Status
Available
Publication
Tor Books (2012), 352 pages
Description
Set in an alternate version of St. Petersburg in the first half of the twentieth century, Marya Morevna, a clever child of the revolution, is transformed into the beautiful bride of Koschei the Deathless, a menacing overlord.
Media reviews
Deathless performs the highest function of a problematic novel. It reveals more about the writer's technique and strengths than a polished, impregnable work might.
Another intricate fantasy from Valente, based on what feels like the entire panoply of Russian folktales. ...scenes, people, myths and history intertwine. It's dazzling but intensely self-involved.
User reviews
LibraryThing member richardderus
Rating: 4.25* of five
The Book Report: The book description says:
“Koschei the Deathless is to Russian folklore what devils or wicked witches are to European culture: a menacing, evil figure; the villain of countless stories which have been passed on through story and text for generations. But
Deathless, however, is no dry, historical tome: it lights up like fire as the young Marya Morevna transforms from a clever child of the revolution, to Koschei’s beautiful bride, to his eventual undoing. Along the way there are Stalinist house elves, magical quests, secrecy and bureaucracy, and games of lust and power. All told, Deathless is a collision of magical history and actual history, of revolution and mythology, of love and death, which will bring Russian myth back to life in a stunning new incarnation.”
My Review: Remember how I said I didn't like books with majgickq and elves and stuff, and how very resistant I'd be so such stories?
Ha.
Magical to a fault, mystical and full of eyerollingly silly things like big black cars with chicken's feet instead of tires, and factories where soldiers are hand-loomed by the Tsar of Life's cast-off mistresses under the supervision of Baba Yaga.
And what can I say? Like every hard and fast rule, this rule went flooey in no time at all, thanks to some ecstatic carolings and appreciative lowings from some very talented reviewers. You terrible people know who you are. I don't love you for causing me to eat my words so publicly.
Russia is a strange, strange place to me. During some really vicious pogroms they tossed in the 19th century, a Polish Jewish ancestress of mine...great-grandmother...walked away from her shtetl, her family, and her identity, got to Bavaria and married an old Catholic man with no living children but who had a shop, and started again. He died, she sold up, she moved on to the USA via Paris, two kids and an American lover in tow. So thanks Russians for being murderously anti-Semitic or I wouldn't be alive today! But the culture that gave rise to the anti-Semitic stuff has always filled me with disgust and not a little horror at the christian hate and apostolic misery doled out on all the people. The myths of the peasantry seem so unforgiving and tricksy and just plain vicious. Then I contemplate the way the country was run (being polite, not well, not ever)...it makes sense...but it still always made me feel icky to read about it.
Then comes this melding of myth and materialsm, supernatural and Supreme Soviet...and I fell head first into love with the package.
Valente's use of language is exemplary. She never stints or holds back. Descriptions are abundant yet they are never obfuscatory; the idea is to create a 3-D experience in the reader's mind and by GUM (old Cold War humor, sorry) she does just exactly that. She never reaches beyond her grasp or talks down to her audience. If only a Russian word will do, there it is, and the nuances are not Spelled Out For You and neither must you resort to Google and Good Luck to find out what the hell this woman's on about.
This (revoltingly) young writer has the temerity and the confidence and the chops to pull off this melding of modernity and medievalism without breaking a (visible) sweat. That's one sweet achievement. This is a book that's as Russian as hot tea with sour cherry preserves and as American as serving it in a Starbucks cup.
And it's beautiful. And it's moving. And it's graceful and lovely and possessed of the most marvelous ability to switch from tango to waltz to jitterbug. Dance with her. This opportunity doesn't come every day.
The Book Report: The book description says:
“Koschei the Deathless is to Russian folklore what devils or wicked witches are to European culture: a menacing, evil figure; the villain of countless stories which have been passed on through story and text for generations. But
Show More
Koschei has never before been seen through the eyes of Catherynne Valente, whose modernized and transformed take on the legend brings the action to modern times, spanning many of the great developments of Russian history in the twentieth century.Deathless, however, is no dry, historical tome: it lights up like fire as the young Marya Morevna transforms from a clever child of the revolution, to Koschei’s beautiful bride, to his eventual undoing. Along the way there are Stalinist house elves, magical quests, secrecy and bureaucracy, and games of lust and power. All told, Deathless is a collision of magical history and actual history, of revolution and mythology, of love and death, which will bring Russian myth back to life in a stunning new incarnation.”
My Review: Remember how I said I didn't like books with majgickq and elves and stuff, and how very resistant I'd be so such stories?
Ha.
Magical to a fault, mystical and full of eyerollingly silly things like big black cars with chicken's feet instead of tires, and factories where soldiers are hand-loomed by the Tsar of Life's cast-off mistresses under the supervision of Baba Yaga.
And what can I say? Like every hard and fast rule, this rule went flooey in no time at all, thanks to some ecstatic carolings and appreciative lowings from some very talented reviewers. You terrible people know who you are. I don't love you for causing me to eat my words so publicly.
