A wickedly funny and dark new collection of dystopian tales from the Pulitzer and IMPAC shortlisted author of Swamplandia!

"Hilarious... Dazzling... Exhilarating" New York Times "Wildly fun and full of suspense" -- Jess Holland Observer "These stories use the fantastical to make mythic sense of the human struggle, and perfectly balance light and dark, funny and serious, wacky and realistic" -- Suzi Feay Financial Times "Russell's storytelling, fusing realistic and fantastic elements, is imaginative and beautifully crafted" -- Tina Jackson Metro "A touch of paradoxically grounding pixie humour. This way of writing is so clever that nothing needs to be added to the set-up. These stories have unbelievable strength" -- M John Harrison Guardian

Karen Russell, a native of Miami, has been featured in the New Yorker's debut fiction issue, was chosen as one of Granta's Best Young American Novelists in 2007, and was most recently named one of New Yorker magazine's 20 Under 40. Her first collection of short stories, St Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves, was longlisted for the Guardian first book award. Her novel, Swamplandia!, was longlisted for the 2011 Orange Prize and shortlisted for the 2012 Pulitzer Prize.