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4.14 AVERAGE
4.14 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (4.24/5)
Book Review: Antidote by Karen Russell
This book had a slow start—I almost didn’t continue—but I’m so glad I did. Set in the fictional town of Uz, Nebraska, Antidote is a unique and atmospheric novel rooted in the Dust Bowl era, framed by two real-life disasters: the Black Sunday dust storm and the Republican River flood of 1935. With elements like prairie witches, murder, photography, basketball, colonialism, and even a scarecrow and a cat, it reads like nothing else— I've been known to like some weirdly unique books (Shark Heart anyone?) and appreciate its wild originality. I've only read one other historical fiction novel set during the Dust Bowl, and it’s such a bleak, fascinating period to explore.
The story blends historical fiction, magical realism, and murder mystery. It's imaginative while addressing weighty themes: systemic oppression, racism, colonial violence, and the deliberate erasure of history. Yet despite these heavy topics, there's balance—magic, symbolism, and hope woven in. It’s a reminder of how fiction can hold truth while still offering escape. If you can get through the slow beginning, you’ll be rewarded with a haunting, layered, and thought-provoking read that lingers long after the last page.
Take time to read the author's note on the factual history related to the events in this novel.
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death
Thank you for Knopf for the gifted copy and PRH Audio for the audiobook copy.
With an unsuspecting group—a prairie witch, a high school girl and her farmer uncle, a scarecrow, a photographer—in Nebraska face climate emergencies, we take a deep dive into collective memory, the weight of our actions, and small town politics. All of the Prairie Witches who are “vaults”, and possess the ability to take and store memories from people who no longer want to bear those burden, can no longer access their archives. What happens when memories go missing? Whose stories get lost?
This is a big, sweeping, in-depth novel, so if you’re looking to sink into a stylistically western, historical fiction meets magical realism story, pick this one up. It very much reminded me of THERE ARE RIVES IN THE SKY. But in the Midwest in the 1930s.
One theme that’s stayed with me, from this and from SINNERS as I’ve recently watched it, is the cognitive dissonance felt by white Europeans fleeing their own persecution only to come to America and realize they’ve now joined, unintentionally or otherwise, the oppressive group. How do you reckon with the memories of colonization when you’re just trying to survive?
I keep going back and forth with what I think of this. I loved the depth and writing and want to explore of Russell’s work, but I run into this criticism with almost every big book: was all of it needed? I’m unsure, but I do know that I wish I read it with a group so I could see what others were most impacted by.
For more reviews, follow along on Instagram: @oliviasbooktalk 📚
With an unsuspecting group—a prairie witch, a high school girl and her farmer uncle, a scarecrow, a photographer—in Nebraska face climate emergencies, we take a deep dive into collective memory, the weight of our actions, and small town politics. All of the Prairie Witches who are “vaults”, and possess the ability to take and store memories from people who no longer want to bear those burden, can no longer access their archives. What happens when memories go missing? Whose stories get lost?
This is a big, sweeping, in-depth novel, so if you’re looking to sink into a stylistically western, historical fiction meets magical realism story, pick this one up. It very much reminded me of THERE ARE RIVES IN THE SKY. But in the Midwest in the 1930s.
One theme that’s stayed with me, from this and from SINNERS as I’ve recently watched it, is the cognitive dissonance felt by white Europeans fleeing their own persecution only to come to America and realize they’ve now joined, unintentionally or otherwise, the oppressive group. How do you reckon with the memories of colonization when you’re just trying to survive?
I keep going back and forth with what I think of this. I loved the depth and writing and want to explore of Russell’s work, but I run into this criticism with almost every big book: was all of it needed? I’m unsure, but I do know that I wish I read it with a group so I could see what others were most impacted by.
For more reviews, follow along on Instagram: @oliviasbooktalk 📚
challenging
hopeful
informative
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
In case I ever manage to make a class about this book, I would assign it alongside Cara Finnegan, Emerson Cram, and possibly Zitkala Sa and Connie Walker, for both contemporary and modern native voices on residential schools.
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
4 Stars ✨
The Antidote is a magical, immersive, and deeply atmospheric story set against the haunting backdrop of the Dust Bowl era. The author masterfully blends historical detail with the supernatural, crafting a narrative that feels both grounded in time and utterly otherworldly. The fictional town of Uz, Nebraska, is richly imagined, and the lives of its people are rendered with empathy, depth, and historical resonance.
Told through five distinct points of view, the novel excels in giving each narrator a unique and authentic voice. Among them, the Prairie Witch stands out as one of the most compelling characters I’ve encountered this year—and that’s saying something, as this is approximately book 140 for me. While I appreciated all the POVs, I found myself especially eager to return to her chapters.
The Prairie Witch acts as a “memory vault” for the townspeople, allowing them to deposit memories that weigh heavily on them. Through this motif, the novel explores themes of memory, storytelling, and the consequences of misremembering or rewriting the past. It’s a powerful meditation on how histories—personal and collective—are shaped and sometimes distorted over time.
The book seamlessly weaves together elements of historical fiction, magical realism, and a murder mystery, all of which are executed well. I strongly encourage readers to approach this story with an open mind; the lessons it imparts feel both timeless and timely. If you're in the mood for historical fiction that defies convention and lingers long after the last page, this is one to pick up.
The audiobook is also a standout, featuring multiple narrators who bring the different perspectives vividly to life.
One line from the synopsis beautifully encapsulates the book’s essence:
“The Antidote 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 is a magical, immersive, and deeply atmospheric story set against the haunting backdrop of the Dust Bowl era. The author masterfully blends historical detail with the supernatural, crafting a narrative that feels both grounded in time and utterly otherworldly. The fictional town of Uz, Nebraska, is richly imagined, and the lives of its people are rendered with empathy, depth, and historical resonance.
Told through five distinct points of view, the novel excels in giving each narrator a unique and authentic voice. Among them, the Prairie Witch stands out as one of the most compelling characters I’ve encountered this year—and that’s saying something, as this is approximately book 140 for me. While I appreciated all the POVs, I found myself especially eager to return to her chapters.
The Prairie Witch acts as a “memory vault” for the townspeople, allowing them to deposit memories that weigh heavily on them. Through this motif, the novel explores themes of memory, storytelling, and the consequences of misremembering or rewriting the past. It’s a powerful meditation on how histories—personal and collective—are shaped and sometimes distorted over time.
The book seamlessly weaves together elements of historical fiction, magical realism, and a murder mystery, all of which are executed well. I strongly encourage readers to approach this story with an open mind; the lessons it imparts feel both timeless and timely. If you're in the mood for historical fiction that defies convention and lingers long after the last page, this is one to pick up.
The audiobook is also a standout, featuring multiple narrators who bring the different perspectives vividly to life.
One line from the synopsis beautifully encapsulates the book’s essence:
“The Antidote 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.”
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
challenging
informative
mysterious
slow-paced
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes