bibliogrotto 's review for:

The Night of Baba Yaga by Akira Otani

4.5

challenging dark reflective tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: N/A

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

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I am in awe of what happened here. In the beginning, I felt like some of the dialogue was literally lost in translation - that it was missing the nuance and subtext of the original, but that was smoothed out over time. This is gruesomely violent. At times, it was cool and in others, it was nauseating. The characters jump off the pages. Shindo and Shoko's story is one of contrasting horror and contentedness. They spend their time contemplating who they were, who they are, who they could be, and who they want to be. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Incest, Torture

There are two instances of attempted rape/sexual assault. Both heavily rely on power and degradation.