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Ecstasia
From the bestselling author of Weetzie Bat comes a fantasy adventure.
Siblings Calliope and Rafe, along with Dionisio and Paul, are Ecstasia—the most popular band in Elysia, a city of jewels and feathers, of magic and music, where the only crime is growing old. Then Calliope’s visions take her to Under, where the Old Ones go to die, and where her parents had vanished long ago. Rafe joins her there, in search of the Doctor, who can bring back the dead to ease their loved ones� broken hearts. And that is when rapture turns to nightmare.
Siblings Calliope and Rafe, along with Dionisio and Paul, are Ecstasia—the most popular band in Elysia, a city of jewels and feathers, of magic and music, where the only crime is growing old. Then Calliope’s visions take her to Under, where the Old Ones go to die, and where her parents had vanished long ago. Rafe joins her there, in search of the Doctor, who can bring back the dead to ease their loved ones� broken hearts. And that is when rapture turns to nightmare.
196 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1993
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About the author
Francesca Lia Block
95Ìýbooks3,351ÌýfollowersFrancesca Lia Block is the author of more than twenty-five books of fiction, non-fiction, short stories and poetry. She received the Spectrum Award, the Phoenix Award, the ALA Rainbow Award and the 2005 Margaret A. Edwards Lifetime Achievement Award, as well as other citations from the American Library Association and from the New York Times Book Review, School Library Journal and Publisher’s Weekly. She was named Writer-in-Residence at Pasadena City College in 2014. Her work has been translated into Italian, French, German Japanese, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, Finnish and Portuguese. Francesca has also published stories, poems, essays and interviews in The Los Angeles Times, The L.A. Review of Books, Spin, Nylon, Black Clock and Rattle among others. In addition to writing, she teaches creative writing at University of Redlands, UCLA Extension, Antioch University, and privately in Los Angeles where she was born, raised and currently still lives.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 54 reviews
September 6, 2013
What made me pick this up was actually the cover. A girl at a masquerade ball looking at someone had grabbed my interest and after reading the back of the book I knew I had to buy it.
No regret came from my decision. The book was very promising and the author had fullfilled her promise by delivering a good solid plotline with enchanting characters and scenery that just made you gasp with every turn of a page.
The writing was amazing. The way everything was described so amazingly using such great words just amazed me. The characters this author managed to create were the first of their kind I've ever read about. There's just so much life poured into this book that you can almost feel like you're actually there when whatever is written on the page is happening.
The only problem I've found with this book is that the format was very confusing. The way the 'chapters' were put together and how verses of songs and writing were blended together just made my brain feel razzled. I think I would have preferred if th poetry was put aside seperately while the author would have progressed with the writing part of the book.
Well, you don't always get what you want but this was a very interesting book. I don't see at all where the Greek Mythology could be tied in but oh well - if the book managed to catch my attention and keep me so amazed I don't care about such small details as that
No regret came from my decision. The book was very promising and the author had fullfilled her promise by delivering a good solid plotline with enchanting characters and scenery that just made you gasp with every turn of a page.
The writing was amazing. The way everything was described so amazingly using such great words just amazed me. The characters this author managed to create were the first of their kind I've ever read about. There's just so much life poured into this book that you can almost feel like you're actually there when whatever is written on the page is happening.
The only problem I've found with this book is that the format was very confusing. The way the 'chapters' were put together and how verses of songs and writing were blended together just made my brain feel razzled. I think I would have preferred if th poetry was put aside seperately while the author would have progressed with the writing part of the book.
Well, you don't always get what you want but this was a very interesting book. I don't see at all where the Greek Mythology could be tied in but oh well - if the book managed to catch my attention and keep me so amazed I don't care about such small details as that
August 3, 2014
Lush language, that seductive grandeur of an artificial lifestyle� I just couldn't get enough. It was perfection and utter terror.
But, the most important part of this read was, for me, the question of whether or not you would sink yourself into hell just to see a deceased loved one again. Would you? I just lost a friend, and goodness, I wouldn't. Putting that into perspective, I knew how deep Rafe's love had to run and how delicate a certain part of him had to be in order to make that decision.
The ending confuses me a bit, but gosh, this is definitely something I'm hanging onto.
But, the most important part of this read was, for me, the question of whether or not you would sink yourself into hell just to see a deceased loved one again. Would you? I just lost a friend, and goodness, I wouldn't. Putting that into perspective, I knew how deep Rafe's love had to run and how delicate a certain part of him had to be in order to make that decision.
