I just finished listening to Swamplandia by Karen Russell. It’s several years old now so some of you may have read it. If not: spoiler alert.
First, It was frustrating listening to the book because the reader of the young girl narrator part mispronounced so many words. The author also had the girl use similes and metaphors that didn’t exactly work. Even if the characterization was.supposed to be reflected in the language choices, it was distracting. Then, there was an unnecessary attempt to raunch up the story of the teen boy. But the worst thing was the rape of the young girl that goes unreported because the girl (13) thinks she was complicit. If the author was looking for a coming-of-age catalyst, she chose one that requires more skill than she possessed at the time she wrote the story. I would not recommend the book.
Deb, I did read the book and I reviewed it here (March 20 2012). It's funny, as I was reading your review, I remembered not liking it. So, I was surprised to see my blog post saying that I liked it. The NY Times review must have been pretty persuasive.
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