Status
Available
Call number
Genres
Collection
Publication
Orbit (2018), 464 pages
Description
Fantasy. Fiction. Mythology. Historical Fiction. HTML:Captivating and boldly imaginative, with a tale of sisterhood at its heart, Rena Rossner's debut fantasy invites you to enter a world filled with magic, folklore, and the dangers of the woods. *Publishers Weekly: Best Book of 2018: SF/Fantasy/Horror *BookPage: Best Book of 2018: Science Fiction & Fantasy "With luscious and hypnotic prose, Rena Rossner tells a gripping, powerful story of family, sisterhood, and two young women trying to find their way in the world." �?? Madeline Miller, bestselling author of Circe In a remote village surrounded by vast 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 �?? despite their mother's warning to be wary of strangers. And this is not the only danger lurking in the woods. As dark forces close in on their village, Liba and Laya discover a family secret passed down through generations. Faced with a magical heritage they never knew existed, the sisters realize the old fairy tales are true. . .and could save them all. Discover a magical tale of secrets, heritage, and fairy tales weaving through history that will enchant readers of The Bear and the Nightingale, Uprooted and The Golem and the Jinni. Praise for The Sisters of the Winter Wood: "Intricately crafted, gorgeously rendered. . .full of heart, history, and enchantment." �??Publishers Weekly (starred review) "A richly detailed story of Jewish identity and sisterhood. . . Ambitious and surprising." �??Kirkus For more from Rena Rossner, check out The Light of the Midnight Sta… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member lauriebrown54
Another modern telling of old fairy tales and more; here’s Christina Rosseti’s Goblin Market, Leda and the Swan, Russian folklore, and I suspect more. The author gives us duel POVs: Liba, almost 18, tells her tale in prose, is dark haired and considers herself fat; and Laya, 15, so blond
In Dubossary, the town they live near, their father was accepted right off by the Jews of the shtetl, but their mother never has been because she refuses to cover her hair –they claim they reject her because her kitchen is not kosher (it is) but they buy her baked goods; would they really do that if they thought her kitchen wasn’t kosher? Or perhaps I missed something and she was selling just to the goyim. Conversely, their parents don’t think a boy like Dovid, who is sweet, intelligent, and hardworking isn’t good enough for Liba because his father is the butcher! Ah, the barriers people build up between themselves.
Liba and Laya’s parents have secrets, but they don’t have time to explain everything before they go. The girls are on their own. They know how to take care of the animals and do the baking and cooking, but they are teenagers with no one to advise them on how to deal with things like the clan of newcomers to the market. These newcomers are good looking, and have luscious ripe fruits for sale- even though it’s winter. They have a hypnotic effect on Laya and other village girls. To add to their personal problems (like fear of turning into a bear), people in the village are being killed. Is it a bear? It’s been a long time since there’s been one around. Or is it the Jews? Are they using the blood of the victims to make Passover matzoh? Will there be a move to remove the Jews of the village-a pogrom similar to others in Russia? Who are the strange men looking for Liba and Laya’s father?
There is a lot of running about and searching for Laya, who tends to go missing. Things get off to kind of a slow start, but pick up by the middle. There is a lot of not knowing who to trust, and Liba has a problem with asking for help. There is a lot of Yiddish, Ukrainian, and Hebrew words used. Most of them are obvious as to what they mean; for others, there is a glossary in the back. I enjoyed their use; the book is told in the first persons, so it makes sense they would think/write using those words. It added depth to the novel for me. There is rather more romance in the novel than I expected, but in Liba’s case it doesn’t over power her story. Laya is a different matter.. but there are good reasons for that. I very much enjoyed the book and hated to put it down. It’s coming of age and romance and magic. I see it’s aimed at the adult market, but it did seem more like a Young Adult story. Five stars.
