A review by aeeklund
The Antidote by Karen Russell

dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Excuse me while I walk around for the next several months running into doorframes thinking about this book. Karen Russell is an extraordinary writer, and this novel is worth the wait. I have no idea how she pulled off this alchemy, but she somehow did: she not only managed to write a gorgeous book about the Dust Bowl, a string of brutal murders, a mysterious scarecrow, quantum photographs, basketball, and prairie witches who store your memories, but she also made it say something important about social justice, collective memory, and who exactly tells the story of “history.” I felt every emotion while reading this book. I wanted to start it again as soon as I finished it. If it isn’t on your TBR, add it immediately—I’m calling it now that this book will see major awards traction in 2025. Russell’s previous (and previously only) novel was a finalist for the Pulitzer, and it wouldn’t surprise me if this one followed in that trajectory as well.