Comments (34)

What did you think about this title?
1 to 25 of 34 items
Sep 29, 2022benbradshaw1967 rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
In a passage from Chapter Two, a character remarks: “When you are waiting for somebody for that long, your ceiling fan can whip ordinary air into a torture.” I had to write it down because, wow, you can feel that in your soul. I didn’t…
Jun 14, 2021DCPL_Christine rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
I was amazed at the amount of words used that I had never read or heard before. The writing is wonderful, had to look into what type of decriptive writing the author used. It seems to be a fine mixture of at least evocative and…
Sep 22, 2019mnack_0 rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
The story of how a mother's untimely death tears apart a family - how each member deals with their grief - to eventually come back together again in a new (more traditional?) way. I loved the quirky and imaginative characters as well as…
Jul 26, 2019EljayJohnson rated this title 0.5 out of 5 stars
Ugh, what dreck. Another case of a highly hyped book that I don't like and don't understand all of the good reviews. I'm sure I have before, but right now I can't remember reading a book quite so desperately trying for significance -- and…
Feb 05, 2019kmobuckeye rated this title 2 out of 5 stars
Glad I finally read it. Loved all the old FL stuff, but meh on the actual story.
Nov 27, 2018strangebasis rated this title 2.5 out of 5 stars
I wanted to like this book, I really did. Karen Russel is great at her short stories. Her characters are great and her descriptions are lovely and ideas are wonderful. The story weakens in the last half and seems to stray from some strong…
Nov 17, 2017
Swamplandia is a Florida alligator-wresttling tourist trap run by the Bigtree family. The tourists have stopped coming, and the family wrestles with their future
Jul 26, 2016ReadsintheDark rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
I loved this book. The book follows the decline of a backwoods dysfunctional family of gator wrestlers. The book has a carnival feel with wonderful quirky characters and perfect pacing. As others have noted, the book begins as a study of…
Feb 23, 2016Chapel_Hill_KrystalB rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
I loved this book... at first. The swampy Florida setting, the quirky characters, the writing- Karen Russell could teach a class on unusual yet completely logical similes alone. Unfortunately, it totally lost me, at first with Kiwi's…
Jun 19, 2015FW_librarian rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
Opened the book and tried to read it about a half dozen times; if it wasn't my book club selection, I probably would have finished it. But, having read it, I'm glad I did finish it because I ended up being drawn into the oddly unique…
Dec 22, 2014Chapel_Hill_KenMc rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
This is a very quirky novel, written generally as a humorous and ironic account of the decline of a Florida theme park that has seen better days. The plot flows into a very dark and disturbing place, creating an odd dissonance with the…
Jun 06, 2014KateHillier rated this title 2 out of 5 stars
Honestly it started out interesting. Very Royal Tenenbaums-ish with the oddball family working at a theme park in the Florida Everglades. The patriarch vanishes on a unspecified business trip, the son runs away to make money, and the two…
Sep 15, 2013artemishi rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
Swamplandia! is not exactly what I expected it to be. It's fiction, and not YA or cutesy at all (despite a 12-year-old narrator and a "Madeleine"-esque cover). It's a journey of self-discovery, or going from a self-assured cocoon world of…
Spricebook
Sep 15, 2013Spricebook rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
very good. interesting to learn more about life in the Everglades. cinematic in tone - could easily be a movie. suspenseful. no too syrupy - in fact, very much a lesson in the harsh realities of life.
May 09, 2013TheSponge rated this title 0.5 out of 5 stars
Swamplandia!, Karen Russell's debut novel focuses on a 100-acre theme park in the Florida Everglades that is run by the alligator-wrestling Bigtree clan. As is the case with most entertainment parks, much of Swamplandia! and the Bigtree…
Nov 02, 2012Katieshw rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
This is one of those books that bibliophiles are supposed to love, but it's a bit hard to get into. The writing is unique and interesting and the characters are quirky. Not to mention, the setting is fantastic. But the story drags on and…
Oct 20, 2012JimLoter rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
I don't like being wet. I don't like being hot. I don't like swarming insects. Since the characters in Swamplandia! spend a great deal of their time wet, hot, and/or surrounded by insects, that in itself would be enough to keep me…
Aug 24, 2012NATHANIEL ANTHONY ROMIG rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
It's such a good book.
Jul 27, 2012
I had a difficult time getting through this book. I read the whole book because it's one my book club chose. It seemed, to me, that the story was always just about ready to 'take off', but never really did. The characters were…
Jul 19, 2012katbehrend rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
I liked this book, despite its dark nature! Thought that the characters were all interesting and quirky and I enjoyed watching them develop as their family drama unfolded. It left me feeling heavy, but I think the story was compelling, at…
Jul 11, 2012hollyheartsYA rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
How to even start to review this book? The characters are the gravity that pulls this story together, that gives it the roots it needs to take you on an incredible, unbelievable, fantastical and moving journey. The setting especially…
Jun 28, 2012quagga rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
Dysfunctional family drama, creepy swamp scenes, a twisty plot, clever prose style and lots of humour - I loved it.
Jun 16, 2012orphicfiddler rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
I thought Swamplandia! was gonna be all Wes Anderson-esque, but then it took a turn down a dark alley. And that was pretty okay with me. I would love to direct a movie of this if I had, you know, any experience directing. The descriptions…
geezr_rdr
Jun 05, 2012
There is a story here, but I think the author missed it. It would be a better read if the focus were on the Chief's thought process and the other Bigfeet contribute as a supporting cast.
May 29, 2012Clio33 rated this title 2 out of 5 stars
Slow beginning, and way too drawn out. The storyline and all of the characters were strange and not especially sympathetic. In spite of the characters' strangeness, the events of the later part of the novel were predictable, and the ending…