Vampires in the Lemon Grove and Other Stories
Within these pages, a community of girls held captive in a Japanese silk factory slowly transmute into human silkworms and plot revolution; a group of boys stumble upon a mutilated scarecrow that bears an uncanny resemblance to a missing classmate that they used to torment; a family’s disastrous quest for land in the American West has grave consequences; and in the marvelous title story, two vampires in a sun-drenched lemon grove try to slake their thirst for blood and come to terms with their immortal relationship.
Praise for Vampires in the Lemon Grove
“From apparent influences as disparate as George Saunders, Saki, Stephen King, Carson McCullers and Joy Williams, [Russell] has fashioned a quirky, textured voice that is thoroughly her own: lyrical and funny, fantastical and meditative.”
Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times
“I love the sweep of these stories, their goofy-to-majestic tone, the authority of Russell's narrators…Russell announces herself as one of the great American writers of our young century.”
Maureen Corrigan, for NPR’s Fresh Air
“One of the most remarkable fantasists writing today.”
Elizabeth Hand, The Washington Post
“Hilarious, exquisite, first-rate.”
Joy Williams, The New York Times Book Review
