Karen Russell's collection of stories features oddities told with deadpan precision. In the title story, a woman has a devilish baby that feeds on her; in "The Bad Graft," a young woman is possessed by a Joshua tree; in "Madame Bovary's Revenge," a woman at a writing retreat is haunted by her own interior life; and "The Prospectors" follows two women in a haunted Depression-era lodge. Russell's invented situations stay anchored in recognizable human anxieties such as motherhood, loneliness and the desire to be free.
Readers who like short fiction that is strange, funny and sometimes frightening will find much to enjoy. It also suits those who want contemporary American stories with a literary flavor and an eye on the uncanny.
Deep and thought-provoking; a moderate read.
Best for readers like The Deep Diver. Which reader are you?
- Published
- 2019
- Language
- EN