Russia is a strange, strange place to me. During some really vicious pogroms they tossed in the 19th century, a Polish Jewish ancestress of mine...great-grandmother...walked away from her shtetl, her family, and her identity, got to Bavaria and married an old Catholic man with no living children but who had a shop, and started again. He died, she sold up, she moved on to the USA via Paris, two kids and an American lover in tow. So thanks Russians for being murderously anti-Semitic or I wouldn't be alive today! But the culture that gave rise to the anti-Semitic stuff has always filled me with disgust and not a little horror at the christian hate and apostolic misery doled out on all the people. The myths of the peasantry seem so unforgiving and tricksy and just plain vicious. Then I contemplate the way the country was run (being polite, not well, not ever)...it makes sense...but it still always made me feel icky to read about it.
Then comes this melding of myth and materialsm, supernatural and Supreme Soviet...and I fell head first into love with the package.
Valente's use of language is exemplary. She never stints or holds back. Descriptions are abundant yet they are never obfuscatory; the idea is to create a 3-D experience in the reader's mind and by GUM (old Cold War humor, sorry) she does just exactly that. She never reaches beyond her grasp or talks down to her audience. If only a Russian word will do, there it is, and the nuances are not Spelled Out For You and neither must you resort to Google and Good Luck to find out what the hell this woman's on about.
This (revoltingly) young writer has the temerity and the confidence and the chops to pull off this melding of modernity and medievalism without breaking a (visible) sweat. That's one sweet achievement. This is a book that's as Russian as hot tea with sour cherry preserves and as American as serving it in a Starbucks cup.
And it's beautiful. And it's moving. And it's graceful and lovely and possessed of the most marvelous ability to switch from tango to waltz to jitterbug. Dance with her. This opportunity doesn't come every day.
Show Less
LibraryThing member clfisha
Flawed yet extraordinary novel.
“That's how you get deathless, volchitsa. Walk the same tale over and over, until you wear a groove in the world, until even if you vanished, the tale would keep turning, keep playing, like a phonograph, and you'd have to get up again, even with a bullet through
This is a dark, passionate retelling of Russian folklore tale: The Death of Koschei the Deathless, but this being Valente forget heroic Ivan rescuing his beautiful princess Morena from the evil Koschei. No we get Morena's and Koschei passionate, tempestuous and sometimes cruel marriage with Ivan a mere fated blip of an affair. We get power plays and war, quests and heartfelt temporary peace, we get knowing young girls and hard quests to best Baba Yaga. Russian folklore characters entwined with the horrific reality of 20th century Russia with a whirlwind of themes and of course playful storytelling. All this is beautifully written too and littered with vibrant, heartfelt characters.
“How I adore you, Marya. How well I chose. Scold me; deny me. Tell me you want what you want and damn me forever. But don’t leave me.”
It is a seemingly dense book, packed with story and has very crazy pacing and the ending... well it's an ending that deserves a reread. I may have missed things not knowing much about its source material, it may be easier to get into the story but I don't think it matters too much.
“The rapt pupil will be forgiven for assuming the Tsar of Death to be wicked and the Tsar of Life to be virtuous. Let the truth be told: There is no virtue anywhere. Life is sly and unscrupulous, a blackguard, wolfish, severe. In service to itself, it will commit any offence. So, too, is Death possessed of infinite strategies and a gaunt nature- but also mercy, also grace and tenderness. In his own country, Death can be kind.”
Heartedly recommended to loves of folklore and rich, evocative fantasy. It's dark and sometimes bleak, but never gratuitous and always very human. Valente's skill is to twist the morals and bigotry of old tales, to make them spin and shine.
Who could resist?
“That's how you get deathless, volchitsa. Walk the same tale over and over, until you wear a groove in the world, until even if you vanished, the tale would keep turning, keep playing, like a phonograph, and you'd have to get up again, even with a bullet through
Show More
your eye, to play your part and say your lines.” This is a dark, passionate retelling of Russian folklore tale: The Death of Koschei the Deathless, but this being Valente forget heroic Ivan rescuing his beautiful princess Morena from the evil Koschei. No we get Morena's and Koschei passionate, tempestuous and sometimes cruel marriage with Ivan a mere fated blip of an affair. We get power plays and war, quests and heartfelt temporary peace, we get knowing young girls and hard quests to best Baba Yaga. Russian folklore characters entwined with the horrific reality of 20th century Russia with a whirlwind of themes and of course playful storytelling. All this is beautifully written too and littered with vibrant, heartfelt characters.
“How I adore you, Marya. How well I chose. Scold me; deny me. Tell me you want what you want and damn me forever. But don’t leave me.”
It is a seemingly dense book, packed with story and has very crazy pacing and the ending... well it's an ending that deserves a reread. I may have missed things not knowing much about its source material, it may be easier to get into the story but I don't think it matters too much.
“The rapt pupil will be forgiven for assuming the Tsar of Death to be wicked and the Tsar of Life to be virtuous. Let the truth be told: There is no virtue anywhere. Life is sly and unscrupulous, a blackguard, wolfish, severe. In service to itself, it will commit any offence. So, too, is Death possessed of infinite strategies and a gaunt nature- but also mercy, also grace and tenderness. In his own country, Death can be kind.”
