Author: Catherynne M. Valente
Rating: 99% | A+ | ★★★★★ Warnings: + Mild violence + Sexual content Synopsis (from Goodreads): Koschei the Deathless is to Russian folklore what devils or wicked witches are to European culture: a menacing, evil figure; the villain of countless stories which have been passed on through story and text for generations. But Koschei has never before been seen through the eyes of Catherynne Valente, whose modernized and transformed take on the legend brings the action to modern times, spanning many of the great developments of Russian history in the twentieth century. Deathless, however, is no dry, historical tome: it lights up like fire as the young Marya Morevna transforms from a clever child of the revolution, to Koschei’s beautiful bride, to his eventual undoing. Along the way there are Stalinist house elves, magical quests, secrecy and bureaucracy, and games of lust and power. All told, Deathless is a collision of magical history and actual history, of revolution and mythology, of love and death, which will bring Russian myth back to life in a stunning new incarnation. Spoiler-Free Section Deathless is like no other book I have ever read. It is different, so utterly enrapturing that when I finished it at 4 AM, eyes dry and worn, I had already been crying for the previous twenty minutes. The novel stands alone, part folk tale, part historical fiction. Myths filled with spirits and gods mixed with Soviet-era Stalinist Russia. These two halves seem fundamentally incompatible with each other, and yet they are flawlessly woven together into one story, one book. Valente does her job brilliantly. Marya Morevna starts out the story at just sixteen, and ends it about two decades later, having both experienced the fantasy world of her husband Koschei and life under the Russian Communist regime. Both worlds present their difficulties to her; Koschei is engaged in constant warfare with his brother; the Russian regime faces food shortages and a totalitarian climate that only worsens as Russia is drawn into World War II. This book is a masterpiece, a testament and tribute to both Russian culture and history. Valente binds her story together with breathtakingly emotional writing, instilling in her reader the truest feelings of sympathy laid bare not only for Marya, but for everyone around her. Deathless is a statement about the difficult and sometimes wavering tenets of life and love, as well as a reminder that while each of us has our own journey to go on, fate is an unmovable force always eager to catch up with us. (Click "Read More" for spoilers.)
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