''Tender Morsels'' (2008) is a novel by Australian author Margo Lanagan. It won the

Ditmar Award The Ditmar Award (formally the Australian SF ("Ditmar") Award; formerly the "Australian Science Fiction Achievement Award") has been awarded annually since 1969 at the Australian National Science Fiction Convention (the "Natcon") to recognise a ...

in 2009 for Best Novel and was joint winner of the 2009

World Fantasy Award The World Fantasy Awards are a set of awards given each year for the best fantasy fiction published during the previous calendar year. Organized and overseen by the World Fantasy Convention, the awards are given each year at the eponymous ann ...

for Best Novel.

Plot summary

Based on the Brothers Grimm story of "

Snow-White and Rose-Red "Snow-White and Rose-Red" (german: Schneeweißchen und Rosenrot) is a German fairy tale. The best-known version is the one collected by the Brothers Grimm (KHM 161). An older, somewhat shorter version, "The Ungrateful Dwarf", was written by Carol ...

", this novel tells the story of 15-year-old motherless Liga, who has been repeatedly raped by her father. When she is pregnant with her third child – the first two having been forcibly miscarried – she attempts to take her own life but is instead transported to a magical place; a haven from the real world where she and her two daughters, gentle Branza and wild Urdda, are safe from threat. But the membrane separating her new world from her old begins to rupture, bringing reality and old wounds to light, and healing.

Notes

* Dedication: For my sisters, Susi, Jude and Amanda.

Reviews

* Meg Rosoff in ''The Guardian'' found that "Tender Morsels, by the Australian author Margo Lanagan, is funny, tragic, wise, tender and beautifully written. It also left me gasping with shock." * Van Ikin in ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' argues that the novel is "a towering work of imagination in which a supremely talented writer opens rich new frontiers.""Beware the man-bear" by Van Ikin, ''The Sydney Morning Herald'', 8 November 2008
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Awards and nominations

* 2008 shortlisted

Shirley Jackson Award The Shirley Jackson Awards are literary awards named after Shirley Jackson in recognition of her legacy in writing. These awards for outstanding achievement in the literature of psychological suspense, horror and the dark fantastic are presented a ...

— Novel * 2008 shortlisted

Aurealis Awards The Aurealis Award for Excellence in Speculative Fiction is an annual literary award for Australian science fiction, fantasy and horror fiction. Only Australians are eligible for the award. History The Aurealis Award was established in 1995 b ...

for Excellence in Australian Speculative Fiction — Fantasy Division — Best Novel * 2009 winner

- Best Novel * 2009 joint winner World Fantasy Award - Best Novel * 2009 honour book Michael L. Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature * 2009 finalist Locus Award for Best Young Adult Novel

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tender Morsels 2008 Australian novels Australian fantasy novels 2008 fantasy novels World Fantasy Award for Best Novel-winning works Allen & Unwin books