The ending confuses me a bit, but gosh, this is definitely something I'm hanging onto.
September 17, 2023
This is like reading a dream that is surreal, sexual and so, so beautiful. The fear of age, dying and time. Acceptance and growth. Plenty of Greek mythology interwoven. The descriptions force your imagination to come to life. Makes me think a little of McKillip's writing style.
March 19, 2010
Elysia is a city that is a carnival of light, sparkle, shimmer and joy. Sweet candy, hot house flowers, music, bars, clubs, circuses and carousels all make up this fun house city of youth and excitement. But, to stay in it you must pay the price. Only the young may stay above, when you grow old you go Under, to a labyrinth of dark tunnels and shadowy places of quiet, dark desperation, wrapped up in linen awaiting your death. In this beautiful city Calliope is a girl that has visions of the future and plays the piano. Rafe is her brother, an impulsive boy that plays the drums. They join a band called Ecstasia with a boy named Paul that writes poetic songs and sings while another boy named Dionisio, Calliope’s lover, plays guitar when he’s not drinking himself into a stupor.
They all want beauty and youth and gardens. They want what Elysia has to offer, but they want it real. They want real flowers that grow out of the earth, natural rain that isn’t poisoned, beauty that isn’t painted on. Will they ever find their garden of eternity? And, just what does that mean exactly?
Ecstasia is a beautiful poetic novel that tells it's story through the vehicles of poem and song, visions and dreams, third person and first person narratives, flowing from one story telling device to another as the tale unfolds. The book is full of metaphor, allusion and interpretation and to really help you get it you need to know quite a bit about Greek mythology to understand all of the references and to really help you follow everything that is going on. Just when you think you have it all figured out, something else hits you and you have to sit back and re-evaluate the message that is being given. Everything is a metaphor for something else, resulting in a novel which illuminates a social commentary on our modern day society.
I love Francesca Lia Block's writing and always have. Her words are just so poetic, so lyrical, and her descriptions so apt, interesting and thought provoking that you just savor every word and every sentence. Her metaphors and allegories weave the story together and the characters, the scenery, the dialog, everything just seems to sparkle.
Because it so open to interpretation, different people will probably get different things out of this book. But, some of the main themes are love and acceptance, the illusions of eternal youth and eternal life, the folly of merely chasing dreams and the hard truth of working to realize them. Don't go someplace to have magical things happen to you, make your own magic happen yourself.
As for the rest, you'll have to read to find out!
And, yes, this is the first half of a two book story. The sequel is Primavera.
Favorite Quote:
The circus tent was flowing pale in the rain like a fleshy flower lit from within. It seemed to bloom in the downpour. Drops of rain caught on Rafe's eyelashes, blinding him as the circus light struck them. He groped for the flap, that slit in the fabric that would reveal her to him.
She was on the rope again, her skirt flashing with tiny mirrors, hair braided with petals. He looked up at her, dizzy with it, seeing her face framed in the parasol. There were bluish shadows around her eyes.
They all want beauty and youth and gardens. They want what Elysia has to offer, but they want it real. They want real flowers that grow out of the earth, natural rain that isn’t poisoned, beauty that isn’t painted on. Will they ever find their garden of eternity? And, just what does that mean exactly?
Ecstasia is a beautiful poetic novel that tells it's story through the vehicles of poem and song, visions and dreams, third person and first person narratives, flowing from one story telling device to another as the tale unfolds. The book is full of metaphor, allusion and interpretation and to really help you get it you need to know quite a bit about Greek mythology to understand all of the references and to really help you follow everything that is going on. Just when you think you have it all figured out, something else hits you and you have to sit back and re-evaluate the message that is being given. Everything is a metaphor for something else, resulting in a novel which illuminates a social commentary on our modern day society.
I love Francesca Lia Block's writing and always have. Her words are just so poetic, so lyrical, and her descriptions so apt, interesting and thought provoking that you just savor every word and every sentence. Her metaphors and allegories weave the story together and the characters, the scenery, the dialog, everything just seems to sparkle.
Because it so open to interpretation, different people will probably get different things out of this book. But, some of the main themes are love and acceptance, the illusions of eternal youth and eternal life, the folly of merely chasing dreams and the hard truth of working to realize them. Don't go someplace to have magical things happen to you, make your own magic happen yourself.
As for the rest, you'll have to read to find out!
And, yes, this is the first half of a two book story. The sequel is Primavera.
