Swamplandia!

By: Karen Russell

Narrated by: Arielle Sitrick, David Ackroyd

Length: 13 hrs and 7 mins

Publisher's summary

From the celebrated 29-year-old author of the everywhere-heralded short-story collection St. Lucy’s Home for Girls Raised by Wolves (“How I wish these were my own words, instead of the breakneck demon writer Karen Russell’s...Run for your life. This girl is on fire” - Los Angeles Times Book Review) comes a blazingly original debut novel that takes us back to the swamps of the Florida Everglades, and introduces us to Ava Bigtree, an unforgettable young heroine.

The Bigtree alligator-wrestling dynasty is in decline, and Swamplandia!, their island home and gator-wrestling theme park, formerly number one in the region, is swiftly being encroached upon by a fearsome and sophisticated competitor called the World of Darkness. Ava’s mother, the park’s indomitable headliner, has just died; her sister, Ossie, has fallen in love with a spooky character known as the Dredgeman, who may or may not be an actual ghost; and her brilliant big brother, Kiwi, who dreams of becoming a scholar, has just defected to the World of Darkness in a last-ditch effort to keep their family business from going under. Ava’s father, affectionately known as Chief Bigtree, is AWOL; and that leaves Ava, a resourceful but terrified 13, to manage 98 gators and the vast, inscrutable landscape of her own grief.

Against a backdrop of hauntingly fecund plant life animated by ancient lizards and lawless hungers, Karen Russell has written an utterly singular novel about a family’s struggle to stay afloat in a world that is inexorably sinking. An arrestingly beautiful and inventive work from a vibrant new voice in fiction.

©2011 Karen Russell (P)2011 Random House

Critic reviews

“[Russell] has thrown the whole circus of her heart onto the page, safety nets be damned. . . . Russell has deep and true talent.” ( San Francisco Chronicle)

“Vividly worded, exuberant in characterization, the novel is a wild ride. . . . This family, wrestling with their desires and demons . . . will lodge in the memories of anyone lucky enough to read Swamplandia!” ( The New York Times Book Review)

“The bewitching Swamplandia! is a tremendous achievement.”( Entertainment Weekly)

Where did these Narrators come from?

I have listened to many audiobooks since 1987. I have never listened to such dreadful narration. I would love to give it zero stars. Or negative 500 stars. Giving it a single star is grade inflation.

Did the narrators come from the theatrical equivalent of Swamplandia? Or were they relatives of the recording company execs? In this day when there is a surplus of actors with theatrically trained voices, why do we get narrators who (1) speak in a monotone; (2) are unable to give each character his or her own voice so that sometimes the listener doesn't know who is who; (3) in the case of the female narrator, are totally unable to pace the narration, rushing through everything and slurring words (the male narrator paces the narration better but still suffers from the defects in (1) and (2)).

The only thing keeping me going right now is that the story is good so far, and I care about the characters. I am about 1-1/2 hours in, and if the story stops being good I'm going to deep-six this book.

Magical realism? or just kid magic?

I found the story to be incredibly engaging...seeing the world from an isolated, innocent little girl's perspective kept me in suspense the entire time. Is this a work of magical realism, with real ghosts and real witches, or, is our narrator creating her own magic and believing adult lies? Beautifully written, with a female narrator who captured the innocence of the character perfectly. Listen to Swamplandia! for a beautiful, engaging, suspenseful version of a coming of age tale and the story of a family making their way in the world.

Good book but not the best

I loved the female narrator but not so much the male. his voice just didn't match.

This book came recommended from a friend and while I did enjoy it and would reccomend it, it wasn't all that I'd hoped it'd be. I feel like the author could have done more with the story.

That said, it's a good book and had me captivated the whole read.

Alligator Alley

I like the reader. She is very believable
For the voice of the young pissed off
Ava.

Writing is good but narration not so much

David Ackroy’s narration was good but Arielle Sitrick’s was appalling. With all the unemployed actresses out there, I can’t believe they allowed this narrator to do such a poor job of injecting any life into the words. The book grew on me over time and when I could get past the narration, I found the writing to be lovely, though not quite to the level of Pulitzer nomination. Unique setting and story line, though the purpose of the red Seth in the story eludes me. I would have liked better resolution at the end for the characters.

Nicely done

This book is well written and as an audiobook, it is well produced. It seems carefully crafted. David Ackroyd’s narration is engaging and funny. Arielle Sitrick does a nice job as well. Bringing the everglades alive to the reader does occur in this novel. For more vivid descriptions of people, places and things try Donna Tartt’s The Goldfinch or any of the Robert Galbraith novels.

Ridiculous choice of narreator

What did you like best about Swamplandia!? What did you like least?

The story is quirky and engaging.

How could the performance have been better?

The performance could have been better with any other narrator. While I understand the logic of having a young girl read this, there must have been someone who was literate available. Did any editor or the author listen to this before it was published? The author's well crafted book is butchered. And I learn that the reader (take that loosely) is not 12 or 13 or even 10, as it sounds, but 16 -- so perhaps 15 when the work was done. This is an indictment of whatever schools she attended.

Replace Arielle as narrator please!

What did you love best about Swamplandia!?

It's phenomenal!

How did the narrator detract from the book?

It's like listening to a fourth grader read. The terrible intonations are cringe worthy. And I refuse to believe it's done to replicate the way Ava would speak. It's not. She just shouldn't have narrated this. She ruins the book.

Quirky Surprise

If you could sum up Swamplandia! in three words, what would they be?

mysterious precocious rollercoaster

What did you like best about this story?

The "you know what" part made me sad, but it also made it real.

What about Arielle Sitrick and David Ackroyd ’s performance did you like?

character appropriate

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No, too much to absorb. I needed a chapter at a time

Any additional comments?

This was one of those books that made me sad when it was over. I wanted it to listen to it forever.

Most Imaginative

The details of this swampy world brought it to life beautifully. Gripping at times and weirdly wonderful. Once I was used to the younger, quicker female voice - a perfect voice for the character really - just a little hard for me to understand at times - I fell deeply into the story.