Heartedly recommended to loves of folklore and rich, evocative fantasy. It's dark and sometimes bleak, but never gratuitous and always very human. Valente's skill is to twist the morals and bigotry of old tales, to make them spin and shine.
Who could resist?
Show Less
LibraryThing member ChrisRiesbeck
I obtained a free e-copy of this from a Tor promotion. It took me forever -- plus 3 hours stuck waiting for a car repair -- to finish this elegantly written adult Russian fairy tale, taking place during and after the Revolution. I gather this meta-fictional bodice-ripper succeeded for many, but I
Is it for you? Read one chapter -- any chapter. If you like it AND want to read the same thing three dozen times, enjoy!
Show More
lost hope somewhere around the fourth or fifth instantiation of "this tale has been told before and will be told again, but I'm going to tell it to you now anyway." Is it for you? Read one chapter -- any chapter. If you like it AND want to read the same thing three dozen times, enjoy!
Show Less
LibraryThing member jen.e.moore
This book was incredible, fairy tales and Russian history all twined up together until you can't tell them apart, beautiful and bloody and all about getting what you want and finding out how terrible it was for you, and doing it again and again and again. I cannot describe how much I loved this
Show More
book. Show Less
LibraryThing member quantumbutterfly
Set against the backdrop of the Russian Revolution, Deathless is the tale of one Marya Morevna. Before the Revolution, her family was quite wealthy and she lived with three sisters. In her childhood, Marya would sit at a front window, see birds change into men and leave with her sisters one by one
Things are never so easy though.
Marya falls down the proverbial rabbit hole when she comes across a house wight/brownie, shrunk down to the size of her new friend, and discovers just how magical the world could be.
Not long after a husband comes calling for her. Koschei. Koschei is far from an ordinary man. He is Koschei the Deathless, god or devil, who knows. He whisks Marya away to his world as Russia slowly sinks further into communism and hardship. Her life takes twists and turns, especially when Baba Yaga comes to visit and reveals more to Koschei than she ever wanted to know. Witches, magic, sex, firebirds, factories full of girls, a young man after Marya's heart, the fairy tale never ends. Neither does the reality of life, death, and war, and even this magical world is not untouched by the changes happening in Russia.
Valente weaves a lush tale in this book and like a real fairy tale, it's not all happily ever after. If you want that and a clear line between good and bad, seek out some Disney. This is not a story for kids.
Show More
until she remains. By the time she is of marriagable age, 11 other families are living in her large house and Marya wonders when she'll have a bird husband coming to claim her.Things are never so easy though.
Marya falls down the proverbial rabbit hole when she comes across a house wight/brownie, shrunk down to the size of her new friend, and discovers just how magical the world could be.
Not long after a husband comes calling for her. Koschei. Koschei is far from an ordinary man. He is Koschei the Deathless, god or devil, who knows. He whisks Marya away to his world as Russia slowly sinks further into communism and hardship. Her life takes twists and turns, especially when Baba Yaga comes to visit and reveals more to Koschei than she ever wanted to know. Witches, magic, sex, firebirds, factories full of girls, a young man after Marya's heart, the fairy tale never ends. Neither does the reality of life, death, and war, and even this magical world is not untouched by the changes happening in Russia.
Valente weaves a lush tale in this book and like a real fairy tale, it's not all happily ever after. If you want that and a clear line between good and bad, seek out some Disney. This is not a story for kids.
Show Less
LibraryThing member stephxsu
I wanted to be dazzled, baptized, converted. Instead I was mostly befuddled. This is one of those unusual cases where I felt like the author's careful attention to the cadences of the prose actually detracted from the story. I was so busy nodding my head along to the rhythms of the words that I
Show More
felt like characterization and plot slipped past me. Contrast this with my readings of Juliet Marillier's works, in which I am sucked so thoroughly into the lives of the characters that everything else--world-building, prose, plot--only added to the thrill of my emotional investment. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'm realizing now how essential my attachment to the characters are to my enjoyment of a story, and that sometimes pretty words aren't going to cut it. Show Less
LibraryThing member krau0098
I have been wanting to read this novel by Valente for sometime. She is one of my favorite authors; her writing style is so beautiful that it is like a work of high art. This book was as fantastic as her other books and I really enjoyed it.
I listened to this book on audiobook and it was beautifully
Marya Morevna is a young girl struggling through the troubles that visited Leningrad in the early to mid 1900’s. She watches sister after sister marry young men who were birds in trees before they dropped to the ground. Marya mourns that fact that she has no magic in her life and wonders whens a bird will turn into a young man for her. Then she gets her wish when Koschei the Deathless visits her front door and commands her obedience, kidnapping her as his wife. What follows is a tale of folklore and war; of Russia versus Germany and of Life versus Death.
This book is absolutely beautiful. Valente always writes scenes and descriptions that feel like they could jump off of the pages and come to life. The descriptions are lush and beautiful and dark and delicious.
