Swamplandia! by Karen Russell

      It's hard to give this book a proper review without revealing too much. I'll say: the prose is poetic; the plot twists are eccentric but entertaining. My qualms with Swamplandia! lie not with Karen Russell's writing style (the metaphors are beautiful), but with the broader implications of what such a lackluster book that was so well-received by critics says about society's values.

     I'm not going to analyze any geographical discrepancies or fuss about minor inconsistencies in character traits and development, as my Contemporary American Lit class focused on. Russell spins a very imaginative tale that requires little imagination to follow: the allegories are so painfully obvious; she does the thinking for you. She really doesn't explore any themes in such a way that hasn't been done before. The only unique twist lies in her elaborate sentence structure, which leads me to believe that this book was written more for capitalist gain and entertainment than anything else.

      If I'm right about that, I'm not bashing her for it: she's brilliant for seizing the opportunity. If you can sing really well: sing. If you can paint really well: paint. If writing is your forte, then by god, write your heart out. Look towards Madonna, Picasso, Nabokov and ingest all the inspiration you can, but please: don't regurgitate it. Museums are packed with Van Gogh; library shelves crammed with Joyce and Hemingway. Create something worth clearing space for, not something that will make it's way to the landfill in a year or two. Unless, it seems, in the case that some man in a suit is prepared to write you a substantial check to do so.