First and foremost, I defy anyone not to love Francesca Lia Block once you learn that she owns a spaniel named Vincent Van Go Go Boots. Or if that isn’t enough, how about that her debut novel, Weetzie Bat, which went on to be translated into languages as diverse as Finnish, Norwegian and Japanese, was written whilst she was still a student?
That snippet of trivia just makes me jealous, so let’s not dwell. But envious as I am, there’s no point denying that Francesca Lia Block is prolific enough to make any wannabe-author drool. She’s published more than twenty books in as many years, including novellas, short story and poetry collections, as well as the fantastically comprehensive non-fiction guide Zine Scene, complied in conjunction with Queen of the Oddballs Hilary Carlip.
The Weetzie Bat series has become massively popular among teenagers, although the books have come under criticism from some quarters. When the first book was published in 1989, references to transsexual characters, drug abuse, rape, abortion, gay sex and the AIDS epidemic did not go down well with some parents. Literary critics and the more open-minded, however, lauded Block for including complex social issues without resorting to the clumsy moralising which typifies so much other fiction for the young adult market.
Block’s writing could be described as whimsical and romantic magic realism, similar in some ways to that of Gabriel Garcia Marquez, but with a far more ferocious bite. Her lifelong infatuation with fairytales and Greek mythology is evidenced by the recurring classical themes of sex, death, cruelty and redemption, albeit set in the “jasmine-scented, jacaranda-purple, neon sparked city” of Los Angeles. Using seductively lyrical prose that is bohemian in style but pure punk rock in content, Block’s novellas and short stories combine the idealism of innocence with the confusion, arrogance and heartbreak of modern adolescence.
If, like me, you weren’t lucky enough to discover Block when you were younger, don’t despair. Now could be the time to catch up on what you missed.
Image via Francesca Lia Block's Official Website