Tuesday, January 14, 2025

The Antidote by Karen Russell

The Antidote
by Karen Russell
432 pages
Published March 2025 by Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
Source: my copy courtesy of the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review

Publisher's Summary: 
The Antidote opens on Black Sunday, as a historic dust storm ravages the fictional town of Uz, Nebraska. But Uz is already collapsing—not just under the weight of the Great Depression and the dust bowl drought but beneath its own violent histories. The Antidote follows a "Prairie Witch,” whose body serves as a bank vault for peoples’ memories and secrets; a Polish wheat farmer who learns how quickly a hoarded blessing can become a curse; his orphan niece, a basketball star and witch’s apprentice in furious flight from her grief; a voluble scarecrow; and a New Deal photographer whose time-traveling camera threatens to reveal both the town’s secrets and its fate.

Russell's novel is above all a reckoning with a nation’s forgetting—enacting the settler amnesia and willful omissions passed down from generation to generation, and unearthing not only horrors but shimmering possibilities. The Antidote echoes with urgent warnings for our own climate emergency, challenging readers with a vision of what might have been—and what still could be.

My Thoughts: 
The Antidote was a great book to finish off 2024. It defies classification: it is both historical fiction and fantasy. It is political commentary, sweeping saga, intimate personal stories. It is devastating and hopeful, tense but not without humor. It's set in one of the most notable times of this country's history but addresses concerns that span the centuries. And it's set in a fictional small town in Nebraska, but it's packed with real places, the real history of the state, and real photographs taken by those sent to record that time.
"Black Sunday began as a gash in the western sky, growing wider and wider and spilling down dirt instead of blood. Sometimes I imagine the glee of those journalists in the New York City papers - typing up the story of our worst day in their fancy language. Adjusting the margins and pushing our tragedy into a skinny column, just like old Marvin at the funeral home shoving a tall corpse into a tight suit."
"Imagine every ghost rising up to hurl their cemetery earth at the living. That was the sound we heard last Sunday afternoon. At 3:00 p.m the sun was murdered in cold blood, in full view of every woman and child. The sun sank into black cloud. Buried alive, at a shocking altitude, but the duster to end all dusters."
We get the story primarily from The Prairie Witch, Asphodel Oletsky, Harp Oletsky, and Cleo Allfrey whose names will change as chapter headings as the books progresses. But we also get chapters from the points of view of a cat and a scarecrow, chapters that are The Antidote's history, and one of Harp's "deposits." In less skilled hands, all of this shifting could be confusing; but Russell skillfully blends all of these points of view at the same time she is moving the story forward while giving us the backstory of the land and the people. The characters are fully realized, their travails their own but their concerns and hopes universal. While the full story is slow to develop, it's never drags and it's well worth the time spent when everything comes to a conclusion with a second cataclysmic (and real) event. 
"The Republican River became a four-mile-wide whitewater monster, thrashing its long tail from eastern Colorado to Oxford, Nebraska. Twenty-four inches of rain fell in twenty-four house! Bridges split and splintered apart. Hundreds of miles of road got washed out. The river poured forward with enough force to carry cars and rooftops. Walls floated away. Friends became cadavers in outfits we recognized, floating beside tractors and drowned cattle. Bodies were seen riding on the crest through the middle of towns, their shy faces staring underwater even as we screamed their names."
At a time when I was really struggling to focus on any book, this one grabbed me and kept me reading. The concepts, the history, the characters, the writing, the pacing, the creativity all worked to make this book that will stay with me a long time. As much as it is set in the past, it is filled with lessons to be learned, not the least of which are to see how history is repeating itself and how human nature remains unchanged. Russell leaves us with hope - we see that there is an opportunity to learn from the past and to change our future. If only we will listen. 

One final note, if you read this book, make sure you read the Land Lost Acknowledgment and the Author's Note at the end. 



Sunday, January 12, 2025

Life: It Goes On - January 12

Happy Sunday from Omaha, where, at least for now, the sun is finally shining. I've been whinny about the grey and the low pressure system; but I'm grateful to have dodged the ice and snow storms that have crippled so much of the country. Now if we could both just get healthy at the same time! 

