Name: Leafling's review of Light Boxes by Shane Jones
Item: Light Boxes
Rating: 4
Author: Leafling

Shane Jones

After a god-like spirit punishes a town for flying by making it perpetually live out its days in the month of February, children go missing and adults fall into deep depression, but a small contingent of townsfolk fight back, waging war on February, in a story optioned by film director Spike Jonze. Reprint.

Light Boxes

Leafling

This is a surreal little fable in an experimental format and the plot is my worst nightmare. In a small town, there are four seasons: Spring, Summer, Fall, and February. And at the time that we meet this town, they are experiencing an unusually long February. It has gone on for years and it doesn't seem like it's going to end. As it turns out, there's a god named February and he's mad at the villagers for using flight. So that's banned and he continues to torture them. And then children in the village start to go missing. A war against February begins.

At first it's a little difficult to figure out what's going on. Light Boxes almost looks like our world, but then it gets a little weirder and a little more magical. Sometimes, to mark the POV, the name of the character is in bold at the top of the page. Sometimes a page is just a list of things. You never know what to expect as you keep turning the pages, but you can be assured that you'll be confronted with whimsical, poetic language in every line. This is a tricky fairy tale that will keep surprising you. If you like linear storytelling, back away from this book now. Otherwise, by the end, you'll be especially surprised by how in love with the characters you were the whole time. 

Full review: http://outlandishlit.blogspot.com/201...

In this poignant and fantastical first novel, a god-like spirit who lives in the sky, named February, is punishing a town for flying. As endless February continues, children go missing and adults become nearly catatonic with depression. But others find the strength to fight back.

A Novel

Channing Williford

Morgan Thomas

Irina 

A poignant and fantastical first novel by a timeless new literary voice. With all the elements of a classic fable, vivid descriptions, and a wholly unique style, this idiosyncratic debut introduces a new and exciting voice to readers of such authors as George Saunders, Kurt Vonnegut, and Yann Martel. In Light Boxes, the inhabitants of one closely-knit town are experiencing perpetual February. It turns out that a god-like spirit who lives in the sky, named February, is punishing the town for flying, and bans flight of all kind, including hot air balloons and even children's kites. It's February who makes the sun nothing but a faint memory, who blankets the ground with snow, who freezes the rivers and the lakes. As endless February continues, children go missing and more and more adults become nearly catatonic with depression. But others find the strength to fight back, waging war on February.

Amy Maddess

Alex Gee

Moray Lyle McIntosh

Lindsay Cronk

KMed

cygnoir

A haunting, enigmatic, Kafkaesque modern fairytale, steeped in visual imagery and consolingly lyrical prose.' The Times February is persecuting the townspeople. It has been winter for more than three hundred days. All forms of flight are banned and the children have started to disappear, taken from their beds in the middle of the night. The priests hang ominous sheets of parchment on the trees, signed 'February'. And somewhere on the outskirts of the town lives February himself, with the girl who smells of honey and smoke... In short bursts of intensely poetic language, this beautifully strange and otherworldly first novel tells the story of the people in the town and their efforts to combat the mysterious spectre of February. Steeped in visual imagery, this is a hauntingly enigmatic modern fairy tale - in which nothing is as it seems. 'This slim and absorbing novel reads like a bedtime story that your mother forgot to tell you, and it announces Jones as a stunning new literary voice' -- BlackBook 'Shane Jones's darkly imaginative debut novel was first released last year by a small independent publisher in a print run of 500, it seemed destined to only fall into the hands of a few. But thanks to the literary underground, the novel has quickly garnered a cult following' -- Dazed & Confused 'A gem and a serious contender for best novel of 2010' -- 3am Magazine 'It's hard not to root for Light Boxes' -- Time Out New York 'We expect a vibrant imagination in our authors, but charm is an underrated quality, and Jones has both in spades' -- Time Out Chicago 'Imagination reminiscent of the works of Richard Brautigan' -- The Rumpus 'A strange mix of Richard Brautigan, Italo Calvino, and Jim Henson. Jones has written a tale that is dreamy yet personal, experimental yet accessible. Light Boxes will be important not just for the power of its prose but also, hopefully, because it might give large publishers an excuse to once again take chances on innovative novels by young writers'-- Publishers Weekly Booktrust: 'With bursts of poetical language, compact language and bursts of emotion, Light Boxes is a beautiful and moving read, striving to burst through situations with light and hope' Just William's Luck:Savidge Reads: 'The book's 168 small, square, sparse pages would take just the one day to read through and it's amazing how far it's possible to travel in so short a time' The Bookbag: 'You will have to go a long way to find a more magical and quirky novella than Light Boxes ...... It's a book that shows a deep sympathy for humanity and I can see it being a cult hit. It's well worth checking out' Follow the Thread: 'What a wonderful read' Forbookssake.net: 'Beautiful way with language and visual imagery' Goodreads: 5 Stars - 'Pretty extraordinary' Savidge Reads: 'A marvellous, escapist read'

Leafling &
Light Boxes by Shane Jones

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Leafling &
Light Boxes by Shane Jones