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marlyngil 's review for:
Vampires in the Lemon Grove
by Karen Russell
dark
funny
tense
medium-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
Vampires in the Lemon Grove by Karen Russell is another unique and wildly odd book of short stories from a science fiction author who really makes me think. What follows is a brief synopsis of each story in the book so you can decide for yourself if you want to tackle this strange selection of stories. I, personally, loved it.
In the title story, a vampire couple live in a lemon grove and they stave off their craving for blood with lemons.
In Reeling for the Empire, young women are turned into human silkworms to increase the production of silk. But, the young women find a way to take over their factory.
A Barn at the End of Our Term is about a bunch of dead presidents who don't quite understand why they have turned up in the afterlife as horses in a barn. There are so many clever references in this one!
Dougbert Shackleton's Rules for Antarctic Tailgating is a humorous take on tailgating a game between Team Krill and Team Whale.
But, my favorite were the last two stories. In The New Veterans, a massage therapist, Beverly, works for a company providing deep tissue massages for veterans who have trauma. Somehow, Beverly is able to relieve the trauma of one particular patient by deep tissue massaging it into herself, taking the trauma into her own body.
Finally, The Graceless Doll of Eric Mutis is about high school bullies who come across a scarecrow with the face of a boy they had bullied just before he disappeared. The boys knock down the scarecrow and become preoccupied with finding out what happened to the missing boy, and then body parts of the scarecrow begin to go missing.
I had a lot of fun talking with my husband about these stories and sorting out what was happening. It's great for readers who love odd and unusual stories!
In the title story, a vampire couple live in a lemon grove and they stave off their craving for blood with lemons.
In Reeling for the Empire, young women are turned into human silkworms to increase the production of silk. But, the young women find a way to take over their factory.
A Barn at the End of Our Term is about a bunch of dead presidents who don't quite understand why they have turned up in the afterlife as horses in a barn. There are so many clever references in this one!
Dougbert Shackleton's Rules for Antarctic Tailgating is a humorous take on tailgating a game between Team Krill and Team Whale.
But, my favorite were the last two stories. In The New Veterans, a massage therapist, Beverly, works for a company providing deep tissue massages for veterans who have trauma. Somehow, Beverly is able to relieve the trauma of one particular patient by deep tissue massaging it into herself, taking the trauma into her own body.
Finally, The Graceless Doll of Eric Mutis is about high school bullies who come across a scarecrow with the face of a boy they had bullied just before he disappeared. The boys knock down the scarecrow and become preoccupied with finding out what happened to the missing boy, and then body parts of the scarecrow begin to go missing.
I had a lot of fun talking with my husband about these stories and sorting out what was happening. It's great for readers who love odd and unusual stories!