The Black Emerald

by Jeanne Thornton

A high schooler finds her drawings corrupted by a haunted stone she inherits from a suicidal underground cartoonist. A video game addict discovers a vast, hidden dimension to colonize in the walls of his girlfriend's apartment. A philosophy student seeks anonymous Craigslist sex with the ubiquitous devil that stalks her. In this new collection from Jeanne Thornton, author of The Dream of Doctor Bantam (a Lambda Literary Award finalist in 2012), reality and relationships blur, creating a queer pulp experience with a literary sensibility, a hallucinatory journey into despair . . . and, possibly, toward hope.

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction, Queer, Transgender, LGBT, Fantasy

178 pages, ebook

First published September 16, 2014

About the author

Jeanne Thornton is the author of Summer Fun (Soho 2021), The Black Emerald (Instar 2014), and The Dream of Doctor Bantam (OR 2012). She is the copublisher of Instar Books and the editor, with Tara Madison Avery, of the Ignatz Award-winning We're Still Here: An All-Trans Comics Anthology. Her fiction has appeared in n+1, WIRED, The Evergreen Review, and more. More information is at www.jeannethornton.com.

Reviews

[Morgan M. Page · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jeanne Thornton's The Black Emerald is one of the strangest books I've ever read. In each of the seven stories and two novellas that make up this collection, she manages to disarm the reader with unexpected choices and bizarre storylines. It's as if these stories were written by someone from a version of reality just slightly askew from our own. I read this book in just less than twenty-four hours, because I was so engrossed in the otherwordliness of the storytelling.

Her work is reminicient of some of Caitlín R. Kiernan's weirder turns, but with threads of (often tragic) humour throughout not often found in Kiernan's work. It's Thornton's humour that pulls the reader along the bizarre twists of each story.

The titular novella reminded me a lot of Billy Martin's (formerly, Poppy Z. Brite) Drawing Blood, but with a more mysterious ending.

Really, it's a tragedy that this is ebook only right now.

[Jeanne Thornton · Rating 5 out of 5]

AGAIN, BIASED

[K. Jarboe · Rating 5 out of 5]

This collection of stories is so good and the titular novella was one of the first things I've ever read that felt like "wow, this was MY high school and not a TV high school". The teen characters were spot on, the right balance of self absorbed and impulsive signature to the age but also the real passion, precocious intellect, and will power that come with being 16. Also it's beautifully written. The grossest stuff is like jewels on the page. Read it if you are a sad gay girl who loves messed up art and creepy magic.

[I. Merey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't know why the first novella (the titular Black Emerald) didn't gel with me. I am confused as it had all the elements I like (strange magic, kinda toxic but we love em characters, Thornton's excellent writing and DRAWING), yet somehow, I found myself straying from it. Very possibly a lack in me! The other stories I loved though, and "Putrefying Lemongrass" was kept having to read individual lines of it out loud to my friend good. The very last two stories are some of the best writing out there. Thornton is a "if you write it I will read it" author to me.

[CaseyTheCanadianLesbrarian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finished this book in the bath last night! Delightfully weird, dark but not cynical, sexy, and very queer. Thornton's writing is often strikingly perceptive and beautiful. Stories include the titular one, about a queer artsy high school girl whose comics become haunted by a cult comics artist her ex-girlfriend loves, a girl who falls in love with a life size anatomical skeleton, a woman who runs a very unique hotel, and more. I loved this! Can't wait to read her next book, coming out in 2021.

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Solid, weird collection of short fiction--stories that swerve into unpredictable realms while staying rooted in emotional depth and weird humor. I love Jeanne's wry comedic sensibilities and the ways in which the absurdism deepens from quirkiness/preciousness into heavy discomfiture. Many of these stories *go there*. Favorites: the opening, titular novella about a girl who inherits a dead comic artist's enormous black emerald and uses it to start drawing obscene images and woo back her ex-gf; "Energy Arcs and Fractal Skies," about a boyfriend who move into the walls ("Fingerprints appeared on the mirror like breath on a windowpane. I MOVED INTO THE WALLS. How? she whispered. Oh God--Carlo? Can you--hear me? OF COURSE SHARON. I USED ACCELERATORS. ITS A POCKET DIMENSION. SO MUCH SPACE HERE" (90); and "Tomato Plants," about tomato plants named after the Bronte sisters. Loved this.

