Swamplandia by Karen Russell

Swamplandia by Karen Russell, 315 pages. One of the three, along with David Foster Wallace's The Pale King, and Denis Johnson's Train Dreams, that made the news by being a finalist in a year without a Pulitzer. It was better than some of the past Pulitzer winners, but it isn't among my favorites from last year. I was drawn in as the book went along, liking it more and more, but then felt a little let down by the ending. Probably at least partly due to all the hype that was surrounding the book as I was reading it. Kiwi, Osceola (Ossie), and Ava Bigtree have recently lost their mother to cancer. They, and their father, all try to make things better and to hold on to their island Alligator theme park. Check our catalog.