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A review by ketutar
The Sisters of the Winter Wood by Rena Rossner
4.0
This book started as a retelling of Christina Rossetti's Goblin Market. It was set in the author's East European Jewish roots, and the story was woven into several Slavic and East European tales, legends, myths, and folklore.
We get a sort of magical realist story of two sisters, whose father is a bear and whose mother is a swan. One of the daughters, the oldest, inherits the father's shape, and the youngest inherits the mother's shape. The parents must leave their daughters alone for some time, which in itself wouldn't be a problem, as they are almost 18 and 16, and they have friends and allies in the village close by. The problem arises when mysterious fruit sellers arrive at the village, and things start happening.
The setting and how the author deals with it reminds me very much of [b:Small Favors|55835986|Small Favors|Erin A. Craig|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1604853261l/55835986._SY75_.jpg|76987783], but in this book, the siblings aren't warring. It is very much a coming-of-age story, and very much a story of love. One could take it as a YA romance novel, but I see it as much more than that. It is about families, the importance of love between spouses, siblings, generations, neighbors, and strangers, and of all kinds of love, not just erotic, romantic love. That is there, sure, but it's not the main focus. It is also a story of being oneself and loving oneself. The power of truth and openness.
They also talk about the nasty things that happened in Europe to Jewish people. And... still happen in some form. Antisemitism and blood libel is alive and well even in today's world.
We get a sort of magical realist story of two sisters, whose father is a bear and whose mother is a swan. One of the daughters, the oldest, inherits the father's shape, and the youngest inherits the mother's shape. The parents must leave their daughters alone for some time, which in itself wouldn't be a problem, as they are almost 18 and 16, and they have friends and allies in the village close by. The problem arises when mysterious fruit sellers arrive at the village, and things start happening.
The setting and how the author deals with it reminds me very much of [b:Small Favors|55835986|Small Favors|Erin A. Craig|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1604853261l/55835986._SY75_.jpg|76987783], but in this book, the siblings aren't warring. It is very much a coming-of-age story, and very much a story of love. One could take it as a YA romance novel, but I see it as much more than that. It is about families, the importance of love between spouses, siblings, generations, neighbors, and strangers, and of all kinds of love, not just erotic, romantic love. That is there, sure, but it's not the main focus. It is also a story of being oneself and loving oneself. The power of truth and openness.
They also talk about the nasty things that happened in Europe to Jewish people. And... still happen in some form. Antisemitism and blood libel is alive and well even in today's world.