worse with his passing. She copes through her eating disorder and getting lost in a boy. Things that never really help, other than to help get someone to rock bottom where they can hopefully climb out again.

[Sandy Dahmoos · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the book that made me want to write nd draw ...its one of my favorite books , its such a surreal novel because of it I have been able to take painful experiences and put them into my fictional stories. Even more, I've learned that through this art of writing I can process, understand, and even transcend my experiences- I can heal through the characters and worlds I have created, that is a priceless gift.

[Chandni · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this book for the first time when I was a teenager and I remember it being far more powerful and moving than it actually is. I never realized it was so heavily centered around the AIDS crisis. While I remembered the storyline in broad strokes, there were a lot of details I'd forgotten. It seemed far too easily wrapped up and this book just doesn't sit right with me.

[Casey Leonard]

This book was very descriptive and mature had a lot of graphic parts. It also had a lot of witch based ideas in it which was a little out of my element. This was not in my top 5 books read this year and it was a little hard to comprehend due to the strange language used.

[elissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Abuse issues, done very "dreamily", in the usual Block style. I think this was her first YA book published that wasn't in the Dangerous Angels/Weetzie Bat series.

[becca sporky · Rating 5 out of 5]

i loved this.

[Amanda Van Parys · Rating 3 out of 5]

I remember reading Weetzie Bat when I was 13 or 14, being enthralled with the story and the style. I had never read anything like what Francesca Lia Block had written for teens... I also never read anything else written by her. I still have my battered 90's copy of Weetzie and I even tried passing it on to my own daughter to no avail. However, now that I have read Block as a grown-ass adult, I can literally see the purple of the prose on my Kindle pages. I appreciate the inspiration and sense of wonder she invoked in me as a young, hyper-imaginative teen, but as an adult, I will leave her legacy tucked away inside that younger version of me.

[hope · Rating 3 out of 5]

"use what you see so you don't start hurting yourself with it."

brings in a very specific feeling. it has this foggy flow of consciousness, like you have low iron and you just stood up too fast. however, i think it fits considering her darker state of mind and all the trauma! poetic but not in a way i’d recommend, although i did like the witch vibes from the mom (in hindsight, i probably shouldn’t be relating to her).

personally only picked this up from a used book shop because i thought the tarot theme was cool. a little hard to get through. the ending was not impactful for me, wrapped up the whole issue so quickly!! also, i did not like jack, if he did exist. at all.

[Marina · Rating 2 out of 5]

one thing is for sure: this book works with beautiful imagery! I read it in one sitting and could see all the pictures the author painted with her words, it was so vivid. I liked the whole thing with the tarot cards, the relevation, the ending.
However, it was not enough. Not enough explained- I know a lot is supposed to be answered by the reader for him/herself, but there were many things that were just left open that i felt like the book was incomplete. Also, Laurel as a character is very difficult to grasp and I could not identify with her which made it so much harder to follow her story

[Brittany Marcha · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have never read anything by this author. That being said, I don't know how to feel about the writing style. In the beginning, I felt like she was just throwing out words but they made no sense. Then I get through that first chapter, and things start to kind of make sense. Everything is dripping in symbolism. All these pretty words and pictures. Right down to the tarot cards of it all. It was an ok read. I liked it from what I got from it. But luckily it was a short read or I would have put it back on the shelf.

[KWinks · Rating 3 out of 5]

Somehow I missed this one in my teens when I read everything else I could get my hands on by Block. Laurel is wasting away. She doesn't eat. This is a Laurel Canyon fever dream. There are mentions of AIDS but there has clearly been some sort of sexual abuse. I didn't love this. Probably because I also grew up in a world where kids were pushed into adult life at way too young of an age as well and because it's so dreamy there is no real healing going on here.

[Anna · Rating 2 out of 5]

The best thin about this book was that it was short.
Honestly I don't think it's just for me. I can understand though why some people love it.
For me it was too surreal, I couldn't tell a difference between dream and reality and I didn't like it. I also didn't see the point. The ending means nothing.
Though I do appreciate the fact that I've never read anything like that.

[Lalainia Reynolds · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book many years ago and decided to read it again as a quick read before visiting LA. I used to love Francesca Lia Block, but this book romanticizes tragedy. I just can't love it despite the beautiful language. I know much of her writing is about the beauty in the agony of life, but every single character is pitiful in this book. I'm glad it's so short.

[Liz Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

Because of this book along with the “Weetzie Bat” series I moved here to LA to pursue my dreams in costuming and theatre and have done well for myself. I’ve even been able to visit many of the landmarks she describes in beautiful detail. I like to pull out these books when I feel like I’m losing hope and they rekindle the magic that drew me to this city.

[Isha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautifully written. I can see how it is almost glorifying drug abuse, which is my hesitation to give it 5 stars, but it's also from the perspective of someone on drugs so I understand. Highly recommend.