LSSL 5385 book blogging THE HANGED MAN

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

The Hanged Man opens with the unexpected death of the Laurel's father. Laurel, an artsy and unique teenager, lives in a Hollywood with her parents and a pet parrot, Zach, and when her father dies, she doesn't know how to cope. Her mother is weak, and honestly, I pitied her; I wanted so badly for her to protect Laurel on so many levels, but she just didn't. Nonetheless, they are both grief stricken and dealing with his death in different ways. Unfortunately, Laurel beings to battle with anorexia, and it's unclear if this is an eating disorder that is resurfacing from the past or not. Her dreams and ambitions start to dwindle away as her grief, depression, and illness take over her life. Instead, she turns to parties and substance abuse, and she suffers from her eating disorder. 

Eventually, Laurel meets Jack, an older man who she builds and intimate relationship with. Jack comforts her, and tries to make her come to terms with her father’s death, her anorexia, and the traumas of her past. In large part because of Jack, we find out that Laurel was abused, raped, and impregnated by her late father, a man she grieves nonetheless. In the end, we have renewed hope for Laurel's recovery as she mends the relationship with her mother and copes with all of the hurt she has suffered.

The strength of this book is that it's written in a poetic, lyrical way that tenderly presents such a dark subject matter. Block touches on some extremely dark and taboo topics, and I think the writing style lended itself to the tone of the book- sometimes her words seemed as if she was in a bit of a haze, which may have been symbolic of Laurel's life in those moments. There is also a wealth of imagery presented through her tarot card hobby, and while I wasn't familiar with that, I was intrigued by it.

This is a quick read, but it's heavy. It's definitely worth noting its many "trigger-worthy" subjects- death, rape, incest, eating disorder. I think a young adult would love this book, and I would recommend it to ages 16+.