Deathless

February 21, 2011
Twentieth-century Russian history provides a background for Valente's lush reimagining of folkloric villain Koschei the Deathless and his dalliance with Marya Morevna, a clever but troubled young woman. After Koschei sweeps Marya away from her family's home in St. Petersburg-Petrograd-Leningrad, Baba Yaga assigns her three tasks that will make her worthy of marrying Koschei. As she spends more time in Koschei's Country of Life, Marya starts to become too much like her unearthly lover, until naïve Ivan Nikolayevich helps her regain her humanity (as well as the sympathy of the reader). Valente's lush language and imagery add to the magic and fundamentally Russian nature of the story, drawing pointed parallels between the Soviet Union's turmoil and the endless war between Koschei and his brother, Viy. Readers used to the Brothers Grimm and Charles Perrault will find this tale peculiar but enchanting.

February 1, 2011

Another intricate fantasy (The Habitation of the Blessed, 2010, etc.) from Valente, based on what feels like the entire panoply of Russian folktales.

In Leningrad, during the early days of the Communist revolution, the house where Marya lives is shared by a dozen families. While gazing from the window, Marya Morevna sees a bird tumble from a tree and turn into a handsome young man; he approaches the house and asks to marry Marya's eldest sister, who accepts. In turn Marya's other elder sisters accept bird-husbands also, but when it's Marya's turn she is not watching and does not see the bird become a man. Her husband is Koschei, a wizard known as Bessmertny (the deathless) because his soul is hidden separate from his body on the island of Buyan, and as long as it remains there he cannot die. The witch Baba Yaga, Koschei's sister, says that the most important thing about a marriage is: who rules. Marya discovers a room occupied by beautiful girls, all named Yelena, all unaware of their surroundings and working like automatons. The Yelenas are Koschei's previous victims, whom he stole away, then enchanted. Eventually, each Yelena was seduced by a handsome solider named Ivan, whereupon Koschei discarded them. Baba Yaga offers Marya a way to avoid the same fate, by setting her three seemingly impossible tasks to accomplish. All this barely scratches the surface of what's going on here; scenes, people, myths and history intertwine. It's dazzling but intensely self-involved.

Overwhelming and probably indecipherable to all but the most persistent, well-informed readers.

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Starred review from February 15, 2011

Koschei the Deathless, the dark, magical, and powerful Tsar of Life, has fallen in love. Marya Morevna, a human girl and a daughter of the Russian Revolution, is his chosen bride, and one gray afternoon he steals her away to his land of Buyan. There their relationship blossoms, and through the years the dramas of the world--both Koschei's world and Marya's--are reflected in their arguments, their passions, and their love. With poetic language, a tempest of emotion, and the skill of a master storyteller, Valente (The Orphan's Tales; In the Night Garden; Palimpset) juxtaposes the stripped-down, starved reality of Soviet Russia with luxurious, magical worlds tucked away, out of human sight, before tying them together with the struggles universal to us all--life, death, love, war, hunger, prosperity, and loss. VERDICT This complex and invigorating reimagined piece of Russian folklore by an award-winning author will cast a spell on readers and not let go. For fans of Neil Gaiman, Gregory Maguire, and the like, this is essential.--Leigh Wright, Bridgewater, NJ

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