I don’t know a lot about Russian mythology, but I know a lot more about reading this book. I also know a lot more about the horror of what the denizens of Leningrad went through especially during the Leningrad Blockade of the early 1940’s.
Marya is one of the most tragic and heroic heroines I have ever read about. She goes through so many transformations in this story. She is the young girl trying to see magic in a bleak world, a young maiden waiting for her groom, a seasoned wife supporting her husband’s war, an adultress, an old woman. She is the Queen of Life and the victim of death. Really she is amazing.
Koshay is also fascinating. In the beginning he is such an overwhelming character to Marya, until she gets to understand him better. He is cruel and he is the Tsar of Life, yet he is restricted by his own mythology and his own Deathless status.
As with many of Valente’s book some of the ideas are ambiguous and time is fluid. The book is quite the journey and I can say by the end I felt I had traveled years with Marya and suffered with her.
The biggest downside of this book is all of the Russian terms and names. They are beautiful but very hard to follow for a non-Russian speaker. Part of this might have been the fact that I listened to this book instead of read it, but I had a lot of trouble keeping some of the names straight in the beginning of the book. This might have been easier if I had seen the words instead of heard them.
Overall an absolutely stunning read and highly recommended. There is so much in here about life and death and about war and love. Just so much food for thought. Not to mention it is an absolutely beautifully written story. I also enjoyed learning about all of the history behind the Leningrad Blockade, it was so sad and I glad that it’s story is told here. Highly recommended to everyone and especially to Valente fans.
I listened to this book on audiobook and it was beautifully
Show More
done. The narrator did all the different accents and characters incredibly well. It was really a magical listen.Marya Morevna is a young girl struggling through the troubles that visited Leningrad in the early to mid 1900’s. She watches sister after sister marry young men who were birds in trees before they dropped to the ground. Marya mourns that fact that she has no magic in her life and wonders whens a bird will turn into a young man for her. Then she gets her wish when Koschei the Deathless visits her front door and commands her obedience, kidnapping her as his wife. What follows is a tale of folklore and war; of Russia versus Germany and of Life versus Death.
This book is absolutely beautiful. Valente always writes scenes and descriptions that feel like they could jump off of the pages and come to life. The descriptions are lush and beautiful and dark and delicious.
I don’t know a lot about Russian mythology, but I know a lot more about reading this book. I also know a lot more about the horror of what the denizens of Leningrad went through especially during the Leningrad Blockade of the early 1940’s.
Marya is one of the most tragic and heroic heroines I have ever read about. She goes through so many transformations in this story. She is the young girl trying to see magic in a bleak world, a young maiden waiting for her groom, a seasoned wife supporting her husband’s war, an adultress, an old woman. She is the Queen of Life and the victim of death. Really she is amazing.
Koshay is also fascinating. In the beginning he is such an overwhelming character to Marya, until she gets to understand him better. He is cruel and he is the Tsar of Life, yet he is restricted by his own mythology and his own Deathless status.
As with many of Valente’s book some of the ideas are ambiguous and time is fluid. The book is quite the journey and I can say by the end I felt I had traveled years with Marya and suffered with her.
The biggest downside of this book is all of the Russian terms and names. They are beautiful but very hard to follow for a non-Russian speaker. Part of this might have been the fact that I listened to this book instead of read it, but I had a lot of trouble keeping some of the names straight in the beginning of the book. This might have been easier if I had seen the words instead of heard them.
Overall an absolutely stunning read and highly recommended. There is so much in here about life and death and about war and love. Just so much food for thought. Not to mention it is an absolutely beautifully written story. I also enjoyed learning about all of the history behind the Leningrad Blockade, it was so sad and I glad that it’s story is told here. Highly recommended to everyone and especially to Valente fans.
Show Less
LibraryThing member alwright1
I really enjoyed this: its fierce characters, the unusual setting, the idea of just what life is. It was pretty unique, with all of Catherynne Valente's usually fantastic details and fanciful surprises. To be pickled and savored.
LibraryThing member weeksj10
“You humans, you know, whoever built you sewed irony into your sinews." -Deathless
This book has the strangest power to pull you in completely and compel you to read on no matter how frustrated, angry, or sad you get. I like what a previous reviewer said about it being "terrible" because it does
The most terrible, amazing thing about this book is the utter confusion Valente throws at us. She blends every line that we may have thought well defined, into a rather dark and depressing mixture. Life and death, domination and love, humans and devils, happiness and despair, all flow together to create an ambivalence that is truly terrible. I can't believe how I could possibly feel pity for some of these characters, yet after all of their evilness I still do.
Despite my ranting and raving I have to admit that I didn't actually like the writing very much, especially toward the beginning when it was slow and really seemed forced. However, other chapters where so elegantly written that I had trouble returning to my own world after turning the page- again the ambivalence rears its head.
So I don't know what I'm trying to say about this book... It was great and terrible and sad and beautiful and so damn strange that I can't really explain.
