20 Under 40: A Comprehensive (Subjective) Guide
By
Daniel Roberts is currently a magazine reporter. He went to college at Middlebury and grad school at Columbia. ... Karen Russell, “The Dredgeman’s Revelation,” July 26:
It’s unclear whether this is part of a bigger novel or not. Russell has one coming soon on February 1, called Swamplandia! That would seem to be the obvious source, but in the New Yorker Q&A she seems to suggest that this is separate from the book, calling it “a little story within the story.”
Anyway, I really liked this one. It’s a cousin to Bynum’s “Erlking” in its horrifying ending, but before it gets there it’s a slow, easy story about a likeable boy, unfortunately named Louis Thanksgiving, that runs away from home and finds work as a dredgeman in a Florida swamp. He bonds with the other men (he’s by far the youngest) and also annoys them by always being cheerful and excited, while they’re all cynical and resentful of the difficult work.
Louis is very endearing and that helps the story, along with Russell’s quirky humor and strange, exciting setting. But the ending. Wow. Vultures appear above the boat: “the birds descended on Gideon and hooked the prongs of their talons into his skin; perhaps a dozen of them lifted him into the sky. Gid’s body shrank into the cloudless expanse.” Russell noted in the Q&A a “Hitchcockian” feel, and she’s damn right. It’s terrific, and makes this one of the most memorable stories in the series.
-
Ganjaman1010
-
Max's Henchman
-
anon
-
Parly
-
HB
Recently Cataloged
-
How To Win This Summer
Wear as little as you want. Don’t worry about having the perfect beach body, as such as thing could never exist, and your body is just fine at the beach as it is.
Chelsea Fagan is a writer living in Paris. It's less pretentious than it sounds.
-
This Is A Story Written On A Typewriter
…A Smith Corona electric SL-580 typewriter, to be precise.
Oliver has a MFA in fiction from a very expensive college, but has never published any fiction. He has written for ...
-
7 People Who Will Be At Your High School Reunion
Geeks are the bones of every high school. Not because they’re busy getting stuffed in lockers, but because they’re the only ones who aren’t pretending. Everyone else is pretending.
madison moore is a staff writer at Thought Catalog. feel free to email him at: madison@thoughtcatalog.com. Follow him ...
-
9 Reminders Of Simple Ways To Go Green
You can accomplish the majority of your cleaning with one natural/organic all-in-one soap for a fraction of the cost and without bringing all those awful chemicals into your home.
Brianna Wiest is a writer at Thought Catalog. Follow her @briaeliza, or contact her at brianna@thoughtcatalog.com
View Comments
Add Yours »