LSSL 5385 Book Blog- The Hanged Man

Block, F. L. (1999). The Hanged Man. New York: HarperTrophy

The Hanged Man is a book about a lost girl living in modern Los Angeles. It’s a book about loss, grief, addiction, incest, love, and hate, set in a city that is explained in a stylistic manner as both captivating and repellent.

Following the unexpected death of her father, Laurel, named after the canyon, lives with her mother in sort of fairy tale style home in the Hollywood Hills. She is anorexic to the point of losing her menstrual cycle and suffers greatly from anger, guilt, and helplessness. Her mother She tries to use the city as a way to lose herself and cope with her situation.

After a whirlwind of nights in L.A. filled with drugs, sex, and debauchery of every kind, Laurel soon meets a mysterious man named Jack. He becomes a sort of beacon for Laurel, getting her to admit things she is in denial with, like the molestation by her father, and an abortion Laurel had as a result. After a brief but steamy romance with Jack, she eventually comes to terms with what has happened to her. In the end, she makes amends with her mother and slowly begins to regain her health and her life.

The book was filled with taboo topics that could be a bit much for some readers. It seems to have hit all the heavy themes and included them all in one book. The character development was well done and the reader can almost feel the despair in Laurel. Her character is very believable and I think that readers will be able to relate to her on various levels, even if they aren’t experiencing similar issues.

One issue I had was with Jack. He is kept as a sort of laconic character in the story that we don’t really learn too much about, but I didn’t like how he represented this “hero” character for Laurel. Yes, he helped her through a lot, but I see him as this older man that sort of took advantage of a young girl’s pain. She was in the hands of a man that really had no business with a girl her age.  With that being said, this book is not for the faint of heart, but reads in a very poetic way. It has a duality of both beautiful and gritty imagery, that reads as much like a poem as it does a novel. With young adult literature being centered around the modern world with real issues, this book fits in easily. Due to the content, I would say this book is most appropriate for upper high school students.

**YA required author


Other books by Francesca Lia Block:

Violet & Claire ISBN 978-0064472531
I Was a Teenage Fairy ISBN 978-0064408622