A review by alana_margaret
Thistlefoot by GennaRose Nethercott

dark emotional funny reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

On the surface level this a slow burn of a modern baba yaga story written in prose you can tell is from a poet. On a deeper level it's about intergenerational trauma, genetic memory and being Ashkenazi American. I loved that this book had Yiddish peppered throughout without any translations, that the voice of the house was distinctly the voice of Jewish folk tales in the style of Isaac Bashevis Singer and Shalom Aleichem. I found it familiar and comforting. At the same time, the inevitability of the final true version of the story of how the house was born left me sobbing. I felt the grief in this book in 

I will be honest and say that if the book description made you think you were going to read a lighthearted, quirky modern Baba Yaga story with a splash of magical realism, then this will probably disappoint you. It’s definitely quirky, full of magical realism and at times funny but it’s not at all light hearted.  
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