Welcome to Litsy!

Whew boy, this has been tough to get into. I‘m 25% thru and have been reading this book for four weeks, two days. Soooo slowww.

I love reading about the Dust Bowl, so got an ARC from NetGalley and have been chipping away at it for ages. I almost DNF‘d but decided to get the audio from the library to see if that helps me push thru, and it does. I‘m finally getting a little bit eager to see where the story goes. But I‘ve really had to work for it.

I didn‘t love it…which honestly, comes as a surprise because everything else I‘ve read by Russell I really enjoyed. It has the right ingredients—interesting setting (Dust Bowl), a witch, a sentient scarecrow, a mystery, but…BUT, it‘s ponderous & slow moving, told in multiple POVs which aren‘t all that distinctive, & somehow (impossibly) devoid of emotional depth. I really should have cared about these characters & I just didn‘t. Just a so-so read.

Historical fiction steeped in magical realism unfolds here in a pre-technicolor Oz of Uz, NE. Beautifully written with multiple perspectives, the story comes from the titular Antidote, a Prairie Witch practiced in banking memories away from their experiencer, Asphodel, a fearless orphan obsessed with basketball & new love , her uncle, a farmer who finds sudden fortune after Black Sunday, Cleo, a New Deal photographer, a scarecrow & a cat!

And…I now interrupt all in-progress reading to start this one. Russell never disappoints, always entertains. Look forward to a great read.

Now Available! 🎉🥳📚
The Antidote- Karen Russell

Book Review- https://www.boleybooks.com//the-antidote/

#boleybooks #TheAntidote #KarenRussell #bookbeast #NetGalley #bookbuds #newbook

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#boleybooks #TheAntidote #KarenRussell #bookbeast #netgalley #bookbuds #bookchat