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A review by savaging
Deathless by Catherynne M. Valente
2.0
The first half of this book feels like 50 Shades of Grey in the style of Russian folklore. A smuttier Twilight with a different cast of magical beings.
But Valente is a good writer and the final part of the book does have things to say about life and love and death, and I like a bold retelling of an old story. The real problem for me was how the Russian Revolution and the Siege of Leningrad are consistently presented with trite American moralism. Any suffering that Russians have experienced is born from the October Revolution. Everything was good before then. Even the Siege of Leningrad was entirely the Bolshevik's fault.
The problems Valente sneers at aren't the specifics of Soviet policy or structure -- but rather the very idea of revolution, which ends time-honored systems of hierarchy. Valente presents a deeply conservative view of the world, where the drive for equality can only lead to a world where all are equally grey and dead. If anyone talks about fairness or trying to create a better world, it is a sign that they are about to steal and murder. It starts feeling like Ayn Rand is trying her hand at folklore. And as in Rand, everything rich and alive is presented as born out of coercion and hierarchy (thus all the child grooming and non-consent BDSM that I guess we're supposed to find sexy?).
As much as I appreciated Valente's language and world-building, I ended the book feeling a little disgusted by the ideology.
But Valente is a good writer and the final part of the book does have things to say about life and love and death, and I like a bold retelling of an old story. The real problem for me was how the Russian Revolution and the Siege of Leningrad are consistently presented with trite American moralism. Any suffering that Russians have experienced is born from the October Revolution. Everything was good before then. Even the Siege of Leningrad was entirely the Bolshevik's fault.
The problems Valente sneers at aren't the specifics of Soviet policy or structure -- but rather the very idea of revolution, which ends time-honored systems of hierarchy. Valente presents a deeply conservative view of the world, where the drive for equality can only lead to a world where all are equally grey and dead. If anyone talks about fairness or trying to create a better world, it is a sign that they are about to steal and murder. It starts feeling like Ayn Rand is trying her hand at folklore. And as in Rand, everything rich and alive is presented as born out of coercion and hierarchy (thus all the child grooming and non-consent BDSM that I guess we're supposed to find sexy?).
As much as I appreciated Valente's language and world-building, I ended the book feeling a little disgusted by the ideology.