With expansion/experimentation comes some inevitable reach-exceeds-grasp moments - and there are definitely a few moments in this collection that make the stories not fail but just not quite soar to such heights as Ms. Russell's first collection achieved. But I also am so thrilled by the playground of imagination that any Karen Russell story - short or long - provides for a reader and fans will not be disappointed. Nor will, I should say, readers who were disappointed by Ms. Russell's earlier work(s): this is an opportunity to try again, you readers - I hope you'll indulge, as I think you'll be rewarded.The stories here are more varied, more mature, and sometimes quite a bit more challenging than any work we've seen from Ms. Russell yet. Even when they don't work (as I felt "The New Veterans" didn't), there's still something marvelous to be pulled from each of them.More at RB: http://wp.me/pGVzJ-JR