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she’s almost white haired, very slim and beautiful, and writes her parts in poetry. When word comes that their father’s father is on his deathbed, their parents must leave at once, walking through the wintry landscape. Liba and Laya stay to tend to the animals. They live in the woods, where the people of the village do not dare go. In Dubossary, the town they live near, their father was accepted right off by the Jews of the shtetl, but their mother never has been because she refuses to cover her hair –they claim they reject her because her kitchen is not kosher (it is) but they buy her baked goods; would they really do that if they thought her kitchen wasn’t kosher? Or perhaps I missed something and she was selling just to the goyim. Conversely, their parents don’t think a boy like Dovid, who is sweet, intelligent, and hardworking isn’t good enough for Liba because his father is the butcher! Ah, the barriers people build up between themselves.
Liba and Laya’s parents have secrets, but they don’t have time to explain everything before they go. The girls are on their own. They know how to take care of the animals and do the baking and cooking, but they are teenagers with no one to advise them on how to deal with things like the clan of newcomers to the market. These newcomers are good looking, and have luscious ripe fruits for sale- even though it’s winter. They have a hypnotic effect on Laya and other village girls. To add to their personal problems (like fear of turning into a bear), people in the village are being killed. Is it a bear? It’s been a long time since there’s been one around. Or is it the Jews? Are they using the blood of the victims to make Passover matzoh? Will there be a move to remove the Jews of the village-a pogrom similar to others in Russia? Who are the strange men looking for Liba and Laya’s father?
There is a lot of running about and searching for Laya, who tends to go missing. Things get off to kind of a slow start, but pick up by the middle. There is a lot of not knowing who to trust, and Liba has a problem with asking for help. There is a lot of Yiddish, Ukrainian, and Hebrew words used. Most of them are obvious as to what they mean; for others, there is a glossary in the back. I enjoyed their use; the book is told in the first persons, so it makes sense they would think/write using those words. It added depth to the novel for me. There is rather more romance in the novel than I expected, but in Liba’s case it doesn’t over power her story. Laya is a different matter.. but there are good reasons for that. I very much enjoyed the book and hated to put it down. It’s coming of age and romance and magic. I see it’s aimed at the adult market, but it did seem more like a Young Adult story. Five stars.
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LibraryThing member macygma
One of the best books I’ve reads in months is The Sisters of the Winter Wood, a debut novel by Rena Rossner. Stories of Jewish myths – maybe – are interspersed with a family in crisis and others who try to help.
The two sisters, Liba and Laya, are the children of a very religious man and the
The sisters are polar opposites. One sturdy and religious and dependable, the other…..well…she just isn’t and there the problems arise. Can Liba keep her sister, their home and village in control until her parents until her parents return? Did I mention there are bears, swans and goblins included???
A book I could not put down and while Jewish customs and traditions may not interest you, the whole story is dynamite! A great read for several evenings and cozy mornings.
The two sisters, Liba and Laya, are the children of a very religious man and the
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wife he left his family for. Circumstances cause them to leave the girls and go to the village of his father who is dying. Liba is told to watch out for her younger sister, not letting her leave with anyone who may come for her. Lava has other plans.The sisters are polar opposites. One sturdy and religious and dependable, the other…..well…she just isn’t and there the problems arise. Can Liba keep her sister, their home and village in control until her parents until her parents return? Did I mention there are bears, swans and goblins included???
A book I could not put down and while Jewish customs and traditions may not interest you, the whole story is dynamite! A great read for several evenings and cozy mornings.
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LibraryThing member LilyRoseShadowlyn
Excellent thought provoking tale that delves deep into the fairy tales of youth. With two distinct narrators, the difference and similarities between the sisters are highlighted in a lyrical way. A must read for fable lovers.
LibraryThing member raizel
The book is well-written, but felt a bit long. I liked concept of alternate chapters told by the two sisters, one in poetry and the other in prose. As the author explains at the end of the book, there are lots of references to the folklore and literature of many times and places. The story is a
My major concern about the book is explaining away pogroms by blaming them on magical beings: people were not tricked by goblins into murdering Jews; as the author's note explains, people were responsible for the atrocities.
