A review by meteoricendings
The Wolf and the Woodsman by Ava Reid

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Ava Reid’s The Wolf and the Woodsman follows Évike, a young woman who lacks the magic skills the other women in her pagan village develop. When the village is forced to give a seer to appease the King, Évike is given up instead. The journey to take her to the capitol does not go as planned, and all but one of the holy guards sent to collect her are killed. Danger lies ahead as Évike and her captor are forced to align their goals and prioritize the future of the country. As they progress, Évike is able to explore her heritage and learn about the existential peril it is facing.

I picked up this book because the cover caught my eye, and I am so glad that I did. I was at most hoping for a fun story with some elements of folklore, but I was completely blown away but what I got. The Wolf and the Woodsman explores Hungarian history as a cultural patchwork and not, as some would have you believe, a homogeneous society. This book does not give you easy answers to difficult questions. Characters are made human by the choices they are forced to make. This is not a story of perfect characters or decisions. The Wolf and the Woodsman tackles issues that remain pertinent in today’s political climate, particularly antisemitism in Hungary and throughout the wider world. 

I cannot express how happy I am that I found this book and highly recommend it to anyone. If you get a chance, I encourage you to read Ava Reid’s essay “Imagined Nation-States: The Danger of Depoliticizing Eastern European Fantasy,” which was included in the edition of the book I found. The Wolf and the Woodsman reminded me of what good literature can do. 
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