[A · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thornton’s writing hurtles along with an insane energy even when there is no destination to speak of, but it never loses its delicacy and emotional power. My favorite story in this collection was probably the titular novella, about a grasping, lovestruck teenager who finds a curse in the work of her ex-girlfriend’s favorite comic book artist, but I also loved the story about the Wall Street guy who becomes obsessed with his three tomato plants. There were no skips, either — even the weakest part, a very brief story about reuniting with an old lover, is rendered with the same dry humor and high style as the rest, so its lack of a compelling narrative didn’t bother me much. I’m very excited to read her new novel!

[Kevin Carter · Rating 5 out of 5]

It would be unwise not to read this book. Be greater than Solomon: ask your Heavenly Father for wisdom, but also for faith, and a copy of The Black Emerald.

[Abbey Darling · Rating 4 out of 5]

Darkly humorous and intoxicating, Jeanne crafts these dizzying passages that leave you breathless and wanting to desperately reread passages so as to capture the magic of how she's done it.

I knew this book and I would get along quite well when I read the phrase, "She talked like a surfer, one whose mind had been so blown out by the waves that she could only whisper like beach sand moving over itself."

[max · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent collection of super-weird shorts. Especially loved the title storry, Skeleton, and the last of the collection. Wry, witty, and squirmy.

[Alice Cox · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Black Emerald is a collection of short stories plus a novella (the title of the latter being the same as the title of the book). I want to say from the outset that this books is amazing. It's not just the way that Jeanne Thornton writes with such a fluid and engaging voice, nor the diversity of the stories, nor the way the ordering of the stories themselves just seems to make so much sense; no, everything about this book just seems to come together naturally. I couldn't stop reading it. I mean, I had to stop reading it at points because of the constraints of Real Life, but if I could've read it non-stop all day then no doubt I would have.

One thing I particularly loved was how queer the entire book was. Queerness is central to almost all the stories, whether it's about being trans or about being in queerlove or just queerlust or some other not cishet thing. It was all queer and strange I enjoyed that. A lot of the stories were also sad and there was a theme of unhealthy relationships that seemed to crop up throughout the book. Unhealthy romantic relationships, yes, but also unhealthy family relationships too.

The titular novella, 'The Black Emerald', and the stories 'Tomato Plants' and 'Satan in Love' were some of my favourite parts of the book. You should read it because it's fucking amazing. By far one of the best books I've read in years.

[Chavisa Woods · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully written, strange book, that pays close attention to emotional detail, and the inner-workings of the characters. The more intense moments pluck every heart-string, never skipping a note. Scenes stay with the reader like they are moments you lived through.

[Drew · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fantastic book. I'd come to Jeanne Thornton via her excellent novel, Summer Fun, so I'm reading into her back catalog now. This book contains a novella, and a collection of short stories (mostly short, but the last one is about twice as long).

Reading the novella "The Black Emerald", I immediately saw the beauty of her craft, just as I'd seen it in her novel. This was outstanding and I even wrote a note in the table of contents that "this is why I like Jeanne Thornton". This was a fantastic, and dark, story that swirled around and around but never lapsed into depression or simplistic renderings.

Turning to the short stories, I loved most of them. "Energy Arcs and Fractal Skies" just left me saying wow. "Putrefying Lemongrass" was an emotional mood piece where Rhoda really leapt off the pages for the reader. "Satan in Love" was an experimental piece that I really enjoyed. "Skeleton" was fantastic on so many levels. It was funny on the surface, deeper upon reflection, and just a great piece from start to finish.

Turning to the longer ending short story, "Myra's Seven Conversations", this was amazing, on par with "The Black Emerald" story, perhaps even a bit better. It was intense and just done perfectly.

