Swamplandia, by Karen Russell, centers around young Ava Bigtree and her family's struggle to save the clan's amusement park; "Swamplandia!." The untimely death of Ava's mother, the original star of Swamplandia!, has significantly affected the Bigtree family dynamic and their park's popularity. Additionally, a new amusement park, the "World of Darkness" opens and poaches most of Swamplandia's frequent visitors. Early in the novel the reader is able to identify with the main character Ava. Throuh Ava, Russell's personality shines through, and her fantastic writing skills are evident. Karen Russell is a relatively young author, and is a very raw talent. The creativity and elegance in which Russell describes the environment is breathtaking.
Ava shares the spotlight with her brother Kiwi and her sister Osceola, but she seems to be the only one with a developed personality. Ava's longing for her mother seems very personal and intimate. She dreams of seeing her again, and lacks the same relationship with the rest of the clan. The beginning of the story seems normal, but this novel gets strange very quickly. Things start to become bizarre when Osceola develops an interest in ghosts, and witchcraft. She leaves during the night to go on dates with her ghost "boyfriends" who appear to possess her. As the story progresses, she begins to shift farther away from reality. Throughout the tale the focus often shifts to Kiwi, who has abandoned his family and is now employed at the World of Darkness. Karen Russell tries to cast Kiwi as a bright and determined kid looking to earn a better future. Despite this, Kiwi seems massively misguided, he excels in academics but believes he can live on minimum wage. To be honest, neither Kiwi or Osceola are very interesting characters at all. This story has few characters so the ones present have to be strong, and frankly they aren't. After Osceola disappears with her new ghost boyfriend in the woods, Ava befriends a stranger known simply as the "Birdman" to find her. Thankfully, he is not as dry as the rest of the supporting characters. He is a mysterious and quiet, yet kind and intelligent man. After her entire family abandons her, Ava lies her entire trust in this odd stranger who looks to be sincere ad helpful. Unfortunately, he ends up taking advantage of Ava, complicating the novel even more. I genuinely liked the Birdman, and wanted him to be a good guy so badly. His betrayal left me with a sour taste in my mouth, I felt that Russell had unfairly taken my favorite character away. Overall, the novel stands tall in terms of style and storyline. Much to my disappointment, the story falls flat in terms of character development, and personality. I actually found myself hating all the characters except for Ava and the Birdman. And to top it off, Russell decided to make a villain out her best character.
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