11/11/2023 0 Comments Baba yaga bookEither way, the Ukrainian ways called her. Maybe Mme Pamita sees sharper from afar what magical gems can be found in this culture. These were not just quirky habits (as Mme Pamita thought for a long time), but remnants of a country, a culture, and a powerful form of magic. Her grandmother fled Ukraine to the USA and brought with her stories, habits and imageries. Back to your roots deep into the woodsĪs a Ukrainian diaspora witch, it took Mme Pamita some time to rediscover her Ukrainian magical roots and to realise the witchiness of her grandmother, of any Ukrainian grandmother or baba. Everybody with a traumatic past has experienced some form of these efforts to keep you in line, to protect the secrets, to stay safe within the guarded walls of the world of trauma. Energetically, I see in the current war between Russia and Ukraine how Ukraine tries to grow, to rise above past trauma and hardship, and how Russia tries to hold on to the old ways of trauma-fuelled behaviours, fears and coping mechanisms. Makes it harder to erase the identity of a country and culture, as some are trying. Shaping the future by exploring your rootsĬan you imagine: launching a book on Slavic, Ukrainian magic, while that very country is yet again being attacked by its neighbour? Some might say ‘what is the use of a book in these hard times? It’s weapons they need to defend themselves!’ But I think it is quite powerful, especially in the long run, to give voice to a country’s culture in a book. I want to thank Tor.com for sending me a review copy of Finding Baba Yaga, it hasn’t affected my opinion in any way.Baba Yaga’s Book of Witchcraft – Slavic magic from the witch of the woods I would definitely recommend it to everyone who’s interested in Russian myths, who wants to read something atmospheric, who likes modern retellings and fierce girls. I really felt sympathetic towards her and I was glad that she seemed to have found her place with Baba Yaga. Natasha, the narrator, finds herself in Baba Yaga’s house after running away from home, from her over-religious parents, from her father who put so many restrictions on her. One that really cared about the girls, that wanted to take care of them and shelter them from the world and its many dangers. She was dark, she was gritty, but you could also see a more emotional, caring side to her. I liked how this read like a twisted fairy-tale and Baba Yaga was definitely an enigmatic figure. The poems were beautifully crafted, the writing seemed effortless. For example, the pace was a bit slow and there were times when I would get distracted very easily and just not be as interested in the plot as in the beginning. It was everything I ever wanted in a book, but there were definitely some low aspects that I couldn’t ignore. I loved how the modern seemed to intertwine with the mythical, it was fascinating and it was very feminist. But this book managed to make me very interested in Baba Yaga and I will probably read more books on this mythological figure because of Finding Baba Yaga. I’ve always been interested in Russian mythology, but I’m a bit intimidated by it and Russian literature as a whole. I will be frank with you, I didn’t know a lot about Baba Yaga prior to reading this book. This book is definitely haunting, it has the perfect atmosphere for a retelling of Russian mythology. Hello, everyone! It’s Marta and I’m back with a book review that I promised you a while ago on a great Russian-inspired novel in verse called Finding Baba Yaga.
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