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

(Paperback)

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Description

"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 in a strange, unfathomable world. Lorna Persons is the youngest of two daughters born in the 1950s to a South California family. She lives in the shadow cast by her sister, whose rages command the full attention of a her parents. Their household is off-key and out of kilter, a place where Lorna's sister Lonnie sees evil in the morning toast and runs into the hills to join the animals that seem more like her kin. Lorna's severe longing for normality, combined with a sensitive nature and teenage-angst, lead her down a bittersweet path from anger and guilt to acceptance. 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.

Reviews

Valerie Frankel The New York Times Book Review Fox's prose is beautiful...effective and stirring. Beth Witrogen McLeod San Francisco Examiner Hypnotic, darkly humorous. Publishers Weekly, starred review A triumph of storytelling verve, dark humor, and unabashed candor. Margaria Fichtner The Miami Herald [A] remarkable, almost aggressively vibrant blend of fiction and memoir. Jan Winburn The Baltimore Sun Achingly honest and surprisingly funny...heartrending. Elisabeth Sherwin Book Page Laurie Fox has managed to turn what could have been a harrowing and depressing autobiographical novel into a moving and funny story.

Author Bio

LAURIE FOX was raised in Burbank, California, and has been involved in the Los Angeles and San Diego literary communities as a poet and bookseller. For the last ten years, she has worked as a literary agent. She lives with her husband and cat, Chloe, in Berkeley, California