Swamplandia is a book written by Karen Russell, an American novelist born in Miami,FL. Swamplandia was the finalist book for the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and Orange Prize. The story sometimes is related to magical realism, it is nothing more than the acceptance of something mystical in a rational world. Fabulism is a part of magical realism, which fictitious elements, characters, can be found in a “normal” day doing humans actions. The chaotic Bigtree family, situated on Florida, starts having troubles to keep the place since another attraction opened. Once the book is narrated through the eyes of a child, Ava, the main character, it is possible to understand the reality of horrible things with another perception. Having eccentrics …show more content…
She is the most important character and the narrator of the novel. The thirteen-years-old fanatic for alligators would do everything to find her big sister, Osceola. Ava was the Bigtree sibling that most wanted to carry on her parents’ amusement park, she wanted to keep their family legacy. She enjoyed working with the alligators and aspired to win the same alligator wrestling contest her mother had won as a teenager. She believed if she could win the competition she could take over her mother’s spot as the headliner for the amusement park and bring the park back to its former popularity. After Kiwi got a job on the mainland and the Chief went to find investors for the park Ava was left alone on the island with her sister, Ossie. Floating up to Swamplandia, Ossie and Ava saw it. While exploring the dredge Ossie communicated with a 17-year-old dredge man who had been killed while working on the dredge. She began “dating” this ghost. One morning Ossie disappears leaving a note for Ava saying she was eloping with her boyfriend. To find her sister Ava set off to travel to the underworld with The Bird Man, he told Ava he could take her to the underworld and help her locate her sister. After Ava traveled with The Bird Man for two days, he abused her and she runs from him. When she is alone in the swamp, she finds Mama Weeds, a swamp ghost legend. When she walks back in the Bird Man’s path, she escapes from Mama