RaveCommonwealWhat distinguishes the tales in Orange World is their refreshingly slow pace. Each of these rather long short stories takes its time, allowing those strange ideas to unfold and assume a discernible logic ... Even the strangest stories work; they aren’t weird just for the sake of being weird ... We sense an eager author who’s diligent about finding and marshalling just the right details, who’s actually interested in medicine, history, and botany. Her research authenticates her voice and the worlds she conjure ... Russell relies on the painstaking beauty of her prose to win readers’ trust ... Russell is committed to telling others’ stories in a way that makes their otherness less jarring or foreign. Her narrative sensibility is almost nurturing, and her narrators are diverse ... nchantment resides in their transient settings, quickly cultivated trust, scarcity filled with rich, perfect language. And yes: those premises. Thrilling enough to be told around campfires, Karen Russell’s stories are also like fables that teach us how to approach life’s vicissitudes: with curious compassion, even delight.
