Scan barcode
knjigoholicarka's review against another edition
Reč-dve o ovom izdanju.
Uvodni deo sastoji se od kratke analize i mogućih tumačenja Baba Jage u okvirima narodnih verovanja, folklora, istorije, tradicije, simbolizma, mada više služi kao polazna osnova za neko dalje, sopstveno istraživanje na ovu temu i čak nas upućuje na dalju literaturu (između ostalog i na fantastičnu analizu Klarise Pinkole Estes u knjizi "Žene koje trče s vukovima"). Tako uvod daje neku osnovu za moguće razmišljanje i tumačenje Baba Jagine uloge u bajkama koje su date u drugom delu knjige, mada će vas ostaviti sa utiskom nedorečenosti ili površnosti.
Što se tiče tog drugog dela knjige, koji predstavlja svojevrsnu antologiju priča u kojima se Baba Jaga pojavljuje, osim činjenice da prevod na engleski zvuči krajnje rogobatno (pored nesrodnosti jezika, ovde opušteno možete okriviti i prevodioca koji je išao čak dotle da opsesivno koristi reč "comrade" ili da neke fraze prevodi bukvalno, npr. "white world" = beli svet, u situaciji kada bi "vast world" savršeno odgovaralo bez ikakvog kvarenja konteksta... naši prevodi ruskih bajki su apsolutno superiorni, verujte mi) stiče se utisak da je izbor priča mogao biti manji, budući da mnoge od njih variraju iste motive na malo drugačiji način, zbog čega se čitanje pomalo guši u repetitivnosti.
Takođe, knjiga je bogato ilustrovana, pa ćete moći da uživate u prikazima stare Jagišne, od Ivana Bilibina pa do savremenih, digitalnih umetnika.
Suma sumarum, zabavno štivo, ne naročito analitično, niti sa jasnim konceptom, ali svakako plod entuzijazma grupe autora koji su želeli da daju svoj doprinos očuvanju mita o Baba Jagi u ovom belom svetu.
Uvodni deo sastoji se od kratke analize i mogućih tumačenja Baba Jage u okvirima narodnih verovanja, folklora, istorije, tradicije, simbolizma, mada više služi kao polazna osnova za neko dalje, sopstveno istraživanje na ovu temu i čak nas upućuje na dalju literaturu (između ostalog i na fantastičnu analizu Klarise Pinkole Estes u knjizi "Žene koje trče s vukovima"). Tako uvod daje neku osnovu za moguće razmišljanje i tumačenje Baba Jagine uloge u bajkama koje su date u drugom delu knjige, mada će vas ostaviti sa utiskom nedorečenosti ili površnosti.
Što se tiče tog drugog dela knjige, koji predstavlja svojevrsnu antologiju priča u kojima se Baba Jaga pojavljuje, osim činjenice da prevod na engleski zvuči krajnje rogobatno (pored nesrodnosti jezika, ovde opušteno možete okriviti i prevodioca koji je išao čak dotle da opsesivno koristi reč "comrade" ili da neke fraze prevodi bukvalno, npr. "white world" = beli svet, u situaciji kada bi "vast world" savršeno odgovaralo bez ikakvog kvarenja konteksta... naši prevodi ruskih bajki su apsolutno superiorni, verujte mi) stiče se utisak da je izbor priča mogao biti manji, budući da mnoge od njih variraju iste motive na malo drugačiji način, zbog čega se čitanje pomalo guši u repetitivnosti.
Takođe, knjiga je bogato ilustrovana, pa ćete moći da uživate u prikazima stare Jagišne, od Ivana Bilibina pa do savremenih, digitalnih umetnika.
Suma sumarum, zabavno štivo, ne naročito analitično, niti sa jasnim konceptom, ali svakako plod entuzijazma grupe autora koji su želeli da daju svoj doprinos očuvanju mita o Baba Jagi u ovom belom svetu.
barefootsong's review
4.0
A good selection of tales featuring Baba Yaga characters. The book design is quite pretty, too, although I wish some of the illustrations were larger and/or of better quality.
Also, I bought this just based on the tale because I am a fan of Baba Yaga tales, and then I belatedly noticed that one of my undergrad professors is the translator. I took a Russian Fairy Tales class with Professor Forrester at Swarthmore and it was one of my favorite undergrad classes. :)
Also, I bought this just based on the tale because I am a fan of Baba Yaga tales, and then I belatedly noticed that one of my undergrad professors is the translator. I took a Russian Fairy Tales class with Professor Forrester at Swarthmore and it was one of my favorite undergrad classes. :)
annabend's review against another edition
2.0
[1.5 stars]
Hmm...how to rate this, exactly? This book was not what I expected. It was nice to revisit some of the folk tales from my childhood, but I was really disappointed with the book overall. Knowing it was from a university press and based on the title, I was hoping for a more critical analysis of the character of Baba Yaga. Instead, there is only an introduction which, while nice, gets buried in pages of the stories. By the time you get to the end, you don't remember what this collection is supposed to mean.
