A review by laurenleigh
The Lives of Saints by Leigh Bardugo

adventurous dark fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Alina is given a book in Shadow and Bone called The Lives of Saints, which turns out to be very important in the trilogy and beyond. Bardugo recently published this little story collection, so it’s a must read for anyone like me who’s completely taken with the Grishaverse! The Saints in this text are often magical Grisha who are persecuted for being different, even if they are trying to help. It’s an interesting phenomenon that we see in our own world’s stories (Jesus and Joan of Arc come to mind). The stories themselves were super short, but overall the collection is making me consider the grander scale and implications of storytelling, especially when telling the story of someone’s life. Who tells their story? For what purpose? How does that story change and adapt over time, and how does the storyteller influence the story itself?
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