Swamplandia

SWAMPLANDIA
by Karen Russell

 Nominations: Carnegie Finalist 2012, Orange Prize Longlist 2011, Pulitzer Finalist 2012

 Date Read: April 8, 2011

 I initially read Swamplandia as part of a book group I used to belong to. Set in an island chain off the southwest coast of Florida, this novel follows a family of alligator wrestlers that run an alligator theme park. As the park struggles to attract tourists, the family struggles over the fate of this park, some suggest selling it and others suggesting investing in upgrades. The father finally opts to shut the park down and leaves for the mainland.

 The two central children of this novel, Osceola and Ava, are largely left to their own devices since their passed away from cancer and their father off for an undetermined time to the mainland. Osceola disappears after finding an abandoned boat, convinced she is in love with the ghost that once piloted it. Ava then recruits the "Bird Man" to help her find her sister. After a long and arduous journey, Ava finally realizes the Bird Man is using her and he eventually rapes her. The siblings are eventually reunited and move to the mainland with their father. The end.

 Swamplandia was a bizarre tale that I was shocked to learn had been nominated for several awards. The major themes here - loss, the spiritual world, despair - are slowly revealed in an almost ludicrous backdrop when slowly, yet all of it sudden (it seemed to me), everything became alarmingly real when the Bird Man rapes 13-year old Ava. Ultimately, I believe this was Russell's intent all along. 

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