She will repeatedly need to draw on this resolve in the course of the novel. But for Ava, born into this world of tourists and alligators, this mythology is the essence of truth, a history she holds on to with a steely determination. Her family, the Bigtrees, she confides, have not a single drop of Native American blood their family mythology is entirely a matter of imagination. Her best descriptions positively sparkle, as when she opens the book with Ava’s recollection of her mother’s act: Here, as in her earlier work, Russell shows herself to be a very fine writer, the crafter of nearly intoxicating prose. (One of the book’s better conceits is that the 13-year-old Ava is more perceptive, more capable, more aware than her older siblings precisely because of her innocent commitment to family.) Ava and Ossie, in the most prominent addition, are given a no-nonsense older brother, Kiwi, whose own understanding of the proceedings nicely complements Ava’s. But, as suggested by the title change, the novel broadens the focus of the story, taking in not only Ava’s experience and perception, but the larger landscape of the Florida swamp that is her home and enlarging the cast of characters. (The story initially appeared in Zoetrope: All-Story, serving as a kind of early introduction to/prototype calling card for Russell.) The basic outlines of the story remain: Ava Bigtree, the daughter of an alligator-wrestling dynasty, mourns the death of her mother and the absence of her father, while grappling with the apparently ghostly possession of her older sister Ossie as she makes plans to elope with her boyfriend, who may, in fact, be dead. Lucy’s that is relevant to Swamplandia! The new novel takes up and expands on “Ava Wrestles the Alligator,” one of the stories included in the collection. Drawn on the miniature canvas of the short story, each piquant, unorthodox detail elevated observations of the everyday, imparting on the works an unconventional sort of beauty. Lucy’s is instructive, given the distinct sensibility of the stories included there, tales marked by whimsy and a flare for imaginative melodrama, equal parts coming of age and magical realism. That annotation is likely to be unnecessary, given the very many accolades accumulated by Russell since her stories began appearing in print her inclusion as one of The New Yorker’s “20 Under 40” is just one of the compliments bestowed on the 29-year-old author-though one admires the publisher’s discretion in reserving mention of this honor for the inside flap. Lucy’s Home for Girls Raised by Wolves, a collection of short stories published in 2006. The cover of Karen Russell’s debut novel, Swamplandia!, identifies Russell as the author of St.

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