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White Time

Margo Lanagan (Goodreads Author)

3.72 · Rating details · 216 ratings · 33 reviews

From the remarkable mind that brought readers the award-winning stories of Black Juice comes an equally haunting collection of science fiction and fantasy tales.

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Hardcover, 216 pages

Published August 1st 2006 by Eos (first published January 1st 1999)

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Average rating 3.72 ·

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· 216 ratings · 33 reviews

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Dec 20, 2008 Nancy rated it it was amazing

Shelves: kids-and-teens, short-stories, library-books, shelf-inflicted, sf-fantasy

Posted at Shelf Inflicted

Anthologies are fun to read because they feature a wide variety of authors and styles. With their hit-or-miss qualities, however, they can also end up being disappointing. If I run into a real dud of a story, do I set the book aside and pick up something else or skip the story and continue reading? I have several partially read anthologies just because that dud was stuck somewhere in the middle.

Short stories by one author are a little different. At least I can expect m ...more

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Jun 13, 2010 Tatiana rated it liked it

Recommends it for: existing fans of Margo Lanagan

Shelves: ya, 2010, short-stories, only-i-will-like

My second Margo Lanagan's collection of short stories. While enjoyable, it is less compelling than Red Spikes.

First, unlike Red Spikes which had a feel magical realism throughout, White Time is a blend of genres - it consists of sci-fi, fantasy and distopian stories. It makes the collection a little uneven.

And second, a couple of stories are just a little too sketchy for my taste and not very successful in bringing their points across - "Welcome Blue," for instance, a story about the arrival of ...more

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Mar 02, 2010 John rated it liked it

I have a copy of Lanagan's multiple award-winning first collection Black Juice somewhere in the house; I began reading it when it first came out, but for some reason I was interrupted and I never got back to it. On the strength of this second collection I should make a bit of an effort to dig Black Juice out.

On the strength of the best of this second collection, anyway. Although there's no doubt that Lanagan has a strong control of voice a sometimes excellent imagination, on several occasions I have a copy of Lanagan's multiple award-winning first collection Black Juice somewhere in the house; I began reading it when it first came out, but for some reason I was interrupted and I never got back to it. On the strength of this second collection I should make a bit of an effort to dig Black Juice out.

On the strength of the best of this second collection, anyway. Although there's no doubt that Lanagan has a strong control of voice a sometimes excellent imagination, on several occasions here I got to the end of a story and felt as if all I'd been reading had been just a doodle, a writing exercise, something written for workshopping, perhaps, rather than a fully fledged story. (Lanagan includes a note saying all these pieces were written around her attendance of a Clarion West, and I wonder if that explains this sense I had.) Looking at my notes, I see that I had this sense of non-fulfilment about four of the ten stories in the book -- that's an uncomfortably high percentage.

Of the others, I got the most out of the last (and longest), "The Wealth", in which the native Ord species (who I assume are Earthlings) are under the thumb of the colonizing humanoid Leet. To the Leet, head hair is wealth. The narrator is an expert at implanting "wealth" into animal bodies or human heads, and is commissioned by a wealthy Leet woman to increase her dimwit son's mane in order to help him net a good wife. But then our heroine is made an offer she can't refuse by the local Ord rebels . . . What's impressive is that, despite our knowledge that a violent outcome of some sort is inevitable, the story that's the focus of Lanagan's telling is almost a quiet, personal one. My notes say just "A knockout!", and I stand by that description.

Also a knockout is "The Boy Who Didn't Yearn", whose narrator has a psychic talent that makes her something close to a spirit medium: she can see people's griefs, and also the images they retain of the people they're grieving for; and she can in effect mimic those images to pass along messages of reassurance that seem to be from beyond the grave. The story of her interaction with the boy she meets who has none of these grief/yearning-encumbrances is a very true-seeming one, and moving.

The title story is good, too. Its premise is that, just as there are white light and white noise -- in both of which all frequencies are jumbled together -- so there is white time. Our heroine visits a plant whose purpose is to fish lost time travellers out of the timestream and send them on their way to their intended destinations. The only trouble is that the workers' exposure to white time scrambles their brains in the short term, and perhaps, with repeated visits, permanently. I loved the story even though I felt Lanagan hadn't quite been able to grapple with the implications of its fascinating premise.

