I’ve been reading a lot of Russian-based fiction lately. So much in fact, that I’ve started learning Russian on Duolingo (I am still working on the Cyrillic alphabet.) I know that I’ll probably never be able to speak the language fluently, but I’d like to be able to read it as well as understand what someone says in Russian. Also, the challenge is good for my brain. I’ve read many books based on Russian and Slavic folklore over the years, and I have a hard time saying no to any book that has Baba Yaga in it. I’ve written about her before too. My recent obsession with Russian folklore was inspired by The Witch and the Tsar by a Russian-born author.
While some might say that Salnikova Gilmore strays too much from the traditional Baba Yaga, I greatly appreciated the view that the wizened old crone who eats children and is as likely to harm you as help you could have been a patriarchal creation added to Slavic folklore after the introduction of Christianity. Salnikova Gilmore actually incorporates that idea into the story! I loved that she interwove the true history of early Russia with the use of Tsar Ivan the Terrible and his first wife, Anastasia. I looked up the history on Wikipedia and gave myself too many spoilers. I wish I hadn’t looked before finishing the book. I did make it a point to make a list of any Russian word or person I wasn’t familiar with and looked them up later. I learned so much! I really liked Yaga. I liked the way she learned to re-embrace humanity and came out of the forest. It was a great book. I’ll read more by this author. (By the way, another very neat thing I learned was that Anastasia was a Romanova, as in Romanov….she was a member of the Romanov family that eventually went on to rule the Russian people for hundreds of years.)
I followed The Witch and the Tsar with Russian Fairy Tales the Skazki of Polevoi. I found a lot of wonderful quotes and story elements that repeated, like the “follow the ball wherever it leads” and the simple kindness of strangers who will give marvelous gifts after being respectfully greeted. I have quite a few collections like this on my Kindle. I found them for free on Amazon, but almost all of them are available through Project Gutenberg. I have collections from all over the world, and I do plan to read them all eventually. I think a lot of the Western European stories draw from the Slavic folklore — like Baba Yaga possibly being the inspiration for the witch in Hansel & Gretel.
I try to buy a lot of books with various folkloric backgrounds for the Junior collection at work. I have been reading a lot of the books on my Kindle and mostly adult fiction, but I’ve always enjoyed middle grade novels and I decided to read from my section next.
I missed the Noch and Dyen animal characters that where part of The Witch and the Tsar, but Sutton gives Baba Yaga less than helpful raven. Sutton’s approach to the slippery character of Baba Yaga is well thought out in this book. Baba Yaga uses her fearful visage and reputation to command respect, but she has a heart, and she is capable of caring for her forest and for the people she has avoided for so long. Zima, a gray wolf of the forest, is trying to figure out her place within her pack when she is tasked with helping the dreaded Baba Yaga. Nadya, a stubborn and independent orphan, forms the third voice in the story. Each of them needs the help of others, each of them has much to learn from others, and each has something to teach. The three of them, along with friends old and new, must find a way to save the forest from the evil Tsar. There is a good ending to this story, both bitter and sweet. Being a middle grade title, it was a fast read, but that didn’t make it any less enjoyable. Sutton found a way to save the forest without bloodshed though she didn’t shy away from death in the story. One of the great parts of this book were the illustrations. Pauliina Hannuniemi’s art adds so much authenticity to the characters, from Nadya’s braid to Baba’s unkept appearance.
I should also mention The Sisters of Winter Wood by Rena Rossner. Rossner uses traditional Jewish folklore, Ukrainian folklore and history to weave the story of Liba and Laya as they come of age in a small Ukraine town around the time of World War I. Liba and Laya are both struggling with a fantastical inner animal, for Liba it is a bear – common in Jewish and Ukrainian folklore, and for Laya it is a swan – also common in Ukrainian folklore. To complicate the girls’ struggles, their parents have had to leave them alone, two teenagers from their town have been murdered, and a group of anti-semites are spreading rumors of a Jewish murder conspiracy. Rossner’s basic story is based on true events that happened in the lifetimes of her Hasidic Jewish Ukrainian ancestors. Life for these young women was very regimented, and they dealt with constant fear of persecution. Rossner allows them to find inner strength with the help of their inner-animals, but they also grow with realizations about their community and their family.
I know that the Ukrainian conflict is raging, and so it might not seem fair to put Rossner’s book in a post about Russian folklore. But, they two countries are neighbors. They are both founded on Slavic traditions. And they both have beautiful cultures that we should embrace. I hope that the actions of a megalomaniac with an army at his disposal are the exception for one of the most culturally rich peoples in the world.
Of all the evils in this world, the greatest was the temptation of the easy path over the right one.
A Wolf for a Spell
Mrs O Loves Books 