I thought "Tomato Plants" was trying a bit too hard to be too cool for school, but there was an underlying charm to it. "Chairs" is a hard one to review as I hated the character but thought the story was well written. Perhaps a "Frank Burns" moment (a great actor but I hated his character so I often look dismissively on the person). I didn't really care for "Staying Up For Days in the Chelsea Hotel".

Overall, an excellent (and quick) read that shows that Jeanne Thornton didn't just have a lucky novel in her, she has talent & craft that has been on display for quite a while. I look forward to her new book, A/S/L coming out in 2025.

[Akiva ꙮ · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's hard to rate things that may or may not be well done but don't really appeal to/work for you. I did finish most of the short stories, but not the title work. A personal 2-star (it was ok!) but plus one for general literary merit. The one with the ex-boyfriend who lives in the walls was a surprise favorite, the tomato one or the Devil/God second. Re: the Devil, I have had that exact same thought about reincarnation, but Thornton definitely took it in a different direction than I would ever have thought. Unusual viewpoints and unreliable narrators are always pluses in my book.

[eleanor]

i loved this far more than i expected. there’s a vitality in jeanne’s writing that i’m obsessed with. both of the novellas super super worked for me, but to be honest i read myra’s seven conversations in a single baited breath; i thought it was great. another thing i love about her is that her work has so many lovable creep weirdo girls and i think that’s a kinda girl we need more of in literature

[Julian · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought there were some great setups in these stories, particularly the opening novella, but they mostly didn't deliver on them, for me. I guess I thought this would be a bit more fantastical than it ends up being; many of the premises feel more like allegories which makes it hard for me to suspend disbelief. But the writing's solid.

[Olivia · Rating 5 out of 5]

ugh soooooo yes very yes wow. this book is singular, great debut collection, so fresh and exciting even though i'm reading it years after it was first published - the tone is just so biting, so funny and fun and interesting, so gross and filthy and dykey and awesome. excited to read jeanne thornton's other stuff!!!! yay

[Gabriel H. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent weird clever unswerving in its devotion to taking every story to its furthest and strangest point. I want to reread it soon. I want to read large sections of it aloud to friends and strangers.

[Daryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very fun and provocative read. "The Black Emerald"was full of rich, descriptive prose that kept me engaged and Regan was an interesting main character.

As for the other short stories, I liked them, with "Energy Arcs & Fractal Skies" and "Chairs" being the standouts for me.

[Ross Williamson · Rating 5 out of 5]

this is so utterly fucking phenomenal. totally inventive and unique. i keep thinking about "chairs" and Myra's 7 conversations especially. highly recommended to anyone who enjoys, you know, reading.

[Sofia · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's pretty nice

[Molly · Rating 5 out of 5]

The black emerald took me on one hell of a journey. This was a really great and strange collection of short stories that are based in reality, but will also take you to another dimension.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

These are so weird and striking and amazing, and make me want to be braver about writing weird shit

[Nina M · Rating 5 out of 5]

Worth reading for "Myra's seven conversations" alone

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

Discomfiting, supernatural, Austin-adjacent.

[Laura Sackton · Rating 3 out of 5]

What strange and eerie stories. I did not like this nearly as much as SUMMER FUN, but I'm still glad I read it. Definitely another worthy addition to the weird queer genre. I wrote a bit more about it here: https://booksandbakes.substack.com/p/...

[aimlesslegs · Rating 5 out of 5]

I cannot believe this book has sold only just over 100 copies. It's well written, original, and really engaging once it gets going.

And there's another reason this should be popular: it portrays LGBT characters entirely without stereotype or preachiness.

But don't get me wrong--this book stands on its own. I'm incredibly happy that such a wonderful collection has totally avoided so many stereotypes, but at the same time, even if we lived in a world where LGBT people were no longer persecuted and pigeonholed, I would still highly recommend this book.

[Lib]

This collection of short stories was perfect for taking me out of our current reality and into a slightly askew stranger one. Some selections being 50 pages long, some being 5, the writing style drew me in on every page. The characters were impressively fleshed out and felt like they could be real people. Lots of queer representation. Loved it.

[sylas]

Well, this is not for me.