The Green Kangaroos Paperback – August 20, 2014

With a plot tapped into addiction and attempts at recovery, The Green Kangaroos is an intense, inventive look into selfishness at its most extreme, most ugly. Like A Clockwork Orange it is less about the horror of the deviant and more about the horrors perpetrated by those trying to correct the deviancy. The year is 2099 and Perry Samson is unapologetically addicted to atlys, a powerful drug that is most potently euphoric with injection straight into the sexual organs, in Perry's case the testicles. Even as Perry steps deeper into self-destructive depravity to attain fixes of atlys-induced happiness, his younger sister (with the help of their parents) pursues a radical recovery treatment for Perry in the undying hope that her brother can be reformed.Works dealing with the powerful gravity of addiction and the dangers that it can bring directly to the addict or indirectly to friends, family, even strangers aren't uncommon. What sets apart McHugh's novel is the consideration that the agendas of those trying to cure the addict may be just as defined by destructively addictive tendencies, to a selfishness just as violent. Perry is generally unlikable, crass, and utterly selfish. Yet, he possesses a strong, honest self-perception. Atlys is a drug that makes him feel unbelievably happy, that fuels desires and centers him, regardless of whether it is helping or hurting him. Perry understands his predicament, that using this aptly named drug as a means of navigating through his existence is ultimately poisonous and destructive. He is fully aware that his need is pushing him further into situations he wouldn't have considered before - including selling his flesh literally ('potsticking') and figuratively (prostitution) to fund some more of the drug. While he regularly lies to others to suit his desires, never does Perry lie to himself.In contrast are the members of Perry's family, particularly his little sister Nadine. Nadine is shown as firmly committed to the idea of saving her brother, but the matter of her motivations is less clear. She seeks out a new treatment option that to any rational person would be clearly too-good-to-be-true. Despite having a sense of this deep down, Nadine (and the parents) lie to themselves with the righteousness of their hopes and goals, and ignore any sense of dangers. They avoid asking questions or fully recognizing their predicament (or Perry's) in the care of the doctors who run the recovery program. As the novel progresses it becomes increasingly clear that Nadine is not really looking for Perry's salvation, but rather is pursuing her own selfish desires to have a 'normal', non-addict brother. She will lie to herself, risk herself and others to attain this state of happiness. Not wanting to reveal too much of the plot, the main doctor at the treatment facility has gone through the similar extremes of an addiction to the recovery process at the cost of anything, including the bodies of those he seeks to help.McHugh's The Green Kangaroos is thus a really perceptive and profound novel despite its short length and the gritty crassness of its subjects. The futuristic setting and speculative aspects of the recovery program are well imagined and integrated into the plot. At first given its setting in 2099 I wanted to see more of what general society was like, how it was different other than the bits of underworld jargon and environment that McHugh shows. But soon I realized the tight limitation of revealing this universe to Perry's world and the institution of recovery help keep the focus of the novel intense, tight.The language is certainly not something that will be to everyone's taste. It is frequently vulgar and visceral in its depictions of sex and drugs in the underbelly of society. Yet, this shouldn't be surprising for the topic or style of McHugh and this novel's setting. In terms of the writing, there were a few instances where dialogue in particular seemed forced, the only critique to this that I can reasonably perceive. At first some of the similes feel too absurd, too much like provoking for reaction. However, I quickly realized these occur in Perry's first person point of view chapters, and he is simply that kind of guy. McHugh's writing definitely shines though in her descriptive passages. You can tell she has a love for words, and I most love the playfulness of her prose. This is really what drew me to her work originally. For instance, right from the start with the prologue, she plays on the word 'junk' in its multiple meanings and then parallels that at the start of chapter one with our introduction to Perry. McHugh's imagination is strong and energetic, and she constructs a story well here from the words on up to the plot and themes. I'll look forward to reading more, even when it is a genre or style that isn't at the top of my usual reading tastes.

Set in drug infested Baltimore, Perry Samson battles his addiction and his demons. Samson has graduated to the strongest drug available "Atlys". The drug is so impossibly addictive society has given up the thin shred of hope for recovery that existed for those addicted. Without the burden of recovery for Atlys addicts society has segregated users to the parks of the city. Not only has society given up on Perry, his family and friends have too. With one exception, his sister. Perry's life continues to spiral out of control until his sister intervenes. The lines between reality and drug fueled delusions become blurred beyond recognition when Perry's sister puts him in a radical new treatment that garuntees 100% success. That is 100% recovery for those that survive. Will Perry survive? Does he love drugs more than he loves his family?Green Kangaroos is an awesome sci-fi noir that pierces right to the heart of the addicts plight. There is some great social commentary but there is also a great story about family and how addiction complicates relationships with friends and family.Jessica Mchugh holds nothing back in Green Kangaroos and I love her for it. The book is brutal and violent at times but so is the reality of an addict. I work with homeless addicts in Washington DC and sanitizing their lives only cheapens their struggle. If you like fast paced science fiction read Green Kangaroos. I am definitely a certified Mchugh fan and I can't wait to see what she has coming up next!

This was one of the best books I’ve read this year! I had such a feeling of immersion within the story, I could almost feel what the characters were feeling. The author wrote about addiction in such a way that I truly felt empathy for these characters, I can’t remember another book that made me feel that way. This is the second book I’ve read by this author and now I’m adding as many of her works that I can find on my to be read list. I highly recommend this and warn that it is extremely graphic and not for anyone easily offended. But if you can handle the rough stuff then this is the book for you. I couldn’t put it down!

The Green Kangaroos is the most powerful piece of 'junkie fiction' I have every read, and I've read a ton. It's the kind of book I want to tell everyone to read. Those who can handle it, at least.This novel begins with three chapters that pummel your senses with a dystopian world of a heroin-like substance, and just when your mind is blown it twists into something much more complex. McHugh takes the reader into the soul of an addict - how they think, their daily torments, their lies and manipulations, the visceral cravings that demand to be fed - and (in what maybe makes this different) the deep hurt and desperation of the addict's family. The writing here is unique, sharp and crisp. Incredible sentences that made me grin in admiration come one after another. The big picture is a fantastic piece of 'world-building'. A place where addicts sell their body parts for their daily fix, and the metaphors here in this imaginary land only serve to make the story all too real. Transgressive, dystopian, horrific, yet also pulled from today's newspaper headlines of an Opioid epidemic.As happens with all great works, while reading I kept wondering how it would end, and The Green Kangaroos stuck the landing with a creative and ingenious '10'.

McHugh blew me away with A TRAIN DERAILS IN BOSTON, so this was a natural choice. Kind of like William Gibson meets William S. Burroughs, THE GREEN KANGAROOS takes you into the brutal, grotesque and sleazy world of Perry Samson, who would do anything to get high and his family who would do he same to get him to stop. Sheer, sickening brilliance.