I went into Swamplandia!, my book club's latest pick, prepared to completely love it. Somehow, it just didn't live up to the expectations I had built up in my head. Not that there was anything wrong with the writing. In fact, there were many moments that were quite lovely. I think my main problem was that I started the book under a misapprehension of what it was about, largely due to all of the hype and glowing reviews I had read about the book. For some reason, blurbs like "wonderfully imaginative" and "a lushly written treat" made me think that it would be a quirky, somewhat magical tale of a young girl's unique family and her adventures through the Florida swamplands. Turns out, it's much, much darker than that.
I don't want to give too much away, but in case anyone else has read it, I just have to say:
The Bird Man!?! Oh my goodness. My stomach was tangled up in sour knots of dread for the whole second half of the book, just waiting for the inevitable.
If you've read it, let me know what you think. I can't wait until my book club's meeting to see if anyone else felt the same way.
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