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A review by kateywumpus
Flowers for a Vinok, Roses for a Babushka, Poppies for a Grave by Solomon Skalozub
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Even though I have a few issues with this book, I like a lot of what it's doing. Firstly it's being narrated as if it was a mother telling her child a story, or if a storyteller was telling this to a group of people sitting around a campfire. It gives the narrator a personality of their own, which most books don't do. Either they're first person or a kind of depersonalized third person. This is rare enough that I, honestly, don't recall ever reading a book that does this. Short stories, sure, but nothing this length.
Secondly, it's not afraid of trans men's bodies. There isn't any transphobia beyond some teasing at the beginning from children at the beginning, but it's more misogyny than anything else. Otherwise everybody just kind of accepts him as he is. There are no surgeries here, only magical HRT, and he and everybody else are perfectly fine with his body as it is. At one point he fights topless and it's as if any other guy fought topless. His two lovers aren't bothered by his body at all, though there is *some* fumbling around during sex. It's nice to see everything just kind of normalized.
Another thing that I liked was the build-up of the poly relationship. Well, that and the fact that there is one, to begin with, and it's just as normalized as his transness. One of his partners is rivals-to-lovers, and the other is childhood sweetheart-to-lovers, and he ends up marrying both of them, which the village loved because twice as many celebrations!
However, there were a few things I had problems with. First and foremost were the sex scenes. It was kind of tonally jarring when the narrator's voice you have in your head is the mother spinning a tale voice suddenly describing intimate details of having sex. I mean, I applaud the author for normalizing trans sex, but the cognitive dissonance was real. It just took me out of the whole thing.
The other thing was that in the first act, our main character meets Baba Yaga, which set the expectation for me that there would be more magic and myth in this story, but there isn't. It felt kind of cheap to use Baba Yaga as the vehicle in which to give his character magical HRT.
Despite these issues, I feel this is a worthwhile read. It's relatively short and entertaining, and you can bang it out in an afternoon. A very solid three stars.
Secondly, it's not afraid of trans men's bodies. There isn't any transphobia beyond some teasing at the beginning from children at the beginning, but it's more misogyny than anything else. Otherwise everybody just kind of accepts him as he is. There are no surgeries here, only magical HRT, and he and everybody else are perfectly fine with his body as it is. At one point he fights topless and it's as if any other guy fought topless. His two lovers aren't bothered by his body at all, though there is *some* fumbling around during sex. It's nice to see everything just kind of normalized.
Another thing that I liked was the build-up of the poly relationship. Well, that and the fact that there is one, to begin with, and it's just as normalized as his transness. One of his partners is rivals-to-lovers, and the other is childhood sweetheart-to-lovers, and he ends up marrying both of them, which the village loved because twice as many celebrations!
However, there were a few things I had problems with. First and foremost were the sex scenes. It was kind of tonally jarring when the narrator's voice you have in your head is the mother spinning a tale voice suddenly describing intimate details of having sex. I mean, I applaud the author for normalizing trans sex, but the cognitive dissonance was real. It just took me out of the whole thing.
The other thing was that in the first act, our main character meets Baba Yaga, which set the expectation for me that there would be more magic and myth in this story, but there isn't. It felt kind of cheap to use Baba Yaga as the vehicle in which to give his character magical HRT.
Despite these issues, I feel this is a worthwhile read. It's relatively short and entertaining, and you can bang it out in an afternoon. A very solid three stars.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Sexual content, Violence, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Bullying and Misogyny