The formatting was extremely odd. Because all these stories have the Baba Yaga character in them, they often overlap in themes and tone (and sometimes even events), but for some reason, the publisher decided to include variations of certain stories in the endnotes. So you would end up with long double-columned endnotes with nearly the entire version of the story on there. I found this quite jarring and difficult to read. The endnotes would break off at some point to match up with the main story and it was simply a mess. It would have been easier to just catalogue or group together stories that are similar, or (if short on space) just describe the variation and the source in the endnote.
The book is printed on large, glossy, heavy paper which makes for a very expensive purchase. But while the cover and the material feels like great quality, many of the pages inside were not. They were blurry, different sizes and mediums and strewn throughout the whole book without a clear connection or commentary except for "Baba Yaga is in them." For something that costs $80 I expect more. At least make the designed drop caps appear high res! The use of Ivan Bilibin's beautiful illustration on the cover promises equally arresting artwork on the inside but doesn't deliver.
I am extremely confused about whom this edition was meant for. If it's a collector's piece, the production value and design are just not good enough. If it's a resource for academics then what an awkward, incomplete and unnecessarily expensive way to do it.
I have a bone to pick with the translation, as well. Sometimes it was great, but at other times it was just odd. One thing that comes to mind is the use of the word "comrades," which is a Soviet term and has become somewhat a cliché term used by American translators. What a word that was essentially "invented" by the Soviets is doing in a folktale that originated waaay before the 20th century is beyond me. In Russian, the word is quite obviously bureaucratic, no one would ever use it in a fairytale unless it was some sort of propagandized version of the tale. There were a couple of other moments like this that made me question the book.
I don't really understand this collection and I wouldn't recommend it. Russian folktales, especially those with Baba Yaga, are fascinating and strange, but get them somewhere else. The oddness of the entire book far outweighs the small brilliance of the introduction. Weirdest reading experience yet.
Hmm...how to rate this, exactly? This book was not what I expected. It was nice to revisit some of the folk tales from my childhood, but I was really disappointed with the book overall. Knowing it was from a university press and based on the title, I was hoping for a more critical analysis of the character of Baba Yaga. Instead, there is only an introduction which, while nice, gets buried in pages of the stories. By the time you get to the end, you don't remember what this collection is supposed to mean.
The formatting was extremely odd. Because all these stories have the Baba Yaga character in them, they often overlap in themes and tone (and sometimes even events), but for some reason, the publisher decided to include variations of certain stories in the endnotes. So you would end up with long double-columned endnotes with nearly the entire version of the story on there. I found this quite jarring and difficult to read. The endnotes would break off at some point to match up with the main story and it was simply a mess. It would have been easier to just catalogue or group together stories that are similar, or (if short on space) just describe the variation and the source in the endnote.
The book is printed on large, glossy, heavy paper which makes for a very expensive purchase. But while the cover and the material feels like great quality, many of the pages inside were not. They were blurry, different sizes and mediums and strewn throughout the whole book without a clear connection or commentary except for "Baba Yaga is in them." For something that costs $80 I expect more. At least make the designed drop caps appear high res! The use of Ivan Bilibin's beautiful illustration on the cover promises equally arresting artwork on the inside but doesn't deliver.
I am extremely confused about whom this edition was meant for. If it's a collector's piece, the production value and design are just not good enough. If it's a resource for academics then what an awkward, incomplete and unnecessarily expensive way to do it.
I have a bone to pick with the translation, as well. Sometimes it was great, but at other times it was just odd. One thing that comes to mind is the use of the word "comrades," which is a Soviet term and has become somewhat a cliché term used by American translators. What a word that was essentially "invented" by the Soviets is doing in a folktale that originated waaay before the 20th century is beyond me. In Russian, the word is quite obviously bureaucratic, no one would ever use it in a fairytale unless it was some sort of propagandized version of the tale. There were a couple of other moments like this that made me question the book.
I don't really understand this collection and I wouldn't recommend it. Russian folktales, especially those with Baba Yaga, are fascinating and strange, but get them somewhere else. The oddness of the entire book far outweighs the small brilliance of the introduction. Weirdest reading experience yet.
More...