Orange World

From Amazon:

"From the Pulitzer Finalist and universally beloved author of the New York Times best sellers Swamplandia! and Vampires in the Lemon Grove, a stunning new collection of short fiction that showcases Karen Russell’s extraordinary, irresistible gifts of language and imagination.

 
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."

Tonight I had the opportunity to discuss the book Orange World by Karen Russell at the library's book club. Guess what, we actually discussed the book. For those that read this and are wondering what I mean by that, let me give a brief explanation. My mother's side of the family also has a book club (my mom and sisters, aunts, uncles, and cousins). Often when we hold book club, the book discussion is very short, sometimes non-existent. I feel it is getting better and in the last couple, we have had some interesting discussions. 

Tonight we discussed themes we saw in the book: relationships with others, finding a sense of belonging; how stories and characters related to other stories within the book and outside the book; ideas we didn't understand (i.e. why did the doctor shy away from his wife and her support for him); and which stories were our favorites and why.

Thanks to the library for hosting and for all that came. It was an interesting and fun evening.