Swamplandia!

Karen Russell is the writer-in-residence at Bryn Mawr , so I wanted to read Swamplandia! before her reading/appearance this month.

Swamplandia! is an alligator attraction in Florida owned by the eccentric Bigtree family. Sadly, Hiola Bigtree, mother and main attraction at Swamplandia! dies of cancer and as the book opens we find the family and the park in trouble.

The three Bigtree children - Kiwi, Osceola and Ava - struggle to continue to support their father and the park while mourning the loss of their mother and growing into teenagers on a remote island.

The book comes to a climax as Kiwi and the Chief leave the island (separately) to help the park and Ossie ventures off to marry her ghost boyfriend with Ava following behind through the swamplands with a stranger called the Bird Man to rescue her. Much goes awry and I feared for the young Ava, but Russell keeps you reading through the perfect mixture of worry and great writing.