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A review by renuked
Deathless by Catherynne M. Valente
4.0
Absolutely gorgeous. A lush, vibrant, deadly tale of love. I knew I would love it the moment I began, although I certainly struggled with certain parts. It is not an easy book, and I completely agree that parts are highly confusing at times. But it draws you in deep and you can't surface for air until you've read every last word.
To be Deathless is to treat with death in every moment. To stave death is not involuntary, like breathing, but a constant tension, like balancing a glass on the head.
This book starts with a well known figure from Russian mythology - Marya Morevna. As a young child, she witnesses something that changes her entire life, she watches a bird fall out of a tree and turn into a man. Once she enters the world of magic, she cannot escape, and so begins her life. She refuses to be blind to the world, and that is when I fell in love with Marya.
If the world is divided into seeing and not seeing, Marya thought, I shall always choose to see.
The story gets more complicated with the arrival of Koschei the Deathless, perhaps the most famous figure of all. He is dark, complicated, manipulative, and intriguing. He is far from a good man, but he and Marya match each other perfectly. After all, Marya is not so good either. She is his equal in every way, and he makes her just as cruel and fierce.
Oh, I will be cruel to you, Marya Morevna. It will stop your breath, how cruel I can be. But you understand, don’t you? You are clever enough. I am a demanding creature. I am selfish and cruel and extremely unreasonable. But I am your servant. When you starve I will feed you; when you are sick I will tend you. I crawl at your feet; for before your love, your kisses, I am debased. For you alone I will be weak.”
From that very quote there, you can also see the language illuminated. This book is flawless in imagery and character portrayal. It's spiraling, delicious, and seductive. My only fault with this is the lack of explanation. This was my first foray into Russian myths, and I'm sure it is the first for many others. I wish there had been a glossary or a brief explanation of certain aspects. The domovie, the leshy, the rusalka. All were creatures I did not understand. There were demons mixed with guns, and strange magical beings - which were magnificent, but initially difficult to comprehend. I wish with all my heart I could give this five starts, but I cannot because it lacked clarification for me. I ended the book with a lot of questions.
The ending was a subdued explosion of glory. I did not realize what an ending it was until some reflection. I did not realize the significance of WWII until I saw the parallels appear. Overall, it was brilliantly thought out and written. I loved the melding of the Russian myths, once I understood them all. The characters were deep and the language was exquisite.
A war story is a black space. On the one side is before and on the other side is after, and what is inside belongs only to the dead.
To be Deathless is to treat with death in every moment. To stave death is not involuntary, like breathing, but a constant tension, like balancing a glass on the head.
This book starts with a well known figure from Russian mythology - Marya Morevna. As a young child, she witnesses something that changes her entire life, she watches a bird fall out of a tree and turn into a man. Once she enters the world of magic, she cannot escape, and so begins her life. She refuses to be blind to the world, and that is when I fell in love with Marya.
If the world is divided into seeing and not seeing, Marya thought, I shall always choose to see.
The story gets more complicated with the arrival of Koschei the Deathless, perhaps the most famous figure of all. He is dark, complicated, manipulative, and intriguing. He is far from a good man, but he and Marya match each other perfectly. After all, Marya is not so good either. She is his equal in every way, and he makes her just as cruel and fierce.
Oh, I will be cruel to you, Marya Morevna. It will stop your breath, how cruel I can be. But you understand, don’t you? You are clever enough. I am a demanding creature. I am selfish and cruel and extremely unreasonable. But I am your servant. When you starve I will feed you; when you are sick I will tend you. I crawl at your feet; for before your love, your kisses, I am debased. For you alone I will be weak.”
From that very quote there, you can also see the language illuminated. This book is flawless in imagery and character portrayal. It's spiraling, delicious, and seductive. My only fault with this is the lack of explanation. This was my first foray into Russian myths, and I'm sure it is the first for many others. I wish there had been a glossary or a brief explanation of certain aspects. The domovie, the leshy, the rusalka. All were creatures I did not understand. There were demons mixed with guns, and strange magical beings - which were magnificent, but initially difficult to comprehend. I wish with all my heart I could give this five starts, but I cannot because it lacked clarification for me. I ended the book with a lot of questions.
The ending was a subdued explosion of glory. I did not realize what an ending it was until some reflection. I did not realize the significance of WWII until I saw the parallels appear. Overall, it was brilliantly thought out and written. I loved the melding of the Russian myths, once I understood them all. The characters were deep and the language was exquisite.
A war story is a black space. On the one side is before and on the other side is after, and what is inside belongs only to the dead.