This book has the strangest power to pull you in completely and compel you to read on no matter how frustrated, angry, or sad you get. I like what a previous reviewer said about it being "terrible" because it does
Show More
have this awesome power over the reader, it makes me think of a terrible wicked witch-laced with beauty and evil- or even Baba Yaga- with all of her commanding presence despite her lack of beauty-.The most terrible, amazing thing about this book is the utter confusion Valente throws at us. She blends every line that we may have thought well defined, into a rather dark and depressing mixture. Life and death, domination and love, humans and devils, happiness and despair, all flow together to create an ambivalence that is truly terrible. I can't believe how I could possibly feel pity for some of these characters, yet after all of their evilness I still do.
Despite my ranting and raving I have to admit that I didn't actually like the writing very much, especially toward the beginning when it was slow and really seemed forced. However, other chapters where so elegantly written that I had trouble returning to my own world after turning the page- again the ambivalence rears its head.
So I don't know what I'm trying to say about this book... It was great and terrible and sad and beautiful and so damn strange that I can't really explain.
Show Less
LibraryThing member KarenIrelandPhillips
Wow. And wow again. Deathless explores the biggest ideas of all.
Horror and bright hope twine together in this powerful saga of Death and love. Valente’s prose is sonorous, yet not ponderous, and certainly not oblivious to the profane.
Her tremendously strong main character experiences the deepest
Horror and bright hope twine together in this powerful saga of Death and love. Valente’s prose is sonorous, yet not ponderous, and certainly not oblivious to the profane.
Her tremendously strong main character experiences the deepest
Show More
dualities of life. With the Slavic folklore of her family of marriage as the scaffold, Valente deftly handles themes of duality including power, mastery, marriage, love and death. Show Less
LibraryThing member andreablythe
"Koschei the Deathless is to Russian folklore what devils or wicked witches are to European culture: a menacing, evil figure; the villain of countless stories which have been passed on through story and text for generations," reads the back cover of Deathless. In Valente's modern version, she
The story centers on Marya Morevna, a child of the revolution who longs to belong, but has seen the world unmasked and thus doesn't fit. Though human, she goes through many transformations in the book, first by becoming Koschei's wife. I love Marya. She's complex, sometimes innocent and naive, sometimes kind and cunning, and sometimes vicious. She changes, whether for good or for ill, and each change is a natural extension of who she was and how the necessities of the situation molded her.
I was captivated by the book immediately, though I definitely had to be in the right head space to get started. I picked it up several times and then put it down again, because I was too mentally distracted to be able to focus on Valente's beautiful prose, which is poetic and luminous and vivid and requires a certain amount of focus. Once I was absorbed in the story and grew accustomed to her style, however, I read through the book rather quickly.
You get a sense of the historical combined with the magical right at the start. The Prologue gives a scene which reveals the cruelty of the revolution and of war in stark clarity, and without, it seems any magic. The Chapter that immediately follows flip-flops from the realism of the Prologue and launches into Marya's youth lit up with birds that become husbands and uses clear fairy tale tropes -- everything comes in threes, for example. By the second chapter the historical and magical are woven together, and I thought separating out those elements in the first few chapters was a clever set up into the story.
I love how this book unfolds. Fairy tale tropes are used skillfully throughout the book, as well as a clear sense of history and of Russian culture. What at first is horrifying appears beautiful from another angle. That which was once beautiful decays and fades away. Sometimes the line between beautiful and ugly, love and power, life and death, are blurred.
Without revealing any details, the ending took a little mental maneuvering to understand and work through, and I'm not sure I'm entirely clear on it. I'm still sitting here thinking about the ending, playing with the various possibilities of what it might mean. I'm sure some will find this very annoying. But Valente is a writer who trusts her readers to be smart enough to connect the dots and come to their own conclusions, which I respect. And rather than bothering me, it makes me want to read the book over again, so I can discover new connections and see how my perspective on this fantastic book will have transformed.
Show More
interweaves the magic of the Russian fairy tale with the history of the country, revealing Stalinist house elves, woven soldiers who fight battles between Life and Death, bureaucratic dragons, and many other beautiful oddities. The story centers on Marya Morevna, a child of the revolution who longs to belong, but has seen the world unmasked and thus doesn't fit. Though human, she goes through many transformations in the book, first by becoming Koschei's wife. I love Marya. She's complex, sometimes innocent and naive, sometimes kind and cunning, and sometimes vicious. She changes, whether for good or for ill, and each change is a natural extension of who she was and how the necessities of the situation molded her.
I was captivated by the book immediately, though I definitely had to be in the right head space to get started. I picked it up several times and then put it down again, because I was too mentally distracted to be able to focus on Valente's beautiful prose, which is poetic and luminous and vivid and requires a certain amount of focus. Once I was absorbed in the story and grew accustomed to her style, however, I read through the book rather quickly.
