In a remote village surrounded by forests on the border of Moldova and Ukraine, sisters Liba and Laya have been raised on the honeyed scent of their Mami's babka and the low rumble of their Tati's prayers. But when a troupe of mysterious men arrives, Laya falls under their spell. As dark forces close in on their village. Liba and Laya discover a family secret about a magical heritage they never knew existed. The sisters realise the old fairy tales are true...and could save them all.
THE SISTERS OF WINTER WOOD by Rena Rossner
Genre: YA Fantasy / Magical Realism / Fantasy > Fairy Tales
Published: 2018
My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
This book was a mesmerising mixture of historical fiction, poetry and folklore that reads like an entirely believable fairy-tale from a cruel, anti-sematic time.
The original concept for this story, I believe, was to be a retelling of Christina Rossetti's Goblin Market, which I regret I haven't read to be able to draw comparisons. But I love that the author has incorporated so many different fairy-tales and folklore stemming from Russia and Ukraine on top of this retelling, whilst also incorporated some of her own history and fictional happenings inspired by real events:
In Dubossary, on the border between Ukraine and Moldova in 1903, an anti-sematic newspapers called for a riot and massacre of the Jews after the body of a young Christian boy was found drained of blood in the garden of a Jewish man. It escalated horribly and the Jewish people were falsely accused of using the blood of non-Jews to bake Passover bread, the Jews had no choice but to defend themselves. It's as a result of the riot in Dubossary that the author's family first made their way to America. The personal ties to this story make it so much more potent and multi-layered.
I love books with a fairy-tale feel and this book was honestly entrancing due to unusual mix of concepts, all well explained, horrifying and gripping at once. I devoured it like a hungry bear.
The love of the sisters and the bond they share despite their differences drove this book from start to finish. Liba and Laya have unique voices expressed in their own format, keeping the reading varied and interesting.
It's a strong and passionate story of self discovery, family, and sisterhood.
Thoroughly recommend! This is definitely one of my new favourites to shout about.
Let me know your thoughts if you've read this book, and let me know if you read it on my recommendation.
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Zuzu 🖋
Love the sound of this tale - thank you as always for your beautiful and honest review 💋 x
ReplyDeleteThank you as always for reading and commenting! Much appreciated! x
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