Thursday, April 16, 2009

Janni Lee Simner

Janni Lee Simner has written three books for kids and more than 30 short stories for kids, teens, and adults. Her first novel for teens, Bones of Faerie, was published in January and "is a sort of post-apocalyptic fairy tale, set after the war with Faerie has destroyed much of the world."

Last week I asked her what she was reading. Her reply:
I recently picked up Fumiyo Kouno's manga Town of Evening Calm, Country of Cherry Blossoms and found it the most powerful thing I've read in a while. It's a quiet, beautifully told story about how the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima affects several generations of the same family. The way the effects echo on and on, not only among the survivors but also among those born decades later; the way it's not always clear who is a survivor or what that even means; the gentle storytelling that does nothing to hide what a harsh story this is--all of these got down under my skin and stayed there.

After I finished reading I wanted ... to go off and just be quiet and thoughtful for a while.
Visit Janni Lee Simner's website and blog/journal.

--Marshal Zeringue