The book employs magical realism, most dramatic or directly in the third act, to illustrate feminist and anti-colonial themes within its historical fiction. the story is an experience of dustbowl nebraska, with personal snapshots of the decades that led to it, Psychological realism perspective that focuses on the treacherous ground of young womenhood in ways JCO readers might find familiar. Each POV character is a survivor, which could true about practically everyone that lived in or around the Antidote’s place and time. They are victims of oppression, colonialism and most importantly, of each other and the communities with whom their oppression is shared. We don’t spend much time with the women who implement that oppression, only the victims. The only men (or man) we get to really know is hardly an innocent, but because of some magical peculiarities of the story it’s hard to know how much suffering he created for others, while it’s clear that his own steadfast beliefs and moral world view put him at philosophical and practical odds against the social structures he exists in. The Antidote’s physical landscape is detailed without being too dry or showy. There is a worldly, believable grit. The main, POV characters have emotional depth. But more than moral confusion or complexity might have added weight to a work that might be dismissed as polemic by the readers the author would like to reach. The prose is steady until the final chapters that this reader found powerfully poetic and a surprising treat.

The only reason I didn't give this 5-stars was there were a few story lines that lacked closure. Other than that, I thought it was a wonderful allegory for much of what ails us as a society and how the memories we suppress out of shame or discomfort ultimately lead to more despair for not having been dealt with. I especially liked the mechanisms the author used to link us to a brighter future without absolving us of the work necessary to get there. I look forward to exploring this author's previous work.

miserable, depressing, hate it. I loved Swamplandia, so this was a major disappointment. the narrator's voice is so affected, like every word she reads she is acting out someone about to cry.