The other three stories which I liked I think I'd have liked more had they not had a tang of the allegorical about them. In "Kiss and Tell" the premise is that failure to open up to others causes weight gain; our narrator is seeing a counselor who is, in effect, a weight-loss advisor. The central character of "Big Rage" is a wife who, fleeing a domineering husband, comes across an injured giant of a man clad in medieval armour, a stray from another time or a parallel world, perhaps; in joining her lot with him and his equally barbarian companions, she comprehensively rejects everything her far too civilized husband stands for. In "Welcome Blue" aliens arrive and admire a field of flowers, ignoring the ostentatious welcome party being thrown for them a few miles away; that part of the story doesn't really work, to be honest, but what does is the tale centred on the realization of the narrator, an obviously troublesome adolescent who's been through a succession of foster parents, that her latest placement, with the farmer of the field of flowers and his wife, might just be the right one.

Lanagan never writes less than well in this book but, as I say, I felt a bit bilked by the collection as a whole because too many of the entries didn't seem to have been built into stories. ...more

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Apr 08, 2017 Wakizashi rated it liked it

Shelves: 2017-reads

It was Neil Gaiman's glowing recommendation of Lanagan's Black Juice which first brought the author to my attention. Black Juice's opening story, "Singing my Sister Down", is a mesmerizing piece of short fiction which left a deep impression on me when I first read it. So, I was looking forward to reading this, her first collection, and comparing the two books. (Which means a re-read of Black Juice is in order!)

Readers are dropped into Lanagan's worlds with minimal exposition. Accordingly, I will ...more

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Jun 06, 2009 Hallie rated it liked it

Recommends it for: Audrey

Shelves: kids-books

I read Black Juice by this author and loved it, so I was excited to discover another collection of her short stories. It's good, but none of the stories stuck with me the way a few of the stories from Black Juice did. One thing I especially approve of in her writing is that she doesn't waste any time on exposition. The reader is dumped "in medias res" and left to figure out when and where he is (not always an obvious task, since she likes to play with alternate realities/magical realism/etc.). S ...more

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Sep 12, 2018 Megan rated it it was amazing

Ahhhhh! Margo Lanagan, how bleak and empty of strangeness my life must've been before I found you!

I love all her collections of shorts, but I have an ebook copy of this on my tablet as an OMG-I-forgot-to-bring-a-book emergency backup book. Even having read the stories in it over and over, they blow me away every time. Creepy, quirky... part of the creepiness is that every character is absolutely solid and real-feeling. It's impossible not to feel like these are real people reacting completely ra ...more

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Jul 15, 2018 Michael rated it it was amazing

I loved this book and the titular work.

It's so hard to write a review for a Margo Lanagan book because I'm always tempted to oversell it.
That's because it deserves it, and I only write honest reviews. And this book is awesome.

Just read the book okay, then buy one those shirts that they sell down at the market in Hobart that says "Margo Lanagan is God." ...more

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Feb 16, 2020 Jenny Lane rated it liked it

Three stars but possibly two and a half. This collection of stories was exactly what it promises you in terms of the exploration of new worlds and concepts. But sometimes, some of them were so complex or so abstract that you don't actually know what's going on. However, that's not to be said of all of them. The second half of the book had some really neat little stories. The characters were likeable, the ideas were interesting but i just couldn't help but judge this collection as a whole. I'm gl ...more

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May 08, 2018 Maree rated it liked it

Enjoyed the stories White Time and Big Rage

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Jul 21, 2009 Arminzerella rated it really liked it

Shelves: young-adult-fiction, science-fiction, borrowed-from-the-library, future, other-worlds, short-stories, read-aloud

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. This is one of the best collections of short stories that I’ve ever read (you should probably take that recommendation with a grain of salt because I rarely read short stories – it’s a vicious circle, I read some and hate them and swear off them for awhile until I hear something intriguing, and then I read some more, hate them and swear off them again).

Her stories are science-fiction/future-oriented/otherworldly. They go places and explore things. They’d be great read-alouds. The first one, “Wh This is one of the best collections of short stories that I’ve ever read (you should probably take that recommendation with a grain of salt because I rarely read short stories – it’s a vicious circle, I read some and hate them and swear off them for awhile until I hear something intriguing, and then I read some more, hate them and swear off them again).