You get a sense of the historical combined with the magical right at the start. The Prologue gives a scene which reveals the cruelty of the revolution and of war in stark clarity, and without, it seems any magic. The Chapter that immediately follows flip-flops from the realism of the Prologue and launches into Marya's youth lit up with birds that become husbands and uses clear fairy tale tropes -- everything comes in threes, for example. By the second chapter the historical and magical are woven together, and I thought separating out those elements in the first few chapters was a clever set up into the story.
I love how this book unfolds. Fairy tale tropes are used skillfully throughout the book, as well as a clear sense of history and of Russian culture. What at first is horrifying appears beautiful from another angle. That which was once beautiful decays and fades away. Sometimes the line between beautiful and ugly, love and power, life and death, are blurred.
Without revealing any details, the ending took a little mental maneuvering to understand and work through, and I'm not sure I'm entirely clear on it. I'm still sitting here thinking about the ending, playing with the various possibilities of what it might mean. I'm sure some will find this very annoying. But Valente is a writer who trusts her readers to be smart enough to connect the dots and come to their own conclusions, which I respect. And rather than bothering me, it makes me want to read the book over again, so I can discover new connections and see how my perspective on this fantastic book will have transformed.
Show Less
LibraryThing member kaipakartik
Dazzling in places but near the end I just got tired of it. The first 200 pages were a gorgeous read. Absolutely spellbinding and amazing which I why I am rating it 3.5 despite not being able to finish the book.
I might come back someday to the end and wrap things up.
This is mostly the tale of
Catherynne Valente is as fine a writer that you are going to read in your life.
I might come back someday to the end and wrap things up.
This is mostly the tale of
Show More
Koschei the deathless told through Marya's eyes and the prose is brilliant.Catherynne Valente is as fine a writer that you are going to read in your life.
Show Less
LibraryThing member Scribble.Orca
Oh no! Hoist on my own petard. Goodreads, you need to get your act together and allow multiple recommenders, please!!!*
* Kris copped the cap for this one, but Helen did highlight it ages ago. The perils of impartiality.
LibraryThing member SChant
Disappointing. Inspired by Russian folk tales and might have been better at a folk-tale length - short story or novella. as it was, it seemed to meander on for a long time and I skimmed the last quarter. On the plus side, her imaginative turns of phrase kept me going.
LibraryThing member Goldengrove
I was drawn to this book by the beautiful cover, and the fact that Lev Grossman describes the author as 'the Ray Bradbury of her generation'. Ray Bradbury is a wonderful writer, and The Martian Chronicles one of the most beautifully poetic books I know. I simply had to buy it. At the desk in the
Deathless essentially tells the bloody and heartrending story of Russia in the early 20th century as if it were a Russian folk tale. Marya Morevna, a child in her family's house, looks out of the window and sees a bird fall from a tree. When it lands, it ibecomes a handsome young man who knocks at the door to ask for the hand of the girl at the window. Her mother, of course, introduces her eldest daughter, and they are married. This happens with the second bird, and the second daughter as well, but the third time Marya is distracted and does not see what manner of bird her suitor is. This is a big mistake. Marya's fate is Koschei, the Tsar of Life, and her own life will not be an easy one with him.
The tale of Marya and Koschei, and the endless war against his brother, the Tsar of Death, is full of sorrow, fierce love, and death. It is also the story of the fate of Russia facing injustice, war, death and starvation. I found it helpful to have some knowledge of the shape of Russian folk tales (if only via Old Peter's Russian Tales!), and their brave, clever heroines who outwit the malign forces that try to trip them up. Marya is one of these heroines, she endures and suffers, but she is not conquered.
The writing is a wonder, the concept thrilling. This is the best book I have read this year.
Show More
Oxfam Bookshop, Strutton Ground the young volunteer enthusiastically recommended it. We had a happy chat about Bradbury, and I went back to work with my new book. Deathless essentially tells the bloody and heartrending story of Russia in the early 20th century as if it were a Russian folk tale. Marya Morevna, a child in her family's house, looks out of the window and sees a bird fall from a tree. When it lands, it ibecomes a handsome young man who knocks at the door to ask for the hand of the girl at the window. Her mother, of course, introduces her eldest daughter, and they are married. This happens with the second bird, and the second daughter as well, but the third time Marya is distracted and does not see what manner of bird her suitor is. This is a big mistake. Marya's fate is Koschei, the Tsar of Life, and her own life will not be an easy one with him.
The tale of Marya and Koschei, and the endless war against his brother, the Tsar of Death, is full of sorrow, fierce love, and death. It is also the story of the fate of Russia facing injustice, war, death and starvation. I found it helpful to have some knowledge of the shape of Russian folk tales (if only via Old Peter's Russian Tales!), and their brave, clever heroines who outwit the malign forces that try to trip them up. Marya is one of these heroines, she endures and suffers, but she is not conquered.
The writing is a wonder, the concept thrilling. This is the best book I have read this year.
Show Less
LibraryThing member JeremyPreacher
I am stubborn and perverse and I hate it when an author everyone thinks I ought to like turns out to be fantastic. So I resent this book, because it is great.
