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elisloony's review against another edition
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.0
rust_and_stardust's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
savaging's review against another edition
2.0
The first half of this book feels like 50 Shades of Grey in the style of Russian folklore. A smuttier Twilight with a different cast of magical beings.
But Valente is a good writer and the final part of the book does have things to say about life and love and death, and I like a bold retelling of an old story. The real problem for me was how the Russian Revolution and the Siege of Leningrad are consistently presented with trite American moralism. Any suffering that Russians have experienced is born from the October Revolution. Everything was good before then. Even the Siege of Leningrad was entirely the Bolshevik's fault.
The problems Valente sneers at aren't the specifics of Soviet policy or structure -- but rather the very idea of revolution, which ends time-honored systems of hierarchy. Valente presents a deeply conservative view of the world, where the drive for equality can only lead to a world where all are equally grey and dead. If anyone talks about fairness or trying to create a better world, it is a sign that they are about to steal and murder. It starts feeling like Ayn Rand is trying her hand at folklore. And as in Rand, everything rich and alive is presented as born out of coercion and hierarchy (thus all the child grooming and non-consent BDSM that I guess we're supposed to find sexy?).
As much as I appreciated Valente's language and world-building, I ended the book feeling a little disgusted by the ideology.
But Valente is a good writer and the final part of the book does have things to say about life and love and death, and I like a bold retelling of an old story. The real problem for me was how the Russian Revolution and the Siege of Leningrad are consistently presented with trite American moralism. Any suffering that Russians have experienced is born from the October Revolution. Everything was good before then. Even the Siege of Leningrad was entirely the Bolshevik's fault.
The problems Valente sneers at aren't the specifics of Soviet policy or structure -- but rather the very idea of revolution, which ends time-honored systems of hierarchy. Valente presents a deeply conservative view of the world, where the drive for equality can only lead to a world where all are equally grey and dead. If anyone talks about fairness or trying to create a better world, it is a sign that they are about to steal and murder. It starts feeling like Ayn Rand is trying her hand at folklore. And as in Rand, everything rich and alive is presented as born out of coercion and hierarchy (thus all the child grooming and non-consent BDSM that I guess we're supposed to find sexy?).
As much as I appreciated Valente's language and world-building, I ended the book feeling a little disgusted by the ideology.
maximum_moxie's review against another edition
5.0
I have so many emotions about this book, and that in itself is high praise--I found myself yelling at characters and spouting impressed expletives every two pages. It can be a bit disorienting thanks to its intentional fairy tale setup: I wasn't always sure what was going on, and even now I'm not certain what to think about the ending. But the lyricism of the language, the beautiful descriptions of love and food and death and sex, made it all worth the confusion. More, I learned a lot about Slavic myth, something which the West could really benefit from. Can't recommend this book highly enough.
rmgmorrow's review against another edition
Honest to God this book is just so dense. I read a lot of high and historical fantasies, this is somewhere on that spectrum, but the style is just so dense that I kept getting distracted. It's a beautifully written book but just not for me.
bethcforbes's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
bttyuen's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
dunder_mifflin's review against another edition
5.0
It took me a while to get into Deathless because it is so confusing at first. But as soon as I got into it, I was gone. It's beautifully written and the story is so compelling and I can't wait to reread it at some point.
betwixt_the_pages's review against another edition
5.0
Death, their daughter, who will never learn to speak, who will never need to speak, holds out her bloody arms, streaked white and silver with fluid.
"I always die at the end," he whispers, and he is afraid now, his hands shaking. "It is always like this. It is never easy."
---
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.
---
Catherynne Valente has woven mythology with realism with painful, heartbreaking twists in this masterful, beautiful story.
Reading this HURTS. The relationship between Koschei and Marya Morevna is confusing, at times bordering on abusive, and written so beautifully a small shred of hopeless romanticism can be found in almost any reader. You will, by the end of the book, find yourself catching your breath and groaning aloud as each new lurching plot twist is revealed. I am not one to cry over books; this book almost got me several times.
The lilting prose and whimsical mythology of this novel will leave you grovelling, begging for more on bent knees. You will sweep the dust off the corners of your mind where magic breathes, revisit the places of your heart where the impossible still exists--and be thoroughly shattered by the end of it. This piece is a life-ruiner, in the best of ways. It grabs hold and refuses to let you go; there is no room for breathing.
This book reintroduced me to the NEED to finish a book ASAP--I haven't sped through a book this quickly in quite a while, and I am so glad to have rediscovered how it feels to thrive on words, to delve so deeply into a story you can't sense time passing, to worship an author so thoroughly through reading. This reawakened a part of my reading life I didn't realize I'd been missing out on.
Be warned: the read will break you, if you let it. Also, please note--this book does include some mature content and may not be right for every reader. I highly recommend!
"I always die at the end," he whispers, and he is afraid now, his hands shaking. "It is always like this. It is never easy."
---
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.
---
Catherynne Valente has woven mythology with realism with painful, heartbreaking twists in this masterful, beautiful story.
Reading this HURTS. The relationship between Koschei and Marya Morevna is confusing, at times bordering on abusive, and written so beautifully a small shred of hopeless romanticism can be found in almost any reader. You will, by the end of the book, find yourself catching your breath and groaning aloud as each new lurching plot twist is revealed. I am not one to cry over books; this book almost got me several times.
The lilting prose and whimsical mythology of this novel will leave you grovelling, begging for more on bent knees. You will sweep the dust off the corners of your mind where magic breathes, revisit the places of your heart where the impossible still exists--and be thoroughly shattered by the end of it. This piece is a life-ruiner, in the best of ways. It grabs hold and refuses to let you go; there is no room for breathing.
This book reintroduced me to the NEED to finish a book ASAP--I haven't sped through a book this quickly in quite a while, and I am so glad to have rediscovered how it feels to thrive on words, to delve so deeply into a story you can't sense time passing, to worship an author so thoroughly through reading. This reawakened a part of my reading life I didn't realize I'd been missing out on.
Be warned: the read will break you, if you let it. Also, please note--this book does include some mature content and may not be right for every reader. I highly recommend!