Favorite Quote:
The circus tent was flowing pale in the rain like a fleshy flower lit from within. It seemed to bloom in the downpour. Drops of rain caught on Rafe's eyelashes, blinding him as the circus light struck them. He groped for the flap, that slit in the fabric that would reveal her to him.
She was on the rope again, her skirt flashing with tiny mirrors, hair braided with petals. He looked up at her, dizzy with it, seeing her face framed in the parasol. There were bluish shadows around her eyes.
August 25, 2008
Ecstasia: Now, finally, it's available in the re-issued paperback! In a carnival-town called Elysia, the band Ecstasia lives its enchanted life. Calliope, Rafe, Paul, and Dionisio are the members, each with his or her own story. Though they were born in the desert, siblings Calliope and Rafe are products of the young, bedazzled culture of Elysia, and they have accepted that they will live the good life until signs of aging drive them--willingly--to the Under, where the old ones live. Their own mother fled there at her first signs of aging, and Calliope, who sees true visions in her mind, hears her mother dying below the city. She goes to her, and her brother follows to bring her back, helped in his quest by following Lily, a tightrope-walker with whom he has become obsessed. She has her own nightmare, and takes drugs to bring the dead back to her mourning mind. The drugs destroy her and almost destroy Rafe too, but the love of his band members bring him back from the brink. He mourns losing his love, but quickly finds his place in Paul's arms; Paul has loved him since day one. Dionisio and Calliope discover that she is carrying a child, and when she decides to try to change the world so that her daughter will have a different place to grow up in, she becomes trapped below the earth with the demonic Doctor, who makes drugs and made a doll resembling her to take her place. Eventually she is recovered, and the band flees to the desert where they came from, off to turn it into a garden with their music.
August 14, 2012
This is one of the oddest of FLB I've read but I really liked it. It's a fantastical resetting of many Greek myths, taking the name of the crux of the myth and twisting it to this new setting.
This is basically a world of glamour and beauty where the elderly and ugly are shunned and sent underground where no one will see them. Calliope and Rafe come from Outside and both are drawn to Under. Calliope has always had visions and is haunted by a vision of their mother. Rafe falls in love with a dancer who is addicted to a drug in Under that allows her to see her dead family. When she dies, Rafe follows her same path and it takes everyone who loves him to pull him back from the brink.
This book is very worth reading, the world is compelling and terrible and the lyrics make the music so alive you hear it through the pages.
This is basically a world of glamour and beauty where the elderly and ugly are shunned and sent underground where no one will see them. Calliope and Rafe come from Outside and both are drawn to Under. Calliope has always had visions and is haunted by a vision of their mother. Rafe falls in love with a dancer who is addicted to a drug in Under that allows her to see her dead family. When she dies, Rafe follows her same path and it takes everyone who loves him to pull him back from the brink.
This book is very worth reading, the world is compelling and terrible and the lyrics make the music so alive you hear it through the pages.
May 2, 2018
This was really fun! Reading FLB reminds me of why I love reading in the first place: it's fun! Words are magical! Make-believe is more palatable than unadorned reality!
"Rafe knew that Paul could not leave the carnivals, could not live in a place without sweet things. That Paul...would rather live above in false light and pay in total darkness later than find something else, somewhere else, where light and dark took turns, reminding whoever saw the change that sometime everything would end." <3
"Rafe knew that Paul could not leave the carnivals, could not live in a place without sweet things. That Paul...would rather live above in false light and pay in total darkness later than find something else, somewhere else, where light and dark took turns, reminding whoever saw the change that sometime everything would end." <3
February 28, 2012
I wish more modern YA in the SF/F genre was more like this... *sigh*
It wasn't a perfect book -- I didn't mind the dreamy quality (which, admittedly, was more dreamy and disjointed than I remembered), and there were things that could've been better fleshed out and I skipped all the many poems and whatever, but it was still a lot better than a lot of what I've read recently in the YA SF/F genre (and I think this book falls pretty firmly in the fantasy camp).
It wasn't a perfect book -- I didn't mind the dreamy quality (which, admittedly, was more dreamy and disjointed than I remembered), and there were things that could've been better fleshed out and I skipped all the many poems and whatever, but it was still a lot better than a lot of what I've read recently in the YA SF/F genre (and I think this book falls pretty firmly in the fantasy camp).
January 10, 2008
This was the first book of a two parter, and I read it second. Opps.
Kind of an interesting experience though. I liked the characters of this one much better, and found the fluff more palatable.
Still, I wouldn't recommend this to anyone who wasn't already a big fan of the authors'.
