Scan barcode
A review by annas_sweets_and_stories
Little Black Bird by Anna Kirchner
5.0
Holy wow. I'm not surprised that Anna managed to create such an intriguing and captivating story but I am still absolutely BLOWN away. Fantasy isn't my favorite genre, and sometimes I have trouble connecting to the story or the characters, but that was far from the case here. While yes, I found myself googling A LOT due to my lack of folklore and Slavic mythology knowledge (I'll have more thoughts on that later) it didn't diminish the story in any way.
Think of all the things you want in a book and I can assure you that the big ones are here. You've got TONS of queer rep (which is my most sought after book trait), not to mention the specificity regarding asexuality and the own voices rep there, but we also have magic, demons, controversy, polish folklore, Slavic mythology, and constant action and development. There is also a content warning for sexual assault and internalized acephobia so please be mindful of that before starting this one.
I've been following Anna on instagram for quite awhile now and one thing I adore about her is that she is unapologetic regarding feminism, politics, queer life and culture, and educating people are Polish history and culture. I have learned so much from her and continued to do so while reading this book.
At the beginning of this review I talked about how I had to google a lot of terms in order to understand parts of the book and I want to chat about how that is a normal thing for people who don't live in the US. Americans have this inherent privilege that allows us to usually understand most pop culture and book references. The majority of the world learns English as a second language, while Americans take a Spanish or French class in high school and forget it soon after, never actually retaining another language. Most people can name the President of the United States and perhaps even have a basic understanding of American politics when most Americans couldn't tell you the names of 5 world leaders. Americans take advantage of the fact that the world has a basic understanding of American culture, history, current events, and language while we most of the time remain ignorant to any topic outside of the US. This is an issue.
It started with cheesecake. There is a line in this book about cottage cheese being an essential ingredient to any good cheesecake, and as an American baker, I had some questions. Thankfully Anna is a patient and understanding human being who walked us all through it on her insta story. To be completely honest, even with a background in food history and years working as a baker, I had absolutely no idea about how diverse the history of cheesecake was and I certainly didn't expect such a thing to make me check my own privilege. While there is never a way to know everything, you can and should be willing to change your opinion when presented with new information.
I had thought about American privilege before, but never to such an extent and wow was that a punch in the gut. I pride myself on being open and inclusive and checking what privileges I have at every turn, but seldom did I think about how immersed the world is in American culture without Americans being immersed in international culture. It's late and I'm not sure I'm making complete sense, but I would love to open up this topic for more discussion on a different forum.
Just please know and understand that just because something doesn't make complete sense to you or you don't have the background knowledge, doesn't mean it isn't valid and important (talking to you America). To other Americans who will and should read this book, google the stuff you don't know and let it be a lesson in humility and privilege.
Think of all the things you want in a book and I can assure you that the big ones are here. You've got TONS of queer rep (which is my most sought after book trait), not to mention the specificity regarding asexuality and the own voices rep there, but we also have magic, demons, controversy, polish folklore, Slavic mythology, and constant action and development. There is also a content warning for sexual assault and internalized acephobia so please be mindful of that before starting this one.
I've been following Anna on instagram for quite awhile now and one thing I adore about her is that she is unapologetic regarding feminism, politics, queer life and culture, and educating people are Polish history and culture. I have learned so much from her and continued to do so while reading this book.
At the beginning of this review I talked about how I had to google a lot of terms in order to understand parts of the book and I want to chat about how that is a normal thing for people who don't live in the US. Americans have this inherent privilege that allows us to usually understand most pop culture and book references. The majority of the world learns English as a second language, while Americans take a Spanish or French class in high school and forget it soon after, never actually retaining another language. Most people can name the President of the United States and perhaps even have a basic understanding of American politics when most Americans couldn't tell you the names of 5 world leaders. Americans take advantage of the fact that the world has a basic understanding of American culture, history, current events, and language while we most of the time remain ignorant to any topic outside of the US. This is an issue.
It started with cheesecake. There is a line in this book about cottage cheese being an essential ingredient to any good cheesecake, and as an American baker, I had some questions. Thankfully Anna is a patient and understanding human being who walked us all through it on her insta story. To be completely honest, even with a background in food history and years working as a baker, I had absolutely no idea about how diverse the history of cheesecake was and I certainly didn't expect such a thing to make me check my own privilege. While there is never a way to know everything, you can and should be willing to change your opinion when presented with new information.
I had thought about American privilege before, but never to such an extent and wow was that a punch in the gut. I pride myself on being open and inclusive and checking what privileges I have at every turn, but seldom did I think about how immersed the world is in American culture without Americans being immersed in international culture. It's late and I'm not sure I'm making complete sense, but I would love to open up this topic for more discussion on a different forum.
Just please know and understand that just because something doesn't make complete sense to you or you don't have the background knowledge, doesn't mean it isn't valid and important (talking to you America). To other Americans who will and should read this book, google the stuff you don't know and let it be a lesson in humility and privilege.