Her stories are science-fiction/future-oriented/otherworldly. They go places and explore things. They’d be great read-alouds. The first one, “White Time” takes place in a future where teens get to “taste” different careers over a period of time to see if they might at some later date be interested in working in those fields. One of them tries “white time.” It’s an odd sort of space where time traveling entities become stuck and the man she shadows at work has the job of unsticking them and sending them on their way. One of the downsides of the job is that spending any length of time *in* white time tends to scramble your brain.

In another story, “The Lily,” I’m never certain what the Lily is or why it comes or what it does, but the description of it is so intriguing, and the glimpses of the place and time in which it exists are so violent and strange, that I could almost see it in front of me. And that’s not because Lanagan describes every detail, it’s more that she leaves so much space for your imagination to happen on its own. I like that.

The last story, is about a 2 class (Ords and Leets) society where wealth is measured in hair. One of the Ords is a sort of hair-weaving artist. She’s worked mostly on the pampered pets of the upper class, but she receives a commission she can’t refuse from a desperate Leet family. Her idiot brother has just landed himself in jail again for his “rebel” activities, and her grandmother is beside herself with worry. Rill knows she can make everything right if she does some illegal weaving for Lar, the Leet. But once she makes the deal, she gets blackmailed by the rebels into doing something for them as well. She’s trapped and the outcome isn’t pretty.

I think one of the hallmarks of a good short story is how much left there is to wonder about. I’m much more engaged when I come away with a lot of questions and ideas about what happens next or what came before. But there also has to be some satisfaction that this part of the story has ended and is complete – even if there’s a longer tale that could emerge. Margo Lanagan strikes a perfect balance. ...more

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Aug 21, 2013 Rhea marked it as to-read-normal-speed

Shelves: ill-come-back-to-you-soon

My thoughts so far:

White Time - Complex, meaningful, imaginative... a wonderful opening. (4 stars)

Dedication -

Tell and Kiss - A "teen with problems" story twisted with magic realism. Sad, real, and hopeful. (4 stars)

The Queen's Notice -

Big Rage - How interesting we humans are, that a few sheets of paper can make us laugh and cry and fall in love! In this case, I fell in love with the protagonist in a mere 20 pages. She's a fantastic example of a strong female character: not the kick-ass type (w ...more

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Feb 12, 2010 Tranna Foley rated it liked it

Presents ten short stories, both dark and hopeful, that journey into the past, the future, and altered versions of the present. - From library catalog record

This book of short stories is weird...but interesting. It is definitely not for everyone. If you are very interested in fantasy or science fiction or just strange stories, you may like it. Some stories I really liked and others were just okay.

Review from Booklist:
Although this is the second story collection by Australian author Lanagan to r ...more

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Apr 26, 2015 Michelle Moore rated it liked it

Margo Lanagan is an award winning Australian writer. This book was my introduction to her writing, and it certainly won’t be my last, as I intend to find out more.

White Time was originally published ten years ago, and I’ve read reviews which feel that it’s not as polished as her later stories. This may be so, and makes me even more interested in her other books, but what this collection shows is a vivid imagination and an adaptable writing style.

This is a YA collection, and whilst some do have t ...more

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Apr 12, 2012 Kritika rated it liked it

Shelves: sci-fi, fantasy, young-adult, anthology

Some of these stories were amazing, and others, I didn't understand. I was expecting more science fiction and more blending of time, but this anthology seemed more like a random bunch of stories stuck together. I didn't see the thematic link as well as I saw it in Black Juice.
My favorite story from this anthology was Dedication - dressing the battle-scarred and mutilated princess so that her father never notices that his once-beautiful daughter is any different. The dedication ceremony at the en ...more

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Aug 31, 2011 Marg rated it really liked it · review of another edition

My odyssey through the short story collections of Margo Lanagan continues. This time, I travel through White Time. Once again, the worlds that Margo Lanagan creates vary from similar to our worlds to completely different but the emotions that we are exposed to are always familiar and always moving!