Kind of an interesting experience though. I liked the characters of this one much better, and found the fluff more palatable.
Still, I wouldn't recommend this to anyone who wasn't already a big fan of the authors'.
March 7, 2009
another good book............really sexy and colorful......i LOVED it
Read
September 16, 2010make this a movie
April 13, 2022
A disappointing read, especially given how much I love FLB. This is one just lacking the true magic of her language and beautiful flow I love in her writing across her works. Block has such a unique tone and voice, and the way she uses language is mesmerising, but it’s lacking in this. The words and images are there, the ideas, but the beauty and control isn’t quite there, the images lacking in the whole. It was a good story and unique in its idea but something about the writing felt contrived and clunky and just� not what I love about her writing at all.
January 4, 2020
I’ve tried to read this book several times. It wasn’t until I realized it was written as a Greek mythology, that I finally got into the story. I love Blocks’s writing style. Her use of magical realism and mythology was interesting. The characters are a brother and sister who are dealing with the loss of a parent. It has a lot of Orpheus moments. Overall I really enjoyed this book.
January 31, 2020
While the book's multiple plots (because it feels like there is more than one) tend to feel unrelated to each other at times, I really enjoy the writing style and the story. I love the mythology and the way it's blended into this other world.
July 31, 2017
Never finished... and that is extremely unusual for me. While very lyrical in her descriptions the story was very dark with not enough background to the characters to make me care about any of them.
August 3, 2017
Beautiful book!!
July 26, 2019
This was the first book I've read by Francesca Lia Block. She has an interesting way of writing with a mix of different styles. The rhythm kept it moving and flowing.
December 26, 2019
Even Francesca Lia Block's writing couldn't save this book. I'm just not interested in any of the characters or the plot. It feels really juvenile and strange.
December 19, 2020
Three hours of my life I can't get back.
August 5, 2021
Definitely a book that beats to the rhythm of it's own lush, metaphoric, and fever-dream like beat.
Read
August 30, 2021didn't like this enough to read it.
April 9, 2022
Yep, this book still slaps! I was afraid I would read it now and struggle to find what once made it so magical for me the way I have with some of Francesca Lia Block's other books, but I'm pleased to report that didn't happen. It's difficult to put into words why I adore this book so much and what makes it hit consistently when it's arguably an example of Block still finding her feet as an author and certainly has plenty of flaws if one looks closely enough. But I love the characters and setting and general vibe so much that I just don't really care about those flaws and even find them charming in some weird way. This book contains many of the hallmarks of Block's writing, descriptive tendencies and character traits and underlying themes that she would later refine into a repeatable signature, and I kind of like how nascent and rough around the edges they are. Her distinctive voice is still emerging, which means that aspects of her writing that later feel stereotypical or expected feel fresher and more immediate and potent here.
As usual, Block plays fast and loose with plot and pacing: there are long stretches where it feels like nothing really happens at all until all of a sudden everything is happening at once and then the conflict is over just as quickly. It didn't really bother me, though. (The only actual annoyance for me was the lyrics that opened each chapter. I feel like made-up lyrics are never very good, and these aren't an exception to that rule, but also they were often integrated into the chapters themselves in a much more organic way, rendering this repetitive emphasis unnecessary). I enjoy the patchwork nature of the narrative, the way it slowly pieces together the characters and their motivations so that we're more invested in their fates. Rafe and Calliope are lovely protagonists, but the real triumph for me is Paul, who is so deeply and complexly rendered despite his side character status. My heart hurt for him every time he was on the page.
I'm surprised Block hasn't written more straight fantasy stuff because her naturally dream-like writing style lends itself well to that genre. I wouldn't say this book's world is terribly unique when it comes to dystopias disguised as utopias (for one, the obsession with youth and shaming of those who dare show their age is certainly a trope I've seen before), but it just pops so vibrantly in Block's unique voice. As a reader, I can see Elysia rolled out before my eyes, and the avoidance of detailed exposition and back story is actually a positive, allowing me to fill in the blanks with my own imagination, making the book a more interactive and immersive experience. While I've noticed that some of her other books feel incomplete for being so short, it's remarkable how rich and substantive this one feels for being just shy of 200 pages. It's just such a delight to read, which leaves me continually baffled that this book and its sequel have taken on this bizarre redheaded stepchild status within Block's bibliography, continually out of print and rarely mentioned in the context of her career as a whole. They deserve to be true cult classics, in my opinion!
