A review by scott_wilson_kc
The Antidote by Karen Russell

5.0

Not just because the audio version gives you the full-cast treatment does this remind me of George Saunders' Lincoln in the Bardo. Russell's novel (vocalized brilliantly by several performers) takes for granted the reality of certain spectral magics; she spends her time building character and setting rather than working to convince you of anything phantasmagorical. She then marbles our distressing American history into those people and places, in naturalistic prose that changes key just right as the story bounces from character to character, point of view to point of view. This could be distracting or confusing but is instead propulsive, rich and haunting.