Swamps, gators, gator wrestling, bankrupt tourist attraction, ghosts, the underworld, snakes, storms, mosquitoes, and a Bird Man. Karen Russell's debut novel is bizarre, quirky, gothic, and a lot of fun. It also surprised me by how well written it is, as there are quite a few sentences of the "knock your socks off" variety. 
 Not too shabby for a 29 year old. We'll see whatever type of show HBO turns this into.