Reviews

Did not dig its teeth into me the way Red X did but still an enjoyable read. Gave me a lot of folklore bits to toy around with in my head, which I needed.

znash17's review against another edition

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4.0

Unsettling selection of intertwined short horror pieces about eastern European folklore. At times it got a little graphic and I found that jarring when that wasn't usually the style, but overall it was a nice creepy collection.

nicoleclare91's review

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

rosencat's review against another edition

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dark mysterious medium-paced

3.75

iblyth's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

words_on_paper_official's review

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5.0

What an amazing collection of short stories and flash fiction. You can tell that David Demchuk has many years of storytelling under his belt. I love the way he shapes a story in a matter of a few short pages. He writes these fairytales and stories that are eerie and chilling. Stories of witches, ghosts, a golem, mythical creatures and beings. My favorite part are the beautiful photographs that accompany these great stories.

enairabutcher's review

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dark funny mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? N/A
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? N/A
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.75

I was absolutely thrilled when I found out that Chizine was on the long list for the 2017 Scotiabank GIller Prize. It’s not even that I’ve red much by the Toronto-based publisher, but it’s a “win” to bridge that invisible gap between literary and genre. Over the past couple of years – if you pay any attention to the debates in the book world – you’ll know that many people, with legitimate opinions or not, have weighed in on what constitutes “literary” and “genre”.*

I won’t get into the debate right now, save to say that I read and love both, and they they both have incredible merit in the grander literary canon.

But now, The Bone Mother, what a dark and mysterious collection. Through a series of short stories, they weave a web so shimmering that you can make out the individual threads that brush connecting tales.

They are fairytales rooted in the folklore of the Ukraine and Romania. They are dark like Grimm’s and Hans Christian Anderson, full of potent meaning and off-kilter lessons. Well, I’m not actually sure if there are lessons, beyond something like, “don’t be a dick.” (note: Slavic ww2 ish)

Together, the stories – all named for a character’s point of view – reveal the spirits and monsters , government cover-ups, community secrets, witches, and seers.

Like with all fairytales, I want a good outcome for each character, but we’re never given it, unless it’s bittersweet.

Demchuk’s writing is tight; he accomplishes a lot in few words. By the end of the first story – Borys – a tone was established. Each story added to that tone in subtle ways:

Through character set-up: “Mine was an ordinary childhood, until I was thirteen years old. As the chill of autumn crept over us and the first frosts wreathed the windowpanes, I discovered almost by accident that I had grown unaccountably strong, as strong as a man twice my size.”

Through text messages: “I HAVE MISSED YOU, it read. IT WAS HIM YOU KNOW. UP FIRE ESCAPE WITH CAN OF GAS.”

Through detailed clues: “Many times my aunt Maryan told me a story from the old country about a young girl whose sailor brother was taken by a sea witch and hidden in a twisting winding tangle of caves under an island of barren rock. Unlike the slender pale lake spirits her other tales from the first land, the sea witch was a voluptuous woman with the lush full tentacles of a giant squid, and she would search the ocean for shipwrecked sailors to take back to her lair, where she would mate with them – somehow – and then eat them alive. The witch was beautiful and regal and solitary and voracious.”

I read this in November with the rain pattering against the window and the fireplace on. The perfect setting. Be prepared for chills... and some tattoo ideas.

*EDIT. Since writing this, some concerning news has emerged about Chizine, including allegations of sexual assault. It saddens me and my heart goes out to the victims. I will continue to support their writers, especially through this trying time as they sort out their affairs.

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