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A review by foxtrotmadly
Angry Candy by Harlan Ellison
4.0
"Angry Candy" by Harlan Ellison is a collection of short stories by one of the most prolific speculative fiction writers of all time. Seriously, if you're a fan of sci-fi in the slightest you either know who he is or have read/seen something influenced by his work. Ellison was a master at his craft, and by the time this collection had come out he had already had great success in his career. However, that's not what this review is about; "Angry Candy" is a collection of stories that deal with themes of death, loss, and the struggle of grief, written by a man who had lost too much too fast and was having a hard time processing those losses that kept accumulating in his life.
In total there are 17 stories with a decent sized introduction explaining where Ellison was mentally and emotionally at the time of the book's publishing. You can tell throughout the collection that Harlan swings wildly back and forth with his grief; in one story he explores the beauty in finality, and how the overwhelming pain of loss is a testament to the power of love that preceded it. In another, he lashes out with fury over the unfairness of nature, and how truly nothing lasts forever and the futility of even loving at all. It's a fascinating exploration of one man's pain through a collection of stories that are (mostly) all thematically saying the same thing; death is inevitable, but so is love.
Some of the stories are better than others; "Paladin of the Lost Hour" is a tale of two men of vastly different ages bonding over their own experiences with loss, but one of them has a secret responsibility that helps the other release the pain that has been weighing him down. "When Auld's Acquaintance Is Forgot" is a proto "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" with a much darker tone. "On the Slab" is a tale of what it is to be human in a world that has suddenly become fantastic, and "Soft Monkey" shares the story of a homeless woman who suffers silently through her own trauma while also trying to escape mobsters who want to kill her. All of these stories are beautiful and fascinatingly fun to deconstruct. However, there are other stories such as "Footsteps" "Stuffing" and "Prince Myshkin, and Hold the Relish" that either don't fit thematically or just don't hit in any particular way that extends beyond, "Huh, that was a thing."
There are other stories in this collection that are simply trippy mind fucks. "The Region Between" is a frustrating but rewarding read about a soul bouncing around infinity trying to evade/destroy a creature that seeks to rule it. "Eidolons" is a weird story the delves into self-exploration that is transcribed into words of advice for the reader. The final story in the collection, "The Function of Dream Sleep", is probably the most autobiographical, as it tells the story of a man who seeks peace after the death of many of his closest friends over a short period of time. Some crazy shit happens that I won't spoil, but it ultimately comes to a place of acceptance which works thematically as a end point to a collection of stories that are ultimately telling us we need to let go of the pain we carry.
"Angry Candy" is an open wound of a book. Ellison was not shy about putting his heart on the table and saying, "Look at this and help me try to understand it." Love and death are two constants in our seemingly short lives that everyone can empathize with, especially the confusing emotions that occur when those two constants overlap. If anything, reading stories about the heartbreak of loss in many different ways can help a person come to their own personal peace. It's one thing to share yourself with the world, it's another to share yourself at your weakest. This book is fascinating, heartbreaking, raw, delusional, and (frankly) pretty fun. It teaches us that not only do we have to prepare for the inevitability of loss, but we have to learn to let it go or it will consume us. Grief is the price you pay for love, but it’s also proof that it existed at all.
In total there are 17 stories with a decent sized introduction explaining where Ellison was mentally and emotionally at the time of the book's publishing. You can tell throughout the collection that Harlan swings wildly back and forth with his grief; in one story he explores the beauty in finality, and how the overwhelming pain of loss is a testament to the power of love that preceded it. In another, he lashes out with fury over the unfairness of nature, and how truly nothing lasts forever and the futility of even loving at all. It's a fascinating exploration of one man's pain through a collection of stories that are (mostly) all thematically saying the same thing; death is inevitable, but so is love.
Some of the stories are better than others; "Paladin of the Lost Hour" is a tale of two men of vastly different ages bonding over their own experiences with loss, but one of them has a secret responsibility that helps the other release the pain that has been weighing him down. "When Auld's Acquaintance Is Forgot" is a proto "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" with a much darker tone. "On the Slab" is a tale of what it is to be human in a world that has suddenly become fantastic, and "Soft Monkey" shares the story of a homeless woman who suffers silently through her own trauma while also trying to escape mobsters who want to kill her. All of these stories are beautiful and fascinatingly fun to deconstruct. However, there are other stories such as "Footsteps" "Stuffing" and "Prince Myshkin, and Hold the Relish" that either don't fit thematically or just don't hit in any particular way that extends beyond, "Huh, that was a thing."
There are other stories in this collection that are simply trippy mind fucks. "The Region Between" is a frustrating but rewarding read about a soul bouncing around infinity trying to evade/destroy a creature that seeks to rule it. "Eidolons" is a weird story the delves into self-exploration that is transcribed into words of advice for the reader. The final story in the collection, "The Function of Dream Sleep", is probably the most autobiographical, as it tells the story of a man who seeks peace after the death of many of his closest friends over a short period of time. Some crazy shit happens that I won't spoil, but it ultimately comes to a place of acceptance which works thematically as a end point to a collection of stories that are ultimately telling us we need to let go of the pain we carry.
"Angry Candy" is an open wound of a book. Ellison was not shy about putting his heart on the table and saying, "Look at this and help me try to understand it." Love and death are two constants in our seemingly short lives that everyone can empathize with, especially the confusing emotions that occur when those two constants overlap. If anything, reading stories about the heartbreak of loss in many different ways can help a person come to their own personal peace. It's one thing to share yourself with the world, it's another to share yourself at your weakest. This book is fascinating, heartbreaking, raw, delusional, and (frankly) pretty fun. It teaches us that not only do we have to prepare for the inevitability of loss, but we have to learn to let it go or it will consume us. Grief is the price you pay for love, but it’s also proof that it existed at all.