Orange World and Other Stories

By: Karen Russell

Narrated by: Various

From the Pulitzer Finalist and universally beloved author of the New York Times best sellers Swamplandia! and Vampires in the Lemon Grove, a stunning new collection of short fiction that showcases Karen Russell’s extraordinary, irresistible gifts of language and imagination.

Karen Russell’s comedic genius and mesmerizing talent for creating outlandish predicaments that uncannily mirror our inner in lives is on full display in these eight exuberant, arrestingly vivid, unforgettable stories. In“Bog Girl”, a revelatory story about first love, a young man falls in love with a two thousand year old girl that he’s extracted from a mass of peat in a Northern European bog. In “The Prospectors,” two opportunistic young women fleeing the depression strike out for new territory, and find themselves fighting for their lives. In the brilliant, hilarious title story, a new mother desperate to ensure her infant’s safety strikes a diabolical deal, agreeing to breastfeed the devil in exchange for his protection. The landscape in which these stories unfold is a feral, slippery, purgatorial space, bracketed by the void—yet within it Russell captures the exquisite beauty and tenderness of ordinary life. Orange World is a miracle of storytelling from a true modern master.

Stories
“The Prospectors” read by Emily Rankin
“The Bad Graft” read by Arthur Morey
“Bog Girl: A Romance” read by Mhairi Morrison
“Madame Bovary’s Greyhound” read by Cassandra Campbell
“The Tornado Auction” read by Mark Bramhall
“Black Corfu” read by Dominic Hoffman
“The Gondoliers” read by Bhani Turpin
“Orange World” read by Rebecca Lowman

One of the greatest of this day and age 👏🏽

It is rare to find an author with superb writing and astonishing imagination. Russell has absolutely entranced me with these stories. She manages to suck you into her fantasy and forget its fantasy. Five stars all around.

Extraordinary Writing

This write! is miles above almost everyone else when it comes to a poetic inventive lyrical yet strong use of image and vocabulary. I only wish that I were a better writer to describe her work! Her subject matter isn’t always comfortable for me - I’m not a fan of the undead or weird, but the writing is so good I will go on reading Karen Russel, no matter what the plot! Such a relief and joy after mountains of mediocre writing.

SPECTACULAR...IF You Truly Love "weird"

Very, very few books manage good weird stories...fewer still manage EXCELLENT weird. These stories, matched with perfect narrators, are a rarity. It has been a long time since I've come across a book deserving of 5 stars across the board (and I had all but given up on ever finding a book of weird) but this book was the absolute best...but you have got to love "weird" (which is not horror or thriller...it's Twighlight Zone, Outer Limits, Hitchcock...on steroids!)

VERY creative

Very well written and interesting stories. Not my personal jam, but glad I was exposed to it.

Wild Ride

I selected this title based on Maureen Corrigan's year end recommendations, and am glad I did. This was my first Karen Russell book, but won't be my last. Many authors remain firmly rooted in their homeland, but Orange World and Other Stories takes us on a cross-country journey from the watery (post-Katrina in my mind) southeast, through tornado alley, to the depression era Rockies, Joshua Tree and the pacific northwest with visits back to Old World mythology in Ireland and Genoa. I mentally marveled at the range and precise texture of each tale. How did this imagination arise in this day and age? The narrators are perfectly matched to their stories and deliver added lift and shiver to each. This would be a great companion on a cross-country drive, a night around the campfire or anytime you really need to escape daily life.