swamplandia!

It took me three weeks to get through Swamplandia! by Karen Russell.  It was a rough ride.  This is one of the first books in a long time that I struggled to get through.  It does not take me three weeks to read a book.  This story about a Florida swamp family's fight to save their alligator themed amusement park was the perfect cure for my insomnia.  I found the plot to be stagnant, the characters bizarre, and the pacing slow.  The child-like cover suggests a whimsical story, but this is dark and disturbing at times.  I wanted to give up each time I read a chapter, but I hate quitting.  In the end, I should have.