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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!
leila's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Imagine being able to write a book like this
annamickreads's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
"Deathless" has something for everyone — the writing is beautiful, it's sexy, it's a retelling of Russian folklore from a super unique perspective, it's well-written historical fiction. The way that humanity and mythology are wrapped around each other to help reinforce the real life events was very clever and as I grow older I find myself appreciating that more each re-read.
Our heroine is fierce, and brave, and strong, and Valente's writing will never not be so hauntingly poetic to me. I have so much I want to say about this book but so few words with which to say it, so for now, let's chalk it up to this: "Deathless" is an ultimate Hot Girl Book and the girls that get it, get it.
Our heroine is fierce, and brave, and strong, and Valente's writing will never not be so hauntingly poetic to me. I have so much I want to say about this book but so few words with which to say it, so for now, let's chalk it up to this: "Deathless" is an ultimate Hot Girl Book and the girls that get it, get it.
megan1002's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
This was amazing. I feel that if only I had a better grasp of Russian history, culture, and folklore I would have enjoyed it more. I do adore the various references—they were subtle yet whimsical. Some parts were just not for me, but overall it was great.
klparmley's review against another edition
2.0
I didn't actually read it; I listened to it. And the problem may very well have been the narrator rather than the story. As I listened, I suspected that her careful enunciation took all humor and charm out of the telling of the story.
10000bees's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I realized from page one I would love this book. I absolutely ate the prose up for one, and then the story! It had me hooked in the most dreadful way. The atmospheric folklore grounded in such a bleak and harrowing period of history gave the mystical elements a desperate realness. A War Story Is a Black Space was a masterful chapter set against the rest of the book as a whole that that first paragraph lives rent free in my head.
Look, I am holding up my two hands, and between them is Leningrad. ... A war story is a black space. On the one side is before and on the other side is after, and what is inside belongs only to the dead. Besides, what happened between the two hands I am holding up is squeezed between the pages of the books of the dead, which is written on my hands, because I died in that space.
Look, I am holding up my two hands, and between them is Leningrad. ... A war story is a black space. On the one side is before and on the other side is after, and what is inside belongs only to the dead. Besides, what happened between the two hands I am holding up is squeezed between the pages of the books of the dead, which is written on my hands, because I died in that space.
sunflower_martha's review against another edition
4.0
This is a hard one to review.
Chaotic, lyrical, magical.
I enjoyed the book despite taking some time to adjust to the writing style.
Sometimes I felt like there was so much the author was trying to convey at the same time, different images, metaphors and ideas and it got me confused.
There's also the cultural appropriation to consider. I wasn't bothered by the representation of creatures from the Russian and Slavic folklore the way it's been done here, but I am heavily biased by the fact that I'm not so familiar with that mythology.
I wish I had more background knowledge so I think I will research russian folklore and maybe it's a point in favour if a book makes you want to learn more on a topic.
Overall, it wasn't an easy read but a poetic, evocative one nonetheless. It will stay with me for a while.
Chaotic, lyrical, magical.
I enjoyed the book despite taking some time to adjust to the writing style.
Sometimes I felt like there was so much the author was trying to convey at the same time, different images, metaphors and ideas and it got me confused.
There's also the cultural appropriation to consider. I wasn't bothered by the representation of creatures from the Russian and Slavic folklore the way it's been done here, but I am heavily biased by the fact that I'm not so familiar with that mythology.
I wish I had more background knowledge so I think I will research russian folklore and maybe it's a point in favour if a book makes you want to learn more on a topic.
Overall, it wasn't an easy read but a poetic, evocative one nonetheless. It will stay with me for a while.
okjaaaaa's review against another edition
3.0
this is a dream and a fairy tale mixed into one and, i, frankly, would like to never wake up again.
girlysound's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
experimental, beautiful, strikes so abstract it was hard to follow