***WHO SUCKED ME IN***
SFF180 in their SFF180 | Mailbag Monday | December 10, 2018 video published on 10 dec. 2018

I like stories with Baba Yaga in it. I actually have a fairytale book with Russian fairytales with pictures that scared me when I was younger...

These were great little stories of the Baba Yaga. I really enjoyed reading it. I especially enjoyed A Tale Soon Told and Teeth. This would appeal to anyone who enjoys fairy tales and folklore.

*I received a copy of this book for free. The review is my own, honest and unsolicited. ( )

I received this book as a LibraryThing Early Reviewer. It's an enjoyable collection of seven stories that each move Baba Yaga through time and space, creating interesting new tales. The stories all take off from the basic conceit of Baba Yaga and her house on chicken legs, her portar and pestle, the fence of skulls and bones, and the rides of Dawn, Day, and Night.

The first few stories stick close to the original tales, but then we move on to Poland during WWII, the southern US after the Civil War, a fantasyscape of unknown time and place, and finally the US again, closer to now. My favorites were Kate Forsyth's "Vasilisa the Wise," Lissa Sloan's "A Tale Soon Told," Szmeralda Shanel's "The Swamp Hag's Apprentice." I also thought Jill Marie Ross's "Baba Yaga: Her Story" was a nicely done origin story. (4.5/5) ( )

An anthology from the LibraryThing Early Reviewers Programme in exchange for an honest review.

The seven stories collected in this anthology run from the traditional Russian story to modern-day America. The common theme is, naturally, the old witch living apart in the woods, i.e. Baba Yaga, and the bargains she makes with those who seek her out. I did like the two African-American themed stories - they both worked well. I also enjoyed the two traditional retellings. The story I thought that didn’t work well was the modern American story - Boy Meets Witch; but this may be because I’m coming from the European tradition and the story seemed to be about the American immigrant tradition. The last two stories were more so-so, but this is the problem with a multi-author anthology - there’s always something that you don’t like.

Recommended

I didn’t know a lot about the folklore of Baba Yaga before reading this so it was instructive to peruse this collection, but the major flaw was that it seems there is only one story about her - told here over and over with a slight variety of backdrops. It got quite repetitive. The second story, “A tale soon told” by Lisa Sloan was frustrating in that it hinted at an additional storyline but it skimmed over the essentials and none of the other contributions fleshed it out so I was left confused. My standouts were “Boy meets witch” by Rebecca A Coats and “Teeth” by Cordo Cook. ( )

Yum yum yum, fairy-tale retellings pulled from lesser-known folklore. This anthology is just my jam.

The best stories were:

The Parisan and the Witch (Charlotte Honigman) -- young Jewish woman visits with Baba Yaga during the height of World War II. Extremely well-written and not plotted at all expectedly, this one was damn near my favorite of the bunch. Suggested as a paired read with Naomi Kritzer's Comrade Grandmother (Comrade Grandmother and Other Stories (2011))

The Swamp Hag's Apprentice (Szmeralda Shanel) -- relocated tale set in postbellum American deep south. A lighter and sweeter story than the one above, but vibrant and heaps of fun to read.

Boy Meets Witch (Rebecca A. Coates) -- contemporary boy seeks a crazy lady in a trailer park and doesn't bargain with as much thought as he thinks. Good thing Baba Yaga feels like being very nearly compassionate. I don't believe I've ever read a Baba Yaga story with a male protagonist before, but even beyond the novelty I found this story hilarious.

I didn't care for these:

Vasilisa the Wise (Kate Forsyth) -- the opening story to the anthology and tells the classic folklore story, bullet point by bullet point. I know it was selected as the basic, educating opening story, intended for readers new to this folklore, but it followed on the heels of the introduction (by Amanda Bergloff) that summarized the exact same classic folklore, and it just felt flat to me and a little boring.

Baba Yaga: Her Story (Jill Marie Ross) -- a take on how Baba Yaga became herself; the writing was just not good enough for me. When I got to the paragraph spaning three pages were where Koshchei the Deathless infodumped the backstory, I nearly stopped reading right there.

