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Get the Book
- Find a copy
of the book @ your library - eBook and audiobook editions are also available.
- Talking Book and Braille Service users can borrow the Audiobook on BARD.
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Stay connected & keep up to date on events with the One Book One Nebraska community on Facebook,
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The Antidote Reading Group Guide & Discussion Questions
Special thanks to the My Head is Full of Books Blog for providing these questions, download a printable [pdf] version here.
- If you were to write a headline for a magazine/newspaper review of this book, what would it be. (Keep it to less than ten words.) Here are a few examples to get you started:
• NYT: Amid a dust storm and Depression, pioneers reap what they've sown.
• WaPo: Karen Russell's The Antidote is a dazzlingly original American epic.
• Chicago Review of Books: The Plurality of Ideas in Karen Russell's The Antidote.
• Guardian: A magical realist Dust Bowl tale.
• Lit Hub: What natural disasters can reveal about the human condition.
- If the book is full of "plurality of ideas" what do you think are the three main points or themes of The Antidote? Can you narrow it down to three easily?
- In what ways is The Antidote "dazzlingly original?"
- Karen Russell identified four inspirations for the book. Explore examples for each of these inspirations:
• The book of "Job" in the Bible.
• Hole-punched "killed" negatives of photographs taken to show the impact of the Dust Bowl.
• The Wizard of Oz
• Stories about the treatment of Indigenous People at the hands of immigrants/pioneers
(relocation, Indian Schools, racism)
- Prairie witches served as "vaults" for pioneers' unpleasant memories. Relate this experience to what is happening today in America with school districts removing
topics like slavery/treatment of indigenous peoples/climate change from the curricula.
- In an interview Russell said she used magical realism to tell the Dust Bowl story because it allowed her to creative and not too tied down to actual facts which could
be criticized for accuracy. What magical aspects of the story did you appreciate? What aspects did you find distracting?
- What memory did Harp recover from his Dad, which was being held by a Prairie Witch? How did this memory expand the story?
- When Cleo points the Graflex Speed Graphic camera at a scene, the results never show what she is actually photographing. What does this magical camera actually capture? Why do
you think Russell included these photos of past memories or future possibilities?
- How important was the scarecrow to the story? Did you figure out who he was before it was revealed?
- What aspect of this novel was the most poignant to you?
Book a Speaker
Humanities Nebraska Speakers Bureau
Host a scholar listed on the Speakers Bureau of Humanities Nebraska. Apply
for a grant from Humanities Nebraska to finance your event. Public programs sponsored by not-for-profit organizations may be eligible for funding assistance from Humanities
Nebraska. See https://humanitiesnebraska.org/speaker-bureau-policies/ for details on their
Speaker's Bureau General Public Programs Eligibility requirements and for steps to book a speaker and to access application forms.
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Dust Bowl Descent by Bill Ganzel
Ganzel located and interviewed a number of individuals who survived the Depression by using photographs taken by the Farm Security Administration. This program follows his journey
in locating these people, recounts their stories and juxtaposes recent photographs with 60-year-old images to provide a compelling account of the triumph of the human spirit over hard times.
Virtual or Distance Learning Programs from Homestead National Historical
Park
Rangers at Homestead National Historical Park are thrilled to engage with patrons and community members of all ages as they explore the layered histories of homesteading and The Homestead Act of 1862, which are central to the story of The Antidote and its selection as the One Book One Nebraska. As a National Park Site, we are proud to offer our interpretive programs free of cost!
Libraries, schools, community centers, senior centers, etc. can all book Distance Learning Programs through our website that is linked here:
https://www.nps.gov/home/learn/education/learning/distance-learning-with-homestead.htm.
One Book One Nebraska Evaluations and Book Review
Program Leaders: Please complete a short evaluation of your program and have the direct members of your group complete a participant evaluation.
Your valuable feedback helps to improve the One Book One Nebraska program for future years!
Please return this completed evaluation and completed participant evaluations to:
One Book One Nebraska; Nebraska Library Commission;
1200 N Street, Ste. 120; Lincoln, NE 68508-2023
Or send in the completed leader and participant evaluations via e-mail.
Related Events
- Submit your event by e-mail or by calling 402-471-4002