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Dark,
Boring,
Difficult

5 reviews

Swamplandia!
by Karen Russell

Published: 2011-02-01
Hardcover : 336 pages
5 members reading this now
11 clubs reading this now
3 members have read this book
From the celebrated twenty-nine-year-old author of the everywhere-heralded short-story collection St. Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves ("How I wish these were my own words, instead of the breakneck demon writer Karen Russell's . . . Run for your life. This girl is on fire."Los ...
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Introduction

From the celebrated twenty-nine-year-old author of the everywhere-heralded short-story collection St. Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves ("How I wish these were my own words, instead of the breakneck demon writer Karen Russell's . . . Run for your life. This girl is on fire."Los Angeles Times Book Review) comes a blazingly original debut novel that takes us back to the swamps of the Florida Everglades, and introduces us to Ava Bigtree, an unforgettable young heroine.

The Bigtree alligator-wrestling dynasty is in decline, and Swamplandia!, their island home and gator-wrestling theme park, formerly #1 in the region, is swiftly being encroached upon by a fearsome and sophisticated competitor called the World of Darkness. Ava's mother, the park's indomitable headliner, has just died; her sister, Ossie, has fallen in love with a spooky character known as the Dredgeman, who may or may not be an actual ghost; and her brilliant big brother, Kiwi, who dreams of becoming a scholar, has just defected to the World of Darkness in a last-ditch effort to keep their family business from going under. Ava's father, affectionately known as Chief Bigtree, is AWOL; and that leaves Ava, a resourceful but terrified thirteen, to manage ninety-eight gators and the vast, inscrutable landscape of her own grief.

Against a backdrop of hauntingly fecund plant life animated by ancient lizards and lawless hungers, Karen Russell has written an utterly singular novel about a family's struggle to stay afloat in a world that is inexorably sinking. An arrestingly beautiful and inventive work from a vibrant new voice in fiction.

Guest Reviewer: Carl Hiaasen

Carl Hiaasen was born and raised in Florida. He is the author of twelve novels, including the bestselling Star Island, Nature Girl, Skinny Dip, Sick Puppy, and Lucky You, and three bestselling children's books: Hoot, Flush, and Scat. He also writes a weekly column for The Miami Herald.

This was the first time I've read Karen Russell's work, and I was dazzled. It's very rare, among the tonnage of manuscripts and galleys that land upon one's desk, to come across a young novelist so inventive and versatile, yet so thoroughly in control. Also, I'm a sucker for any plot line that features man-eating reptiles.

Swamplandia! is the story of Ava Bigtree, a 12-year-old alligator wrestler who embarks on an improbable journey through the mangrove wilderness of southwest Florida in search of a lost sister. Young Osceola has run off with a ghost-figure named Louis Thanksgiving, and only Ava knows where to look for them, dreading what she might find. Passages of this fine novel call to mind Conrad, Garcia Marquez and even--for those who have kids--Judy Blume. There's not a forgettable character in the cast, from Ava's flamboyant father, Chief Bigtree, who runs the family's failing tourist trap, to the bedraggled and cryptic Bird Man, who guides Ava on her harrowing trip.

Having spent many days in the Ten Thousand Islands, I was enchanted by Russell's dream-like descriptions of the tangled and serpentine creeks, the funky and exotic flora, the long stare of circling buzzards. Her prose is both shimmering and stark: "A huge hole in the middle of the ceiling opened onto a clear night sky; it looked as if some great predator had peeled the thatched roof back, sniffed once and lost interest."

Or the way she describes a "cauldron" of moths with 'sapphire-tipped wings, a sky-flood of them--They had fixed wings like sharp little bones, these moths, and it was astonishingly sad when you accidentally killed one."

I can't recall the last time I came across a character who shines as brightly as Ava, or a first novel that made such a rich and lasting impression.



Editorial Review

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Notes From the Author to the Bookclub

Reviews:

"Starred Review. A phantasmagorical tale of teens left on their own to battle their demons, mixed with a brief history of the Sunshine State, Russell's book will appeal to young adults as well as their folks." - Library Journal

"Starred Review. Russell's willingness to lend flesh and blood to her fanciful, fantastical creations gives this spry novel a potent punch and announces an enthralling new beginning for a quickly evolving young author." - Publishers Weekly

Book Club Recommendations

Member Reviews

Overall rating:
 
 
  "Well ... I learned something about Florida, so I guess my time wasn't totally wasted."by Lynn W. (see profile) 03/17/12

A librarian highly recommended this book to me and the writing really is good: the plot ... plot? ... not so much. Plenty to discuss but I bet that a good bit of the discussion revolves around how many... (read more)

 
  "Would not recommend this novel"by Marla M. (see profile) 08/01/11

Despite the reviews on the back cover, this book is not funny at all. It's sad and depressing. It was very hard to get through the whole book. There's a lot of unnecessary detail and the story does not... (read more)

 
  "Swamplandia"by Ann L. (see profile) 07/05/11

The Florida history was interesting.The vocabulary used was stimulating. The content of the story was depressing despite a hopeful ending. I am sorry I spent the time reading it.

 
  "Swamplandia"by Carol P. (see profile) 04/13/11

It took me and some of our other book club members awhile to get into this book. Once we did, the book was pretty good. We had lots of questions at our discussion, but the discussion was slow moving... (read more)

 
  "Swamplandia-Extremely slow read"by Michele C. (see profile) 03/06/11

This book is overly descriptive detailed in areas of no concern, and completely under descriptive detailed in areas that should be. It totally loses your interest with the different tangents it takes... (read more)

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