I read "Goblin Market" on Project Gutenberg after reading the book and I checked out what Wikipedia had to say about it. According to its article, Rossetti's use of goblins might be anti-Semitic; Women's Poetry and Religion in Victorian England: Jewish Identity and Christian Culture by Cynthia Scheinberg is referenced for this suggestion.
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close retelling of Christina Rossetti's poem, "Goblin Market," but with shapeshifting, Jewish sisters in Eastern Europe in 1903. The glossary at the end---it would have been nice to know it existed while I read the story---contains the meaning of the Hebrew, Yiddish, and Ukrainian words and expressions used.My major concern about the book is explaining away pogroms by blaming them on magical beings: people were not tricked by goblins into murdering Jews; as the author's note explains, people were responsible for the atrocities.
I read "Goblin Market" on Project Gutenberg after reading the book and I checked out what Wikipedia had to say about it. According to its article, Rossetti's use of goblins might be anti-Semitic; Women's Poetry and Religion in Victorian England: Jewish Identity and Christian Culture by Cynthia Scheinberg is referenced for this suggestion.
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LibraryThing member LisCarey
Liba and Laya are two Jewish girls living in a small town in Ukraine, in the early 20th century. They are starting to hear alarming stories about dangers to Jews out in the larger world, but they feel safe in their town, secure in the knowledge that both Jews and non-Jews are decent people in their
Then Liba discovers that her father, her beloved Tati, can transform into a bear, and her Mami into a swan. And, also, that she is likely going to be able to transform into a bear.
Unfortunately, that's on the same night that a stranger shows up at their cottage in the woods, with the news that Tati's father is dying, and that Tati, his heir, needs to return immediately. The parents take a couple of days to make a decision, but then they go, leaving the girls behind, and telling Liba to protect Laya.
Before leaving, their Mami has separately told each of the girls more about her swan heritage, Laya's likely ability to become a swan, and a more painful family secret. She pledges each of them to secrecy; she asks Liba, the elder and beginning to show her bear heritage, to protect Liba, and to ensure, if the swans arrive, that Laya is allowed to make her own choice about whether to go with them, or not.
With their parents gone for an unknown length of time, Liba struggles to protect her sister, in ways that Laya doesn't necessarily agree with, or agree that she has the right to. They're less than three years apart in age, and both of an age that, if their father weren't so protective, they might already r been married. A rather strange group of fruit sellers has moved into the town, or rather, into the woods right outside it, and one of these young men has charmed Laya. Liba is appalled; these men are not Jews, and in fact she hears them saying shockingly antisemitic things at the market, and encouraging nasty rumors. Their Tati would never approve such a match.
But in the meantime, Liba has become attracted to Dovid, the son of the local kosher butcher, who isn't kosher enough for Tati. Dovid is kind, generous, and his family is kind and supportive--to Liba, and to Laya to the extent that she will allow it.
And Liba and Laya both know that Tati would not approve that match, either.
Not to mention, Liba is increasingly partially transforming into a bear, and knows she will complete the transformation at some point. How can she keep this from Dovid? But if she doesn't, how can he love a beast? She keeps decidiing to end it, but she can't follow through.
Meanwhile, dark forces are closing in on the sisters, and on the town. The strange fruit sellers are only the first and most obvious of those threats, and news of pogroms are starting to reach the town, and heighten the tension between Jews and non-Jews.
When the growing danger forces each of the sisters to make choices based on partial information they don't completely understand, and communication and trust starts to break down between them, the town itself explodes in potentially deadly conflict.
I really loved this story. Strongly recommended.
I bought this audiobook.
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town.Then Liba discovers that her father, her beloved Tati, can transform into a bear, and her Mami into a swan. And, also, that she is likely going to be able to transform into a bear.
