I have heard so much good about this book — it’s won a ton of awards — so I was initially surprised by its 3.2 stars on Goodreads. Then I read it. Now I’m less surprised. Don’t get me wrong — Karen Russell can write. It’s a beautifully written story. But it still fell really short of what I wanted and expected. “THE ALLIGATOR IS AN ANACHRONISM THAT CAN EAT YOU!” Ava Bigtree has lived her whole (short) life in Swamplandia!, a small theme park in Florida where she […]
Am I Turning a Corner on My Feelings on Short Stories?
I know I’ve beaten the whole “I-hate-short-stories-unless-they-are-by-Neil-Gaiman” horse carcass before, BUT I may be turning a corner on short stories. Are they wearing me down? Or am I finally finading short story authors that more align with my tastes (or lack thereof)? Why not both! One word of gripe about this one, though, Russell doesn’t seem concerned with first impressions. The first story in the collection – Ava Wrestles the Alligator – flirted too much in that magical realism plan that I can never quite […]
Like An Unshakeable Dream
I wanted to include this eBook-only novella in my Top 5 of 2014, not only because it’s a great story, but because I like the idea of authors finding homes for their less-lengthy work. Sleep Donation is set in the near future when an epidemic of fatal insomnia plagues America. A company called Slumber Corps collects “healthy sleep” from donors and uses it to cure the sleepless. For years, Trish Edgewater has worked for the company and telling the tale of her sister, Dori, who […]