As usual, Block plays fast and loose with plot and pacing: there are long stretches where it feels like nothing really happens at all until all of a sudden everything is happening at once and then the conflict is over just as quickly. It didn't really bother me, though. (The only actual annoyance for me was the lyrics that opened each chapter. I feel like made-up lyrics are never very good, and these aren't an exception to that rule, but also they were often integrated into the chapters themselves in a much more organic way, rendering this repetitive emphasis unnecessary). I enjoy the patchwork nature of the narrative, the way it slowly pieces together the characters and their motivations so that we're more invested in their fates. Rafe and Calliope are lovely protagonists, but the real triumph for me is Paul, who is so deeply and complexly rendered despite his side character status. My heart hurt for him every time he was on the page.
I'm surprised Block hasn't written more straight fantasy stuff because her naturally dream-like writing style lends itself well to that genre. I wouldn't say this book's world is terribly unique when it comes to dystopias disguised as utopias (for one, the obsession with youth and shaming of those who dare show their age is certainly a trope I've seen before), but it just pops so vibrantly in Block's unique voice. As a reader, I can see Elysia rolled out before my eyes, and the avoidance of detailed exposition and back story is actually a positive, allowing me to fill in the blanks with my own imagination, making the book a more interactive and immersive experience. While I've noticed that some of her other books feel incomplete for being so short, it's remarkable how rich and substantive this one feels for being just shy of 200 pages. It's just such a delight to read, which leaves me continually baffled that this book and its sequel have taken on this bizarre redheaded stepchild status within Block's bibliography, continually out of print and rarely mentioned in the context of her career as a whole. They deserve to be true cult classics, in my opinion!
December 8, 2014
Meh. Going to have to go subtract a star from The Elementals. This was better than that, but it wasn't good.
I wondered whether Block was getting worse or whether I had outgrown her, so I decided to reread something I'd loved. It seems to have been both. The language here was pretty, but not as intoxicating as I remembered, and the content was a bit muddled.
It seems like she's working with myth and legend, so it should be fine for things not to have direct explanations. Sometimes it is. I had no trouble with Underground, or the drugs/magic, but the city itself gave me trouble. It was too real to feel like a proper metaphor, but where did it come from? Who brought the water to the desert, who's running it, why?
And the natural-world-through-its-usefulness-to-us bit REALLY fell flat. The desert - a real desert, with old growth and history and a , or a "desertified" area, one we've ruined? If the former, what the hell are they doing trying to "green" it? If the latter, is there a history there? Were resources diverted from the whole land to make the city possible? Is the city the last livable bit of this land? Is it land we killed and then chose as a new shiny artificial home? Just a sentence would have done.
And the bit where toxic waste and sewage is dumped into the ocean and Rafe's problem with that is that he can't go surfing? Wildness as an experience for him, talent and danger and untamed water for real living untamed people, real wild fresh joy, fine, but that's your only thought? To hell with the ecosystems destroyed, the deaths, the creatures who might be more affected than you were by the loss? Not even a mention?
That's what turns me off Block the most. There'll be vegetarianism and it'll be about beauty and life and kindness and "purity", but then people will cook with cheese that comes out of cows that... just only give birth to other female cows, so no one has to deal with the glut of male cows? Veganism isn't mandatory, but her framework seems to require it but never actually gets that far. And fetishizing green, growing, natural, at the expense of desert, and mentioning the lack of animals as a human loss rather than a tragedy in itself...
There's the usual stuff where the only person of colour is an exotic drunk, and the women are all gentle and there's a thinthinthin waif who needs rescuing (I don't think I've ever read a Block book with a nonthin protagonist, or where, say, a beautiful dreamy fat girl needs rescuing), and headdresses as fashion, and...
But it was nice in places, there was some beauty and some... potency? I can see what I liked about this story, and I may read the sequel.
I wondered whether Block was getting worse or whether I had outgrown her, so I decided to reread something I'd loved. It seems to have been both. The language here was pretty, but not as intoxicating as I remembered, and the content was a bit muddled.
It seems like she's working with myth and legend, so it should be fine for things not to have direct explanations. Sometimes it is. I had no trouble with Underground, or the drugs/magic, but the city itself gave me trouble. It was too real to feel like a proper metaphor, but where did it come from? Who brought the water to the desert, who's running it, why?
And the natural-world-through-its-usefulness-to-us bit REALLY fell flat. The desert - a real desert, with old growth and history and a , or a "desertified" area, one we've ruined? If the former, what the hell are they doing trying to "green" it? If the latter, is there a history there? Were resources diverted from the whole land to make the city possible? Is the city the last livable bit of this land? Is it land we killed and then chose as a new shiny artificial home? Just a sentence would have done.