We finally got this Christmas tree down on Friday. I'd taken off all of the ornaments a week ago but needed Big Guy to help with the lights and the tree. Between one thing and another, it just didn't get done all week. What a relief to finally have the family room back in order and my favorite chair back in the room. It's my favorite place to curl up and read! 

Last Week I: 


Listened To: I finished my first book of the year, George Saunders' The Tenth of December and started back up with Hidden Valley Road. When I looked at my reading numbers for 2024, I had read very few short story collections and not as much nonfiction as usual, so I'm off to a good start in turning that around in 2025. 


Watched: The usual football, college basketball, and the season opener of one of Omaha's professional women's volleyball teams. What an exciting match, with Husker alumni on both sides of the net and a record women's professional volleyball crowd in attendance. We also watch a couple of episodes each of Shrinking, Loudermilk, and Only Murders In The Building


Read: I started both Jodi Picoult's By Any Other Name (finally!) and All The Colors of the Dark, by Chris Whitaker, but not sure which one I'm going to stick with to the end first. I did not, as I had said I would, get back to either of the books I'd been reading as part of readalongs. 


Made: It's been so cold here lately so it's soup season. This week we made potato soup and corn chowder. 

Enjoyed: We went to see a movie...in the theater!...on Monday - A Complete Unknown, starring Timothee Chalomet. Well done movie with really good performances. I'm not a huge Bob Dylan fan so I could have done with a little less of the music, but the friends we went with really enjoyed that. 


We also enjoyed an overnight visit from my brother who was headed up to pick up some beef. Do people outside of the midwest buy meat by the half or quarter of an animal? 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This Week I’m:  


Planning: BG is celebrating a big birthday this month so I'm working on a little family surprise for him. With everyone's schedules, it may not happen until a week or so after his birthday so I'll have to find another way to celebrate on the actual date. 


Thinking About: California. It's so huge and overwhelming to think about and my heart breaks for all of those affected. So much as been lost, so much that can never be replaced. It's so frustrating to see some trying to make this a political issue at a time when people are suffering. 


Feeling: BG is sick again. I'm pretty convinced that he's never fully recovered from what we got in November. I'd like to be sympathetic; but, honestly, I'm feeling a little cranky about having to wait on him again and do everything around here. 


Looking forward to: Last week ended up being kind of a weird week so this week I'm looking forward to a normal week. Although I have no idea what's on the calendar, not having turned the page yet. 


Question of the week: How are you holding up, now that the holidays are behind us and most of winter lies ahead? 

Sunday, January 5, 2025

Life: It Goes On - January 5

Happy Sunday! If you're one of the millions caught in the path of this weekend's ice/snow storm, I hope you didn't have to go out on the roads and had stocked up on enough milk, Cheetos and Klondike bars to survive your time stuck at home. Miss H was at a convention all weekend and had to time her trip from downtown K.C. to her apartment so that there was enough snow over the ice to gain traction but not enough to get stuck. It's a whooping 16° here, but I'm grateful that there was no snow or ice to contend with last night when we were out with friends. 

Last Week I: 


Listened To: I started listening to William Faulkner's The Sound and The Fury but quickly realized that is not a book to be listened to so I'll be digging out my copy of the book to finish it. Then I switched to George Saunders' Tenth of December, a collection of short stories. I'd started it before I remembered that I never finished listening to 1984, so I'll get back to that this week. 


Watched: The New Year's Eve festivities, college basketball, and as much football as we can while it lasts. We also watched the latest Wallace and Gromit movie, Vengeance Most Fowl. This one is a little over the top, but still so much fun and pays homage to so many movies. 


Read: I finished Karen Russell's The Antidote on NYE, just in the nick of time to count it as a 2024 read. I've been reading Of Human Bondage, another readalong I failed at in 2024, but I'm determined to finish it before I start a new book in 2025 (likely All The Colors of the Dark by Chris Whitaker or Jodi Picoult's latest, By Any Other Name)


Made: We had friends over for dessert on NYE; I made ice cream. Today we made potato soup and bread pudding. All of those things because we've both been shopping and accidentally doubling up on things - so too much whipping cream, milk and bread. 