Unfortunately, that's on the same night that a stranger shows up at their cottage in the woods, with the news that Tati's father is dying, and that Tati, his heir, needs to return immediately. The parents take a couple of days to make a decision, but then they go, leaving the girls behind, and telling Liba to protect Laya.
Before leaving, their Mami has separately told each of the girls more about her swan heritage, Laya's likely ability to become a swan, and a more painful family secret. She pledges each of them to secrecy; she asks Liba, the elder and beginning to show her bear heritage, to protect Liba, and to ensure, if the swans arrive, that Laya is allowed to make her own choice about whether to go with them, or not.
With their parents gone for an unknown length of time, Liba struggles to protect her sister, in ways that Laya doesn't necessarily agree with, or agree that she has the right to. They're less than three years apart in age, and both of an age that, if their father weren't so protective, they might already r been married. A rather strange group of fruit sellers has moved into the town, or rather, into the woods right outside it, and one of these young men has charmed Laya. Liba is appalled; these men are not Jews, and in fact she hears them saying shockingly antisemitic things at the market, and encouraging nasty rumors. Their Tati would never approve such a match.
But in the meantime, Liba has become attracted to Dovid, the son of the local kosher butcher, who isn't kosher enough for Tati. Dovid is kind, generous, and his family is kind and supportive--to Liba, and to Laya to the extent that she will allow it.
And Liba and Laya both know that Tati would not approve that match, either.
Not to mention, Liba is increasingly partially transforming into a bear, and knows she will complete the transformation at some point. How can she keep this from Dovid? But if she doesn't, how can he love a beast? She keeps decidiing to end it, but she can't follow through.
Meanwhile, dark forces are closing in on the sisters, and on the town. The strange fruit sellers are only the first and most obvious of those threats, and news of pogroms are starting to reach the town, and heighten the tension between Jews and non-Jews.
When the growing danger forces each of the sisters to make choices based on partial information they don't completely understand, and communication and trust starts to break down between them, the town itself explodes in potentially deadly conflict.
I really loved this story. Strongly recommended.
I bought this audiobook.
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LibraryThing member whatsmacksaid
I really enjoyed the worldbuilding and how it begins with a tone similar to a traditional fairy tale’s, but as the story progressed that tone jarred against the contemporary dialogue. The characters made increasingly bad decisions, too, which just irritated me. By the end, I was very glad it was
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over and I could move on to something else. Show Less
LibraryThing member bibliovermis
This was a good fairytale-, folklore-, and religious-mythology-infused story about sisters, marriage, and magic. I enjoyed the references to Christina Rossetti's Goblin Market.
LibraryThing member jennybeast
I've been trying to read this book for years -- because hey, fairy tales, transformations, Goblin Market -- lots of things in here that generally appeal to me. Oh. and also historical fiction centered on eastern European Judaism -- also a fascinating topic. I finally tried the audio book, and,
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well. I think there are a lot of cool themes to this book and I am not the audience for it. Too much introspection, self criticism, repetition. Just did not flow fast enough to keep my interest, despite all of the amazing things on view. Show Less
Awards
Compton Crook Award (Nominee — 2019)
Chesley Award (Nominee — 2019)
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2018-09
Physical description
464 p.
ISBN
035651143X / 9780356511436
Local notes
Raised in a small village surrounded by vast forests, Liba and Laya have lived a peaceful sheltered life - even if they've heard of troubling times for Jews elsewhere. When their parents travel to visit their dying grandfather, the sisters are left behind in their home in the woods. But before they leave, Liba discovers the secret that their Tati can transform into a bear, and their Mami into a swan. Perhaps, Liba realizes, the old fairy tales are true. But a troupe of mysterious men appear in town and Laya falls under their spell.
Signed & Numbered, Limited Edition (250 copies), yellow sprayed edges.
Signed & Numbered, Limited Edition (250 copies), yellow sprayed edges.