And the bit where toxic waste and sewage is dumped into the ocean and Rafe's problem with that is that he can't go surfing? Wildness as an experience for him, talent and danger and untamed water for real living untamed people, real wild fresh joy, fine, but that's your only thought? To hell with the ecosystems destroyed, the deaths, the creatures who might be more affected than you were by the loss? Not even a mention?
That's what turns me off Block the most. There'll be vegetarianism and it'll be about beauty and life and kindness and "purity", but then people will cook with cheese that comes out of cows that... just only give birth to other female cows, so no one has to deal with the glut of male cows? Veganism isn't mandatory, but her framework seems to require it but never actually gets that far. And fetishizing green, growing, natural, at the expense of desert, and mentioning the lack of animals as a human loss rather than a tragedy in itself...
There's the usual stuff where the only person of colour is an exotic drunk, and the women are all gentle and there's a thinthinthin waif who needs rescuing (I don't think I've ever read a Block book with a nonthin protagonist, or where, say, a beautiful dreamy fat girl needs rescuing), and headdresses as fashion, and...
But it was nice in places, there was some beauty and some... potency? I can see what I liked about this story, and I may read the sequel.
July 25, 2018
Disclaimer: I am doing this review from the perspective of someone who has read the sequel (Primavera) first, and treated the first book (Ecstasia) as more of a prequel/backstory. Some of you may have read Ecstasia before Primavera, so your opinions on how I see things may differ.
So last summer I had read the 2nd book in this 2 part story which was called Primavera. I had enjoyed that book so, so, so, sooooooo much! It supplied me with SO much imagery, and character sketches and locations for me to play around with in my mind. I also compared it to a dream that I didn’t want to wake up from. It was such a beautiful book. So, I started reading the prequel Ecstasia shortly after, and had only gotten a few pages in before turning my attention to other projects I was working on.
Finally the other day, I had the urge to just pick it up and power through it, and I did this in about 8 hours. Although it is such a short read, it is pretty complex, things often jumping to and from different character perspectives, and also switching from novel style to scattered prose throughout the book as well. I am not necessarily saying that this is a bad thing, being that I am used to Francesca’s surreal way of writing, I enjoyed it� but for readers popping their FLB cherry with this book, might leave them a bit confused.
Primavera is written the same way as well, but I personally think that PV had more substance. I think that is because it was more about a journey, the main character, a young girl, setting out to find something that her family warns her is dangerous. She meets many people, and creatures along the way, even people she helps, while discovering remnants of her family’s past.
I think the sole interest of Ecstasia (IF you read this one 2nd to Primavera, which I did), is to provide more of the backstory which was cool. It was cool to see how the group formed the band, Rafe’s love life before committing to Paul, how Primavera was born, and what they decide to do about living in such a superficial city. We also got more of an opportunity to learn more about Rafe and Calliope’s parents.
I think the imagery was still beautiful in this book, it was just less engaging than PV. I think if FLB played more on the romance between Rafe & Lily , it would have been a stronger book. I found that part was the most engaging part of the whole book for me.
I did enjoy Ecstasia, It had some great moments, and a few great quotes which I fell in love with.
“I am dying for ghosts…�
“The rivers will sing for you as if they are full of the heads of poets…�
Ecstasia is beautiful, dark, magical, scary, hopeful, spellbinding, haunting all at the same time. It is worth at least one good read. I give it a 4 out of 5 stars.
So last summer I had read the 2nd book in this 2 part story which was called Primavera. I had enjoyed that book so, so, so, sooooooo much! It supplied me with SO much imagery, and character sketches and locations for me to play around with in my mind. I also compared it to a dream that I didn’t want to wake up from. It was such a beautiful book. So, I started reading the prequel Ecstasia shortly after, and had only gotten a few pages in before turning my attention to other projects I was working on.
Finally the other day, I had the urge to just pick it up and power through it, and I did this in about 8 hours. Although it is such a short read, it is pretty complex, things often jumping to and from different character perspectives, and also switching from novel style to scattered prose throughout the book as well. I am not necessarily saying that this is a bad thing, being that I am used to Francesca’s surreal way of writing, I enjoyed it� but for readers popping their FLB cherry with this book, might leave them a bit confused.