The others were:

A Tale Soon Told (Lissa Sloan) -- Vasilisa, eventually, grows into becoming a Baba Yaga herself. And while I suspect it was unintentional of the author, I really sympathized with Baba Yaga having to deal with dumb-as-bricks mortal people. (Vasilisa: What? I'm pregnant? I guess I haven't used any menstrual supplies for a while. And my waistline has grown. Oh wait! Labor pains!) Despite this, the writing was well done and the story was told in interesting ways.

Teeth (Jessamy Corob Cook) -- another story featuring a narrator who lacks introspection, it leaves me with the impression that Baba Yaga is being utterly fair. There's some neat embroidery on the lives of what are usually side characters.

All in all, recommended! I'll have to look out for Wolford's other anthologies.

An easy and enjoyable collection of stories. Familiar or not with Baba Yaga, you are sure to be pleased at the different faces of this folktale star! ( )

Overall I enjoyed this collection of short stories. I always like reading reimaginings of old stories and fairy tales so from the start this was up my alley. Quick and easy to read and suitable for many age groups (although Baba Yaga is scary, I didn't find the stories so). At times I found some bits a bit too repeative across the stories but don't let this put you off. ( )

I will say right off the bat that I received a copy of this book through LibraryThing's Early Reviewers program, and I am grateful to the press for the opportunity to read this book.

This collection was overall pretty delightful and interesting! I was not super familiar with Baba Yaga as a concept or figure, but I would say you don't have to be. There is also an opportunity for some of the stories to feel repetitive, but I think the stories did a good job of being varied enough that they weren't the same thing over and over again. The story that got me the most was "The Partisan and the Witch" by Charlotte Honigman--it was just beautiful and brutal at the same time. I also liked "Teeth" quite a bite as well. ( )

I heard one of the authors, Kate Forsyth talk about her book "Vasilisa the Wise" last year and how she became interested in ancient folk and fairytales, so I was very excited to get this copy though LibraryThing's Early Reviewers. This is a very good read and I thoroughly enjoyed the collection. The tales are dark and Baba Yaga is not a Disney version of the wicked witch. This will take the reader on a wonderful ride. Read it, if you dare! I loved it! ( )

If you ever had an itch to know more about the witch, this series of stories will satisfy. Sometimes fairy tale characters are pretty one dimensional, but Baba Yaga is much richer than most. Rather than being purely evil (which she can be), she also honors her agreements with those who are brave enough (or foolish enough) to seek her help. She sets unreasonable terms with horrific consequences, but she also rewards success; few questions asked. These stories provide various points of view as well as various times and cultures—the witch is everywhere. Fear her, hate her, understand her a little better, this volume will definitely flesh her out. The book is not exactly geared toward children, but it’s a good read for those who never outgrew fairytales.
Early Readers Review ( )

I recieved this book through LibraryThing's Early Reviewers.

This is an intriguing anthology of Baba Yaga stories. They start with takes on the traditional stories which are both beautifully told and also set the scene so the reader has a good idea of the mythos of Baba Yaga. They then branch out into less traditional tellings which give an interesting slant on the legend of Baba Yaga. The idea of Baba Yaga as a specifically woman's myth is explored in fascinating ways with several stories following the progression through a woman's life from childhood to motherhood to cronehood. The various creation myths of Baba Yaga are especially good and I particularly appreciated the view of Baba Yaga as being reliable in that she always follows through with her promises and never resorts to trickery. The stories emphasise her "tough love" approach which is so much more realistic than most western European fairy tales and highlights how based she is in the probable real lives of women, even through the fantasy elements attached to her stories. I finished the anthology wanting to investigate her further and struck with how much more relatable she was than the Fairy Godmothers of the fairy tales which were the standard fare of my childhood. Anyone interested in fantasy, fairy tales and women's literature will find this a particularly absorbing anthology. ( )