so-soThis was interesting but not engaging. The characters resembled game pieces. If there was a plot, it was vague enough to escape notice. The author‘s descriptions of the dust storms were the most visceral and true of anything in the novel.
panAfter 43 days, I am calling it. I can‘t push myself any further. I tried the digital arc that I received, then I added the audio, then I added a print copy, in hopes that I would be able to push thru. I love this period of US History, but the slow meandering plot just did me in. Also, at this part of the book, some things were added to the story that I felt just slowed it down further and didn‘t make sense with where things were going. I read 👇🏻
pickIt doesn‘t always work out when authors try to wrap up everything beautifully with an explanation of the deeper meaning, but she does this wonderfully! I loved the ending!
Also loved reading about Genoa, NE, my grandparents‘ old stomping grounds 🥰
After a few weeks of just “meh” reading, I‘m excited to start my week with this one. I hope it‘s as good as I want it to be.
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.
so-soI 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.
pickHistorical 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/
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The Antidote | 