Primavera is written the same way as well, but I personally think that PV had more substance. I think that is because it was more about a journey, the main character, a young girl, setting out to find something that her family warns her is dangerous. She meets many people, and creatures along the way, even people she helps, while discovering remnants of her family’s past.
I think the sole interest of Ecstasia (IF you read this one 2nd to Primavera, which I did), is to provide more of the backstory which was cool. It was cool to see how the group formed the band, Rafe’s love life before committing to Paul, how Primavera was born, and what they decide to do about living in such a superficial city. We also got more of an opportunity to learn more about Rafe and Calliope’s parents.
I think the imagery was still beautiful in this book, it was just less engaging than PV. I think if FLB played more on the romance between Rafe & Lily , it would have been a stronger book. I found that part was the most engaging part of the whole book for me.
I did enjoy Ecstasia, It had some great moments, and a few great quotes which I fell in love with.
“I am dying for ghosts…�
“The rivers will sing for you as if they are full of the heads of poets…�
Ecstasia is beautiful, dark, magical, scary, hopeful, spellbinding, haunting all at the same time. It is worth at least one good read. I give it a 4 out of 5 stars.
January 19, 2016
I remember reading this book when I was 13, I think its forever going to be an ingrained memory when/where I came across this book (and Dangerous Angels) because of the beautiful Suza Scalora magical realism cover.
When I read it, as a teen, I loved it because it was just that, - magic, it was Los Angeles in a Greek mythos/carnival form. The Los Angeles I used to know and sometimes miss. I loved the lyrical imagery and it was an escape from a teenagers reality. Block's books (especially her older works) tend to be like genie-in-a-bottle works that whisk you into a realm you didn't think was possible
I think now, as an adult - my favorite part of this book is how distinct every character was and their burdens, this isn't a happy book and at the same time that makes it hard to reread because she really takes you to the underworld (get it?) and it explores the human psyche and the choices we make. This was also what make Block such a unique writer, her ability to touch (once) taboo subjects like substance abuse, death, despair, and so forth. I love this book because you feel like you can connect with at the very least someone, or maybe all of them. Its a reminder of the human condition - regardless of the shangri-la world we live in (which now consists of social media, television and tourism) some of us have something that we carry on our shoulders. As a novel Ecstasia is definitely modern day myth (not really a fairy tale) and worth read.
When I read it, as a teen, I loved it because it was just that, - magic, it was Los Angeles in a Greek mythos/carnival form. The Los Angeles I used to know and sometimes miss. I loved the lyrical imagery and it was an escape from a teenagers reality. Block's books (especially her older works) tend to be like genie-in-a-bottle works that whisk you into a realm you didn't think was possible
I think now, as an adult - my favorite part of this book is how distinct every character was and their burdens, this isn't a happy book and at the same time that makes it hard to reread because she really takes you to the underworld (get it?) and it explores the human psyche and the choices we make. This was also what make Block such a unique writer, her ability to touch (once) taboo subjects like substance abuse, death, despair, and so forth. I love this book because you feel like you can connect with at the very least someone, or maybe all of them. Its a reminder of the human condition - regardless of the shangri-la world we live in (which now consists of social media, television and tourism) some of us have something that we carry on our shoulders. As a novel Ecstasia is definitely modern day myth (not really a fairy tale) and worth read.
November 23, 2012
This book reads like a young teenager went to a rave and is trying to write a poetic (read: Purple) description of it. Elysia is a magical city in the desert where all youthful desires are realized with abundant food, easy living, and free entertainment; the catch is, when the inhabitants begin to age, they must go underground to a grim city of catacombs where their skin flakes away and they turn into living mummies. It's never explained how and why the city was built, why it is necessary for society to dispose of its elders that way, or why the aging youth go along with it. There's mention of some people who live outside in the wasteland, presumably reproducing normally with their children making up the city's population, but otherwise, there's just no sense of logic in this book. Who made Elysia? For what purpose? Who or what makes it run? None of that is answered.
The book centers around a rock band called Ecstasia and siblings Calliope and Rafe, who spend most of the time talking about Elysia and the fact that sooner or later they must go underground, and not a lot of doing anything else except playing in their band and sitting around looking pretty. The book was slow-moving, dull, and repetitive; I honestly cannot understand the popularity of this author. Greek myths are referenced, but the original myths are way more entertaining than this, and have some mythic logic at least. Ecstasia just reads like tedious magic realism.
