The Sisters of the Winter Wood

July 15, 2018
In a mix of historical fiction and fantasy, Rossner's debut weaves a richly detailed story of Jewish identity and sisterhood.Sisters Laya and Liba are different as night and day. In their family's cottage, nestled in the Kodari forest surrounding the town of Dubossary, they adhere in different degrees to their family's Orthodox Judaism. Dark-haired Liba--ungainly and dogged by a persistent hunger for meat--revels in Jewish study with her father, while Laya, who possesses the preternatural ability to communicate with the Kodari forest itself, is a free spirit animated by wanderlust, eager to break with the strictures of their insular community. Though held at arm's length by the local Jews because their mother is a convert, the sisters live a relatively peaceful life till an unexpected visit from their father's brother Yankl brings news of their grandfather's illness in a nearby town. Yankl implores their father to return, and before their parents embark on the journey, Liba witnesses them transform into animals--her father into a bear, her mother into a swan--forcing them to expose a long-hidden truth. Each girl is descended from a lineage able to morph, at will, into an animal counterpart: Liba into a bear like her father, Laya into a swan like her mother. Just as the girls begin to come to grips with this new reality, their parents leave and a sense of foreboding infects Dubossary. Jews are blamed for the deaths of two gentiles whose bodies were found at the edge of an orchard; a mysterious band of brothers peddling fruit occupies the town market; and families disappear. As the sisters grapple with the frightening implications of their identities, they must harness them to shield the town from forces that threaten to tear it apart. Told in alternating sections from the two sisters' perspectives that switch between prose (for Liba) and occasionally melodramatic poetry (for Laya), this is an atmospheric yarn that sets elements of Jewish, Greek, and European folklore against a pogrom-era Eastern European backdrop. Rossner's story is inspired by her own family's history; each of her great-grandparents fled anti-Semitic violence in Europe, and her story is emotionally charged, full of sharp historical detail and well-deployed Yiddish phrases. Though the narrative is dragged down by stilted dialogue and a clichéd romance for Liba, the sensitive depiction of the sisters' bond and surprising mythological elements will keep readers' interest piqued.Ambitious and surprising.

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Starred review from July 16, 2018
Rossner’s intricately crafted, gorgeously rendered debut alternates perspectives between teenage sisters Liba and Laya Leib, who narrate in prose and verse, respectively. They are left to fend for themselves in the mysterious woods that border the town of Dubossary while their parents are away on urgent business. Before their parents leave, the sisters learn the family secret: their father can transform into a bear, a gift Liba will inherit, and their mother into a swan, as Laya will. The pair disagree on how to enjoy their newfound independence: where Laya longs for freedom, Liba craves stability, worrying constantly for her younger sister’s safety. People are going missing from the town, there are rumors of a bear in the woods, and anti-Semitic sentiment is on the rise. All of these strange occurrences coincide with the arrival of the Hovlins, a seductive band of fruit-peddling brothers whose otherworldly appeal Laya cannot resist. To save her sister and her people, Liba must learn to accept her bear-like nature. Drawing on true events, folklore, and Christina Rosetti’s classic The Goblin Market, Rossner’s fairy tale is creepy and moving by turn, full of heart, history, and enchantment. Agent: Brent Taylor, Triada US Literary.

September 1, 2018

This lyrical fairy tale of two sisters in a small village in Ukraine is a book to be savored rather than devoured. Liba and Laya have known only life in their small village, but when men summon their father back to his homeland, before leaving, their mother knows it's time to tell them the truth: their father can change into a bear and their mother into a swan, and each of the daughters will soon be able to transform as well. With their mother's warning to look out for each other ringing in their ears, the sisters bid their parents farewell and attempt to get by in their absence. But trouble is brewing in the village. Girls are disappearing, and people are blaming the Jews. Soon Liba and Laya are fearing for their lives and trying to decide how long they can keep their transformations secret. Alternating between Liba's and Laya's perspectives, this compelling debut novel is filled with Yiddish and Ukrainian words. The slow pace, rich character development, and descriptions of village life and the surrounding forest bring the fantasy atmosphere to life. This narrative makes its gradual, stately march towards the climax, with occasional action scenes sprinkled along the way. VERDICT A first purchase where Leigh Bardugo's Shadow and Bone and Gregory Maguire's Egg and Spoon are popular.-Jenni Frencham, formerly at Columbus Public Library, WINonfiction

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