Russian fairy tales explore the Russian revolution; it's not a concept I've come across before, and it works really well. This is a layered
I also particularly appreciated the relationships in the book. I've read far too many fairy-tale-based stories that are dreadfully heteronormative, patriarchal, and otherwise conservative, or else totally revolving around some inversion of one of those (make all heroines gay!) that it was really refreshing to see a relationship that involved not only open non-monogamy but some fascinating BDSM and power play, but was not solely about those things.
Looks like I'm going to have to make some room on my bookshelves. *grumble*
Russian fairy tales explore the Russian revolution; it's not a concept I've come across before, and it works really well. This is a layered
Show More
book, full of metaphors and gorgeous imagery and that fairy-tale thing where everything has three nearly identical parts and yet rather than being repetitive or obvious it just builds on itself. It's not a strongly plotted book - history is not particularly well-plotted - and you could never call the ending happy, but the journey is well worth it.I also particularly appreciated the relationships in the book. I've read far too many fairy-tale-based stories that are dreadfully heteronormative, patriarchal, and otherwise conservative, or else totally revolving around some inversion of one of those (make all heroines gay!) that it was really refreshing to see a relationship that involved not only open non-monogamy but some fascinating BDSM and power play, but was not solely about those things.
Looks like I'm going to have to make some room on my bookshelves. *grumble*
Show Less
LibraryThing member bookwormdreams
For quite some time I was planing to read something by Catherynne Valente. 'Deathless' was on a list of finalist Goodreads Choice Award of 2012 (genre fantasy) so I though to give it a try.
The book is heavily inspired from Russian and Slavic mythology and stories. I had a book of Russian fairy
I must admit it was refreshing, to not have the usual elements/creatures of fantasy novels but to explore something new.
The start was promising. I liked Valente's whimsical style of writing it was easy to read and added to the magical and mystical feeling of the book. The only thing that bothered me with her style were jumps in time. Sometimes the transition between chapters was not very smooth... But in total, very nice.
The book setting is Russia in the first half of the 20th century. Soviet union, Lenin, Communist party... I loved it how Valente implemented these elements and ideas into her mythical creatures & fantasy world. The house spirits have their committee, baba Yaga is now Comrade Yaga etc.
So why the two stars if everything is so good? Well, there were a lot of things in book that were hard for me to read or comprehend and ruined my enjoyment. The last 20% of book were almost torture to read but I determinedly read on because I hoped that the end will be worth it. Tough luck - it was not. :/
Some of the things that bothered me:
~ The idea of 'open' marriage - I cheat on you, you cheat on me and it is all ok.
~ BDSM scenes - Chains, whipping and torturing of loved ones is not my thing and it really felt weird reading about it in a book with fairy tale elements...
~ War, famine, death... - It got sadder and more depressing as the book progressed.
The book is heavily inspired from Russian and Slavic mythology and stories. I had a book of Russian fairy
Show More
tales as a child, so the elements borrowed from there were familiar to me. But Slavic mythology was a big unknown, I shamefully admit. (because Serbs are one of the Slavic tribes) Luckily I had Google to help me find out how those new unknown creatures looked like.I must admit it was refreshing, to not have the usual elements/creatures of fantasy novels but to explore something new.
The start was promising. I liked Valente's whimsical style of writing it was easy to read and added to the magical and mystical feeling of the book. The only thing that bothered me with her style were jumps in time. Sometimes the transition between chapters was not very smooth... But in total, very nice.
The book setting is Russia in the first half of the 20th century. Soviet union, Lenin, Communist party... I loved it how Valente implemented these elements and ideas into her mythical creatures & fantasy world. The house spirits have their committee, baba Yaga is now Comrade Yaga etc.
So why the two stars if everything is so good? Well, there were a lot of things in book that were hard for me to read or comprehend and ruined my enjoyment. The last 20% of book were almost torture to read but I determinedly read on because I hoped that the end will be worth it. Tough luck - it was not. :/
Some of the things that bothered me:
~ The idea of 'open' marriage - I cheat on you, you cheat on me and it is all ok.
~ BDSM scenes - Chains, whipping and torturing of loved ones is not my thing and it really felt weird reading about it in a book with fairy tale elements...
~ War, famine, death... - It got sadder and more depressing as the book progressed.
Show Less
LibraryThing member suzemo
I won this book through GoodRead's giveaways.
I wrote a rather long intensive review, but unfortunately goodreads ate it a few months ago.
I will go back and re-review it, but for now, know that it's a heart tearing great book that travels back and forth between the gritty Russian revolution and the
I have an extreme weakness for fairy tales in general and Russian folklore in particular, so this book was not just amazingly well written with Cat Valente's awesome prose, but also covered a subject I adore, and it was incredibly well done. Much love (and hopefully a better review later).
I wrote a rather long intensive review, but unfortunately goodreads ate it a few months ago.
I will go back and re-review it, but for now, know that it's a heart tearing great book that travels back and forth between the gritty Russian revolution and the
Show More
somewhat terrifying landscape of russian folk lore.I have an extreme weakness for fairy tales in general and Russian folklore in particular, so this book was not just amazingly well written with Cat Valente's awesome prose, but also covered a subject I adore, and it was incredibly well done. Much love (and hopefully a better review later).
