Orange World by Karen Russell
Orange World by Karen Russell
" When it comes to the short story, Karen Russell kills. Like hot diggity dog. From stories of being trapped in a ski lodge with a crew of dead men who don’t know they’re dead, to a relationship souring on account of one partner being possessed by a tree, to a woman feeling ‘bummed’ that she is pregnant with the devil, to many other unforgettable stories. A WILD ride. I loved it. " - Recommended by Jess
Karen Russell’s comedic genius and mesmerizing talent for creating outlandish predicaments that uncannily mirror our inner in lives is on full display in these eight exuberant, arrestingly vivid, unforgettable stories. In“Bog Girl”, a revelatory story about first love, a young man falls in love with a two thousand year old girl that he’s extracted from a mass of peat in a Northern European bog. In “The Prospectors,” two opportunistic young women fleeing the depression strike out for new territory, and find themselves fighting for their lives. In the brilliant, hilarious title story, a new mother desperate to ensure her infant’s safety strikes a diabolical deal, agreeing to breastfeed the devil in exchange for his protection. The landscape in which these stories unfold is a feral, slippery, purgatorial space, bracketed by the void—yet within it Russell captures the exquisite beauty and tenderness of ordinary life. Orange World is a miracle of storytelling from a true modern master.