Read the rest of my review at http://www.theintrepidreader.com/2011... ...more

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Oct 31, 2012 Kifflie rated it it was amazing

Shelves: young-adult

It's been a few years since I read Lanagan's Black Juice, so I was looking forward to enjoying this collection. And I wasn't disappointed.

Lanagan is phenomenal at creating believable, eerie worlds in just a few pages. Just when you get used to living in an ant colony (The Queen's Notice), Lanagan pops you into the world of tiny wish-fulfilling sprites (Midnight Mission).

Just marvelous work, and well worth reading. ...more

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Mar 21, 2010 LaLa rated it really liked it

Shelves: shock-lit, general-ya, magical-fantastical

Margo doesn't tell you the rules. Her bad-guys don't explain their motivation. Her good guys don't walk around in shining armor. Instead reading each of these tales takes you to a distict place where even if you don't know the rules and you can't name the planet; you can smell and see and taste and feel everything deeply. ...more

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Oct 18, 2011 Willow Curtis rated it liked it

Shelves: fantasy, sci-fi, short-story

After reading the first four stories, I set the book down and thought I wasn't going to finish it. However, after reading something else I was able to pick the book up again and get through it. I'm glad I did. Out of the 10 stories in this anthology, my favorite were The Boy Who Didn't Yearn and Wealth. The others were Okay. ...more

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Oct 28, 2013 P. rated it really liked it

Shelves: yyay, speculative, short-stories

These stories have a lot of ideas packed into them. My favorite is the title story. It has a great sense of sadness, inevitability, and wasted restlessness of life, as well as a weird premise that was explained just enough.

Sure, sometimes Lanagan's language calls attention to itself but not in a way that is pleased with itself. Maybe a bit peacocky. That's what I want, though, when I read her. ...more

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Jul 26, 2009 Nic added it

Had high expectations for this book but very disappointed. Skim read the final 2 chapters. The entire book made no sense to me at all. Perhaps because it was teenage fiction I was too old for it............ Does not even get 1 star.

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Nov 28, 2009 Roby rated it it was ok

Shelves: magical-realism, short-stories

One thing Lanagan does do very well in these stories is "show don't tell". In most of the stories, the narrator speaks as if we already know the rules of their world, rather than explaining, and the reader must figure things out through context. ...more

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Jun 28, 2012 turningUred rated it it was amazing

Collection of short stories, the first of which is the story White Time. Lanagan is one of the most amazing writers I've come across. Her verse is hypnotic and you can't go to sleep once you start one of her books. Sleep comes upon completion else you lie awake wondering. ...more

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Dec 09, 2012 Charlotte rated it did not like it

Maybe it gets better later on, but I'm giving up after 130 pages in because it is pretty boring and nothing exciting ever happens with the characters that you have no background on. Not a good book. ...more

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Oct 05, 2007 Amber rated it it was ok

this is what i say so far about this book...."????" not sure i get it yet. anyone else?? ...more

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Jul 11, 2008 Michelle added it

Compelling collection of short stories for young adults which I enjoyed thoroughly.

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Nov 12, 2008 Kate rated it liked it

After I finished this book, I still had no idea what it was about. But, it was nice...I guess?

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Jun 20, 2009 Christine rated it it was amazing

I'm generally not fond of short stories, but these were excellent. Technically young adult--stories are quirky and just plain odd. GREAT characters, real and in interesting circumstances... ...more

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Jul 21, 2011 Leah Horlick rated it it was ok

Shelves: fantasy, scifi, short-stories

Not as good as Black Juice...we'll see about Red Spikes! ...more

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Aug 23, 2011 Nightfalltwen rated it did not like it

Shelves: teen

This just goes to show that I have no interest in short stories. Especially ones that are trying too hard. This collection was trying just too damn hard to be existential or something.

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Nov 17, 2013 Millenia rated it really liked it

Shelves: favorites, ya, fantasy, short-stories

Mind-bending as ever. Love it!

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About Margo Lanagan

Margo Lanagan

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Margo Lanagan, born in Waratah, New South Wales, is an Australian writer of short stories and young adult fiction.

Many of her books, including YA fiction, were only published in Australia. Recently, several of her books have attracted worldwide attention. Her short story collection Black Juice won two World Fantasy Awards. It was published in Australia by Allen & Unwin and the United Kingdom by Go ...more