Enjoyed: We went in to Lincoln Friday evening to spend time with the Big Guy's siblings, their spouses, and a great-nephew who was in town for a visit. Got to see his sister and her two-year-old son while we were there as well. Nothing makes you feel older than having a great- great-nephew! 

              --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This Week I’m:  


Planning: We're headed see A Complete Unknown (the movie about Bob Dylan) tomorrow evening. Otherwise, there is nothing on the calendar and I'm ok with that; I'm ready for some time to just relax and do nothing more than the usual chores. 


Thinking About: Not much this weekend - this low front has had me battling a headache. 


Feeling: Christmas is down and I must admit that I'm not really missing it, like I usually do. As soon as I'd finished putting it all out, I was ready to take some of it back down again - it was just too much this year for some reason. I've resolved to not feel like I have to put it all out every year from now on, but I'm keeping most of it so that I have choices. 


Looking forward to: A quiet week. 


Question of the week: How did you celebrate the New Year? Did you start a new book for the new year? 

Thursday, January 2, 2025

2024 Wrap Up

 


I'm not really sure where 2024 went. It feels like a long time ago that we ushered it in and yet it also flew by. It was a strange reading year for me and I ended the year in a real blogging slump. I couldn't seem to find a good way to follow all of my favorite blogs any more so I've been a very bad blogging friend to top it off. I'd like to say that will change in 2025; but, if I've learned anything over the years, I've learned not to make promises I don't know if I can keep. That said, let's wrap up 2024! 

Top Fiction Books: 

James by Percival Everett
Sandwich by Catherine Newman
Table for Two by Amor Towels
The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O'Farrell
After Annie by Anna Quindlen
Chenneville by Paulette Jiles
The Fraud by Zadie Smith
The Morningside by Tea Obrecht
Here One Moment by Liane Moriarty
Tell Me Everything by Elizabeth Strout
Long Island Colm Toibin 
Pete and Alice in Maine by Caitlin Shetterley

Top Audiobooks:

Chenneville by Paulette Jiles, read by Grover Gardner
The Maid by Nita Prose, read by Lauren Ambrose
Poverty, by America by Matthew Desmond, read by Dion Graham
The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O'Farrell, read by Genevieve Gaunt
The Trackers by Charles Frazier, read by Will Patton
Long Island by Colm Toibin, read by Jessie Buckley
The Once and Future Witches by Alix Harrow, read by Gabra Zackman

Top Nonfiction Books: 

Poverty, By America by Matthew Desmond
Life In Five Senses by Gretchen Rubin
The Friday Afternoon Club by Griffin Dunne
We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamande Ngozi Adichie 
The Middle Place by Kelly Corrigan
Madame Restell by Jennifer Wright

By The Numbers: 

I read a total of 80 books. Of those 84% were written by female authors, a record 58% were audiobooks, 81% were checked out from the library and 16% were from Netgalley (which goes to show that I read very few books from my own shelves!). 

Six of the books were part of series, six were works of fiction based on real people, and four were written by Omaha authors. Two of the books were short story collections and three were either prequels or sequels. Three were set during Covid. 

I tend to think of books as often being of more than one genre so these numbers will not total to 80: 

24 literary fiction
19 historical fiction
15: mysteries, nonfiction
11: women's fiction, U.S. history
5: fantasy, memoir, self-help
3 chick lit
1 each: Western, science fiction, biography, classic, dystopian

I read books set in: Greece, Italy, England, Dominican Republic, Poland, France, Australia, Ireland, and two set in Nebraska. 

The themes I read about included: diversity (a disappointing 10 books), family, social issues, mental health, friendship, war, the justice system, feminism, marriage, abuse, and grief. These tend to be themes I'm consistently drawn to so I imagine if I looked back over the years, I'd see the same things. 

In 2025, I'm not setting any goals. But I would like to read more physical books, more books that I already own, and to read more diversely. I'd also like to finish up the books I started as read-alongs in 2024 and maybe be part of more of those in 2025. 

What did your reading year look like for 2024?