Swamplandia!-a book discussion

Monday Night Book Discussions

"SWAMPLANDIA!"
(written by Karen Russell)

Salina Public Library

Salina, KS

© Lydia Lowe  7/9/2012

Swamplandia . . . This is a different sort of book.  I wasn't sure what to expect from this book going in, as I had been told that it was a bit wild and quirky.  But this book is so much more.

This book is different.  It requires the reader to suspend belief of reality in some spots.  The locale is one that is seldom used and is full of mystery and magic.  While the book is set in Florida, this is not the Florida Everglades, but something entirely different.  The flora and fauna play a big role and interact with the characters.  Alligators, crocodiles and snakes are not fierce agressive beasts that are out for blood at every turn.  They are to be respected but not feared.  These reptiles co-exist with humans and both give each other a wide berth, going about their daily lives, seperately yet side by side. 

I think this book is more about family and how those families can fall apart at the seams when the glue that holds the family unit together is lost.  It's also about when everything seems lost, that's when you can find yourself once again.  Sometimes you have to go through great distress, be tested, before you can come to know who and what you are all about.  This book is also about relationships and how no matter what the odds, if it's meant to be, then it's meant to be. 

This book is a great read.  If you're looking for something different but with universal themes, you'll want to read this one.