I know a lot of people here have read (or are currently reading) The Antidote by Karen Russell. I think it’s one of those love-it-or-hate-it novels. What did you folks think? Feel free to be as specific as you want; spoilers are OK in this topic.
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Lately my favorite books are those that I find unpredictable, and The Antidote certainly fits into that category. I thoroughly enjoyed it, but it’s unconventional so I imagine there are plenty of readers who couldn’t really get into it. On top of what I think was a really cool plot, the writing was excellent and I enjoyed the historical fiction aspect as well. It’s fair to point out that the author really crammed a lot of themes into the plot - perhaps too many - but I thought she tied them together really well.
I absolutely LOVED it! The amazing alchemy of history, memory, and magic (?) were spellbinding. I marked all of the pages with sentences or paragraphs that led to a “Oooh!” or “Ah!”
If alchemy was believed to produce gold, it certainly did in this fantastic book - though to see it, you’ll have to blow off the slight layer of dust.
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@Nancy_B “blow off a layer of dust” - haha, love that!
I liked it but there were parts that didn’t work well for me. it was the ending that made it worthwhile.
I suspect I will always love Karen Russell’s Swamplandia best.
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