The book centers around a rock band called Ecstasia and siblings Calliope and Rafe, who spend most of the time talking about Elysia and the fact that sooner or later they must go underground, and not a lot of doing anything else except playing in their band and sitting around looking pretty. The book was slow-moving, dull, and repetitive; I honestly cannot understand the popularity of this author. Greek myths are referenced, but the original myths are way more entertaining than this, and have some mythic logic at least. Ecstasia just reads like tedious magic realism.
April 20, 2012
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Ecstasia is not an easy book to describe, it is hard to do it justice. Like other novels by Francesca Lia Block (especially the Weetzie Bat books), it gets into your heart and soul.
Brother and sister Rafe and Calliope live in Elysia, a place that is all about joy and pleasure. The youth of Ecstasia spend their time visiting circuses, clubs, cafes, eating sweet sugary foods and drinking champagne. But there is a catch. When you start aging, you have to go Under. To the dark subterraneous caverns below the city, a place where nightmares seem real.
Combining heady, surreal beauty and dark horror, ecstasy and pain, with a terrible price that must be payed for the pursuit of beauty and pleasure, Ecstasia is an intense novel. While this novel is short, it took me quite a while to read it, it was so intense I could only read short bits at a time, swept away in a whirlwind of sights and sounds, beauty and terror. This is a book that will stay with you after the last page has been closed.
This book gets 6 stars out of 5! Add it to your MUST READ list!
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Ecstasia is not an easy book to describe, it is hard to do it justice. Like other novels by Francesca Lia Block (especially the Weetzie Bat books), it gets into your heart and soul.
Brother and sister Rafe and Calliope live in Elysia, a place that is all about joy and pleasure. The youth of Ecstasia spend their time visiting circuses, clubs, cafes, eating sweet sugary foods and drinking champagne. But there is a catch. When you start aging, you have to go Under. To the dark subterraneous caverns below the city, a place where nightmares seem real.
Combining heady, surreal beauty and dark horror, ecstasy and pain, with a terrible price that must be payed for the pursuit of beauty and pleasure, Ecstasia is an intense novel. While this novel is short, it took me quite a while to read it, it was so intense I could only read short bits at a time, swept away in a whirlwind of sights and sounds, beauty and terror. This is a book that will stay with you after the last page has been closed.
This book gets 6 stars out of 5! Add it to your MUST READ list!
August 17, 2014
In Elysia, no one gets old. Or rather, you won't SEE anyone old there. When Elysians get old, they go Under, hiding their signs of age below the city and dying willfully out of sight. Calliope, Rafe, Paul, and Dionisio are the band Ecstasia, and they have come from their desert home to live in Elysia, but Calliope is called Under because she feels her mother is down there dying. Her disappearance causes a rash of her band members following; her brother Rafe is first to go, meeting performer Lily on the way and falling in love. But drugs distract him, tearing Lily from him and pushing him toward Paul, where he finds love again. The band must rescue Calliope before the Doctor replaces her with a doll of herself, and maybe one day, the world will be a better place for their children.
Sometimes Ms. Block's books veer so far into the poetic that they're tough to read and follow plot-wise, but this has the right balance. It was written earlier in her career and seemed more straightforward, with a real beginning, middle, and end. But still the mythical influences creep in (well, you can see it in their names), and the fantastical otherworld created here is really quite enchanting. Very much worth a read.
Sometimes Ms. Block's books veer so far into the poetic that they're tough to read and follow plot-wise, but this has the right balance. It was written earlier in her career and seemed more straightforward, with a real beginning, middle, and end. But still the mythical influences creep in (well, you can see it in their names), and the fantastical otherworld created here is really quite enchanting. Very much worth a read.
September 29, 2007
I absolutely adore Francesca Lia Block - seriously, she is like a complete goddess in my eyes - that being said, this is my least favorite of her books. I'm not sure why, but something was different about it - the writing style is still beautifully poetic and her ability to make even the most ugly things in life seem dazzling is still there, but I didn't connect so much with the characters, I couldn't feel the magic. Still, for me at least, a so-so FLB book still beats many other writers at their best, so it's still worth giving a shot, especially if you want a modern interpretation of Greek myths.
June 23, 2009
I probably should have read more Fransesca Lia Block when I was younger, because she doesn't seem to be doing it for me now that I'm an adult. This book was much like a dream, but I don't consider that to be a good thing. There were lots of descriptive words, but you noticed more that she was purposely trying to come up with imagery and metaphor rather than imagining the things she was describing. The plot especially was dreamlike, in that it seemed like everything was important and made sense and was connected, but it was really just a series of scenes that may or may not have been related, that were mostly just emotional responses rather than logically connected events.
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