Orange World

'A rare combination of literary brilliance and unbridled entertainment' Mark Haddon

'I loved Orange World by Karen Russell, which is a collection of short stories in which demons live in drains, bog women come back from the dead and trees can grow inside the human body' DAISY JOHNSON, NEW STATESMAN, BOOKS OF THE YEAR

Karen Russell's comedic genius and mesmerising talent for creating outlandish predicaments that uncannily mirror our inner lives are on display in these exuberant, unforgettable stories. In 'The Bad Graft', a couple on a road trip stop in Joshua Tree National Park, where the spirit of a giant tree accidentally infects the young woman, their fates becoming permanently entangled. In 'The Prospectors' two opportunistic young women fleeing the Depression strike out for new territory, but find themselves fighting for their lives. In the brilliant and hilarious title story a new mother desperate to ensure her baby's safety strikes a diabolical deal - as long as the devil protects her baby, she'll do anything.

Stories of survival, love and of surreal and magnificent transformation - even in their darkness, these stories give us an escape. Just as many of the characters make a leap - whether to a different world or a different state - we go along for the ride as Russell takes us to strange and exhilarating new heights. This is haunting and beautiful work from one of America's most gifted writers.

'Russell can take Antarctic tailgaters, an army of seagulls or simply a window and twist a tale that explodes on the page and lingers in the mind' The Times

“Superbly crafted...the weird and the outlandish exist side-by-side with everyday concerns... Russell is among the most skilled of this generation's fabulist writers . In her surreal worlds, life is passing strange, but it is not devoid of wry comfort”

magic...The scope of Russell's imagine is hard to conceive - you'll need to read to believe. Independent Russell exposes the central core of the strange in the familiar landmarks of American history. Incandescent...horror always cohabits with humor...A superb collection -- Maureen Corrigan Wall Street Journal Russell creates fully realized worlds. Her writing is particular and alive. Her imagination spills over the sink and hits the backsplash -- Dwight Garner New York Times Russell's writing inhabits its own universe, with metaphor and simile taking us to strange new places; we are led by the hand and find ourselves completely submerged, only later to come to, groggily, in our own world... The worlds of the stories are entirely convincing, small pockets in which it is possible to become lost... Orange World demonstrates how her attention to this tricky craft has paid off. Though her characters are living their own magic-realist, fabulist lives, it is possible to see ourselves within them, peering out. -- Daisy Johnson Guardian The must-read short-story collection of the summer... Orange World makes me want to shout with joy. Russell's ease with her material, her sheer glee on the page, shines through in each piece... Delicious... We're in the hands of a master Washington Post A mesmerising, often hilarious, new collection that embraces survival, love and magnificent transformation -- Craig Brown Mail on Sunday, Books of the Year A rare combination of literary brilliance and unbridled entertainment One of our most original short story writers... Russell has impeccable command of her form... Russell's particular gift lies in taking themes that are close to universal and presenting them in stories whose strangeness comes to seem entirely natural, even necessary New York Times Book Review I loved Orange World by Karen Russell, which is a collection of short stories in which demons live in drains, bog women come back from the dead and trees can grow inside the human body -- Daisy Johnson New Statesman, Books of the Year Superbly crafted...the weird and the outlandish exist side-by-side with everyday concerns... Russell is among the most skilled of this generation's fabulist writers. In her surreal worlds, life is passing strange, but it is not devoid of wry comfort -- Nilanjana Roy Financial Times

Karen Russell, a native of Miami, has been featured in the New Yorker's debut fiction issue, was chosen as one of Granta's Best Young American Novelists in 2007, and was named one of New Yorker magazine's 20 Under 40. Her first collection of short stories, St Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves, was longlisted for the Guardian first book award. Her novel, Swamplandia!, was longlisted for the 2011 Orange Prize and shortlisted for the 2012 Pulitzer Prize.

Altogether Karen has now won 2 National Magazine awards and had 4 of her stories published in Best American Short Stories. Both Swamplandia! and Vampires in the Lemon Grove have been US bestsellers. And in 2013 Karen won a MacArthur 'Genius' Grant. She lives in Portland, Oregon.

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