Ask A Bookseller: ‘The Antidote’ by Karen Russell

On The Thread’s Ask a Bookseller series, we talk to independent booksellers all over the country to find out what books they’re most excited about right now. Saturday is Independent Bookstore Day. Participating indie bookstores across Minnesota and the country will offer special events or deals. We celebrate with particular gusto in the Twin Cities metro, where this year, 37 bookstores are participating in the Independent Bookstore Passport created by Rain Taxi.Pick up your passport and get it stamped at any participating bookstore through Sunday. Each stamp is a future coupon at that store, and with 10 or more stamps, you can unlock additional discounts and chances to win prizes. Not sure what to read with all those discounts? Check out the Ask a Bookseller podcast for inspiration. This week, Victoria Ford of Comma, a bookshop in Minneapolis, recommends a historical fiction novel with a dose of magical realism. It’s Karen Russell’s “The Antidote.” The novel follows five characters living in Nebraska during the Dust Bowl of the 1930s. Our title character is a prairie witch who calls herself “The Antidote.” Her service? Taking away the painful memories that people wish to forget and storing them for later retrieval, allowing people to go about their lives unburdened by past hurts. The responsibility of memory — and what we lose when we forget — are key themes in the book. We also follow a government photographer who comes to take pictures of the Dust Bowl and discovers that her camera can capture images from the past as well as potential futures of the land. Meanwhile, a farmer who came to the U.S. after being driven from his land in Poland struggles with the realization that he is a part of that same crime happening to Native Americans in this country. The other characters are the farmer’s niece and ... A scarecrow.  Curious? Me, too. Happy Indie Bookstore Day. Note: MPR News host Kerri Miller interviewed author Karen Russell for “Big Books & Bold Ideas”; the episode will air May 23.