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A review by rubeusbeaky
The Language of Thorns: Midnight Tales and Dangerous Magic by Leigh Bardugo
5.0
STUNNING!!!! Breath-taking! Intricate, beautiful, haunting, creative - a work worthy of the same ranks as all the classic fairytales which have come before. If she hadn't already become a household name with "Shadow and Bone" or "Six of Crows", she certainly ought to be after "Language of Thorns". A PERFECT book from start to finish.
I love the way these stories mashup or retell-with-a-twist stories we already know, it pairs beautifully with the not-quite-Earth of The Grishaverse. It's familiar, but unique.
I love the way Bardugo uses her tales to tell important, modern morality tales. Not about being demure and living happily ever after as some rando's wife. But about being strong in the face of abuse and grief. I love that the cast of these tales are diverse; that any reader could see themselves in them.
I love the way these tales echo within, or relate to the plot of, the other Grishaverse novels. I wish someone had told me to read this book /before/ King of Scars, because it would have completely changed my perception of KoS! The idea that fairytales each have a grain of truth, and our heroes/villains are either following a history which is doomed to repeat itself, or falling into the footsteps of an archetype who came before them and are becoming the stuff of legends... It's brilliant, and gives me ALL the Princess Tutu vibes. Are our heroes stuck in a story? Or do stories just spring up around real people, and embellish pain into poetry? How much of our lives is choice, how much destiny, how much are we products of unknowable histories that came before us... What are we when someone else tells our story; which version of ourselves is true? (Now I have all the Hamilton vibes! XD)
Beautiful! Beautiful!!! Did I forget to mention the gorgeous illustrations?! There are literal works of art in this book! This book makes you think, makes you feel, makes you fall in love with stories... What more could you possibly want from a book?! Beau-ti-FUL!
I love the way these stories mashup or retell-with-a-twist stories we already know, it pairs beautifully with the not-quite-Earth of The Grishaverse. It's familiar, but unique.
I love the way Bardugo uses her tales to tell important, modern morality tales. Not about being demure and living happily ever after as some rando's wife. But about being strong in the face of abuse and grief. I love that the cast of these tales are diverse; that any reader could see themselves in them.
I love the way these tales echo within, or relate to the plot of, the other Grishaverse novels. I wish someone had told me to read this book /before/ King of Scars, because it would have completely changed my perception of KoS! The idea that fairytales each have a grain of truth, and our heroes/villains are either following a history which is doomed to repeat itself, or falling into the footsteps of an archetype who came before them and are becoming the stuff of legends... It's brilliant, and gives me ALL the Princess Tutu vibes. Are our heroes stuck in a story? Or do stories just spring up around real people, and embellish pain into poetry? How much of our lives is choice, how much destiny, how much are we products of unknowable histories that came before us... What are we when someone else tells our story; which version of ourselves is true? (Now I have all the Hamilton vibes! XD)
Beautiful! Beautiful!!! Did I forget to mention the gorgeous illustrations?! There are literal works of art in this book! This book makes you think, makes you feel, makes you fall in love with stories... What more could you possibly want from a book?! Beau-ti-FUL!