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> Genre: Fiction > Teetering on the Edge of Fantastic

Teetering on the Edge of Fantastic

Vampires in the Lemon Grove by Karen Russell

February 17, 2020 by Ale 2 Comments

While buying a copy of Kelly Link’s Get in Trouble, Amazon alerted me that I “might also like” Karen Russell’s Vampires in the Lemon Grove. I’ve never read Swamplandia (although I’m totally going to now), and I knew nothing of Russell and her work, but the title sounded awesome and I’m always looking for quality speculative short fiction. I was not disappointed. Russell’s fabulous and her collection is as varied and weird and wonderful as the title suggests.

Her work runs the gambit from vampires subsisting on lemons in an Italian orchard to American presidents embodied in horses and Japanese silk workers who spin threads from their own bodies. The stories are at once as dark as they are humorous, and leave a lasting impression after the story is done. I really loved all the pieces in this collection, there wasn’t one story that felt like filler, but my four favorites were:

  1. Reeling for the Empire – the Japanese silk industry has taken it a step too far, and women are turned into silkworms.
  2. The Seagull Army Descends on Strong Beach, 1979 – a struggling young man finds a cache of objects stolen by seagulls that provide the answers for some of the misery in his life.
  3. Dougbert Shackleton’s Rules of Antarctic Tailgaiting – this was just fun, and told in such a new and fresh way.
  4. The New Veterans – this one stuck with me hard, as a massage therapist tries to heal an Iraq veteran’s PTSD through manipulating the images on his back tattoo. (I know, it sounds strange and it is, but it’s also soooo good).

Russell’s prose is open and friendly and warm, even in its darkest moments, but lurking beneath its accessibility is a depth to the human condition that showcases much more that what’s on the page.

If you like Kelly Link or Ray Bradbury, considering checking out this book.

5 stars.

Filed Under: Fiction, Short Stories, Speculative Fiction Tagged With: Award Winning, collected fiction, collection, Karen Russell

Ale's CBR12 Review No:6 · Genres: Fiction, Short Stories, Speculative Fiction · Tags: Award Winning, collected fiction, collection, Karen Russell ·
Rating:
· 2 Comments

About Ale

CBR13 participantCBR12 participantCBR11 participantCBR10 participantCBR  9CBR 8CBR 7

I'm adjuncting in creative writing, and I'm in the midst of editing my first novel. Along with CBR, I have book reviews published with "The Literary Review," short essay with "Fiction Southeast" and a forthcoming publication with "The Book Smuggler's Den." CBR has definitely helped my writing skills since now I know what readers are looking for for in their works. So, thank you, CBR! Hopefully someday, we'll be able to review my novel on this blog. :) View Ale's reviews»

Comments

  1. andtheIToldYouSos says

    February 17, 2020 at 5:54 pm

    I am so glad you enjoyed this collection! The story about delivering the window on the prairie is going to haunt me for the rest of my days.

    Reply
    • Ale says

      February 18, 2020 at 9:27 am

      Right? Every story in the collection had some type of really visceral gut-punch.

      Reply

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