Show Less
LibraryThing member Euryale
I love the voice and the imagery in this book! The language gave very good pictures of Marya's character and the world building, without slowing down the pacing. Now I'm inspired to (a) read more of Valente's work and (b) look up other versions of the folktales that she drew from.
LibraryThing member ashleynicole1030
Deathless is beautifully written, meticulously constructed and symbolically rich- yet, ultimately disappointing. While wonderfully crafted, the novel lacks heart. After 349 pages, the characters are still strangers, interesting to observe, but for whom the reader has no true connection. The
C
Show More
characters are flat, like those in a fairytale. Their wants, needs, and dreams are never revealed to the reader, and, despite the long time span covered by this book, no one ever changes or grows. The weak characters can almost be excused for the lovely prose and raw, earthy Russian setting, yet ultimately I just didn't like this book. C
Show Less
LibraryThing member -sunny-
I usually don't enjoy the stories of reworked or recombined fairytales all that much--often they feel somewhat contrived, like there's components shoved in just because they're supposed to be there. But here, though I did recognize quite a lot of characters and plots from various Russian fairytales
Show More
(as luck would have it, turns out that I'd just read a bunch of 'em, though I didn't realize on starting this book that it was based on folklore)--the story was still very much its own thing, the characters seeming to belong wholly to the world created in this book, rather than just a bunch of people thrown into a series of stitched-together scenes. Honestly, though it's always wonderful to feel that recognition when one comes upon a familiar detail or idea, I think this book would be equally enjoyable to someone who wasn't well-versed in fairy tales. This story has a life of its own. Show Less
LibraryThing member PaperCrystals
It's a fairy tale.
A dark, forbidding, old fairy tale.
Dangerous and enthralling and magical.
And wonderful.
A dark, forbidding, old fairy tale.
Dangerous and enthralling and magical.
And wonderful.
LibraryThing member kmaziarz
Young Marya Morevna has watched her sisters married off, each to a man from a different strata of Russian life. Awaiting her own husband, she is surprised when Koschei the Deathless, the mythical Tsar of Life, shows up at her door to take her away to his lands as his bride, asserting his power over
Author Valente seamlessly and fascinatingly blends 20th century Russian history with Russian folklore in her most recent novel. The details of the Siege of Leningrad are painstakingly researched and painfully depicted, as is the history of political turmoil which turned St. Petersburg into Stalingrad into Leningrad, dragging its citizens unwillingly along. Those unfamiliar with the rich tradition of Russian folklore will find much of interest here as well.
Show More
her at every step. At first repelled by the land of Koschei, in which everything is alive and fountains spout blood rather than water, she soon finds herself at home as its mistress. But in her need to prove herself to Koschei’s frightening sister, Baba Yaga, Marya inadvertantly overturns the balance between Koschei and his brother the Tsar of Death and must spend many years leading Koschei’s troops in the never-ending war between the two. When, finally sick of spirit, she allows herself to be seduced away from Koschei by a seemingly uncomplicated human man, Ivan, and returns to the human world, her problems are far from over. For she has returned to the city of her birth, now renamed Leningrad, in the midst of the worst of the famine and horror of Siege of Leningrad. She must struggle for her own life, the life of Ivan, and the lives of her friends. And when Koschei comes for her once more, the power balance between the two shifts alarmingly as Marya asserts her own control over her immortal lover and husband.Author Valente seamlessly and fascinatingly blends 20th century Russian history with Russian folklore in her most recent novel. The details of the Siege of Leningrad are painstakingly researched and painfully depicted, as is the history of political turmoil which turned St. Petersburg into Stalingrad into Leningrad, dragging its citizens unwillingly along. Those unfamiliar with the rich tradition of Russian folklore will find much of interest here as well.
Show Less
LibraryThing member beentsy
I started this book great guns and then for some reason I just stopped reading it. It languished on the end table, sad and neglected. Then last week I picked it back up and just ripped through the last 2/3 and it was amazing. Why on earth did I stop reading it?
This is a gorgeous, gorgeous book.
This is a gorgeous, gorgeous book.
Show More
Lush and so alive with stories and myths. I loved it. Show Less
LibraryThing member Citizenjoyce
Cory Doctorow has a little blurb on the front of the book that says "Deathless is beautiful." It is beautiful, so beautifully written that at times it is spellbinding. It is also so very Russian as to be almost incomprehensible to this American. Life is torment. Love is torment. Torment is part of
Show More
the beauty of it all. Whew. I was definitely born in the right country. That's too much for me. Show Less
Awards
Locus Award (Finalist — Fantasy Novel — 2012)
Mythopoeic Awards (Finalist — Adult Literature — 2012)
Otherwise Award (Long list — 2011)
Prix Elbakin.net (2014)
Locus Recommended Reading (2011)
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2011-03-29
Physical description
352 p.; 6.31 inches
ISBN
0765326310 / 9780765326317
Local notes
fiction