'A rare combination of literary brilliance and unbridled entertainment' Mark Haddon

'I loved Orange World by Karen Russell, which is a collection of short stories in which demons live in drains, bog women come back from the dead and trees can grow inside the human body' DAISY JOHNSON, NEW STATESMAN, BOOKS OF THE YEAR

Karen Russell's comedic genius and mesmerising talent for creating outlandish predicaments that uncannily mirror our inner lives are on display in these exuberant, unforgettable stories. In 'The Bad Graft', a couple on a road trip stop in Joshua Tree National Park, where the spirit of a giant tree accidentally infects the young woman, their fates becoming permanently entangled. In 'The Prospectors' two opportunistic young women fleeing the Depression strike out for new territory, but find themselves fighting for their lives. In the brilliant and hilarious title story a new mother desperate to ensure her baby's safety strikes a diabolical deal – as long as the devil protects her baby, she'll do anything.

Stories of survival, love and of surreal and magnificent transformation – even in their darkness, these stories give us an escape. Just as many of the characters make a leap – whether to a different world or a different state – we go along for the ride as Russell takes us to strange and exhilarating new heights. This is haunting and beautiful work from one of America's most gifted writers.

'Russell can take Antarctic tailgaters, an army of seagulls or simply a window and twist a tale that explodes on the page and lingers in the mind' The Times