A review by peeled_grape
Vampires in the Lemon Grove by Karen Russell

4.0

Russell definitely flexes her range in this collection, but some stories are much better than others. The first two, "Vampires in the Lemon Grove" and "Reeling for the Empire" are incredible for entirely different reasons; the first has perfect comedic timing, and the second, although slow to start, becomes surprisingly cathartic and satisfying. Others are less so ("Dougbert Shackleton's Rules for Antarctic Tailgating" and "Proving Up," in my opinion), which was a little disappointing. "The Graveless Doll of Eric Mutis" is haunting, but stunning, and there's so much happening there. What a great way to end it. This writing is thick in a way I can't quite place--I couldn't tear through the whole book at once; I had to pause and let the stories sink in before continuing. In places, I wanted these stories to dig deeper, like in "The New Veterans." Overall, it's fantastic, and I want to absorb this through my skin.