Published by Knopf Publishing Group Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction, Magical Realism
Format: ARC, eBook
The Antidote is a sweeping tale that merges historical fiction with magical realism. The book begins with the devastating Black Sunday dust storm which devastated the fictional town of Uz, Nebraska. A town that is already coping with the Great Depression and the Dust bowl. It is a bleak place where a “Prairie Witch” serves as a vault to people’s memories and secrets. The other characters are made up of a Polish farmer and his niece, a new Deal photographer, a basketball player and witch’s apprentice.
If you have read one of Karen Russel’s books, you are familiar with her writing, her use of magical realism in her stories, and how her books evoke emotion and are thought-provoking. The Antidote utilizes the climate issues to touch on memory, forgetting whether willfully or not, consequences, history, nature, loss, learning, and possibilities.
This book is both slow moving and intriguing. While I struggle with slow books, I found that I was able to go with the flow of this one. This book has a strong social justice message. Some will enjoy this some might not. It will depend on what you enjoy in books. My favorite character was the “Prairie Witch”. I enjoyed her sections the most. What shines in this book is the author’s writing.
Thank you to Knopf and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.
