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avreliaI heard about that book soon after I finished Ombria in Shadow and was absolutely captivated by the image of Ombria, and the writing of PMK.
So when I've learned that a new book had some elements of Russian fairytales in it, I was very curious and slightly wary.
I learned to be wary of Russian fairytales in the western fantasy by that time. And so I want to combine the review of Serre with the more
general thoughts on the subject.
I've read (or skimmed through) several stories (in English) based on Russian folklore. Those that I remember are Firebird by Mercedes Lackey and Enchantment by Orson Scott Card and I didn’t like them. I thought whether I am nitpicking onto every story that uses Russian folklore, but then I realized that I am not wrong.
Also, there are two cool articles by Helen Pilinovsky Russian Fairytales and Baba Yaga, very recommended though I don't agree with them 100%, that helped me to get to my problem: when authors here are writing stories based on Russian folklore, they tend to explain to much, to tell, instead of showing. Maybe it is a fault to many folktale- retelling – to many explanations instead of the story that goes its course. When I read more re-telling I’ll write about it. But the Russian element adds another my pet peeves: when one writes about a specific setting I expect one to know enough about it not to make me cringe every page. I don’t expect to see an encyclopedia, and again, over explanation kills the story for me as well, but I want at least names of the characters to be believable, and the way they call each other.
Sorry, if it is nitpicking.
Baba Yaga doesn’t need an explanation in a Russian story, she is so much a part of a culture, a mass consciousness, that she just is. Of course, academic discourse is different – it demands some kind of explanation. I am a fan of Vladimir Propp myself (not that I read many more.) But when I see a detailed explanation of Baba Yaga in the story, it annoys me, and it kills the character. In my opinion, both Orson Scott Card and Mercedes Lackey give too many explanations, and too many details that don’t feel natural.
Patricia McKillip, on the contrary, does everything right.
She doesn’t rewrite a fairytale. She picks up elements, details and images from the fairytales that are familiar and dear to me, and curious for most other people, and weave her own story using it. We end up with a rich and fancy tapestry that belong only to PMK’s beautiful imagination and feeds the imagination of the readers. Her firebird is not the firebird of the Russian tales – and is the same firebird. Just like her firebird is Brume and is not. The picture doubles, and triples, and changes like in a kaleidoscope. Ronan is chasing death, Ronan is chasing firebird, Gyre is chasing firebird, Sidonie is looking for Brume, for Ronan’s heart, gyre is looking for the heart of Serre, but find his own, Euan follows the tale. Is he just recording the other’s tale or is he creating it? The images and thoughts and words are rearranging itself, and one moment you think you figured out everything, the next moment the sense has broken into tiny shards, and you are chasing the firebird deep in the forest.
We belong where our hearts belong.
I liked the characters a lot, especially Euan. For some reason he started a completely different story in my head. ;)
Also, I believe people need to read more fairytales beyond Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella. Fairytales are fun. Occasionaly quite gruesome fun. :)
So when I've learned that a new book had some elements of Russian fairytales in it, I was very curious and slightly wary.
I learned to be wary of Russian fairytales in the western fantasy by that time. And so I want to combine the review of Serre with the more
general thoughts on the subject.
I've read (or skimmed through) several stories (in English) based on Russian folklore. Those that I remember are Firebird by Mercedes Lackey and Enchantment by Orson Scott Card and I didn’t like them. I thought whether I am nitpicking onto every story that uses Russian folklore, but then I realized that I am not wrong.
Also, there are two cool articles by Helen Pilinovsky Russian Fairytales and Baba Yaga, very recommended though I don't agree with them 100%, that helped me to get to my problem: when authors here are writing stories based on Russian folklore, they tend to explain to much, to tell, instead of showing. Maybe it is a fault to many folktale- retelling – to many explanations instead of the story that goes its course. When I read more re-telling I’ll write about it. But the Russian element adds another my pet peeves: when one writes about a specific setting I expect one to know enough about it not to make me cringe every page. I don’t expect to see an encyclopedia, and again, over explanation kills the story for me as well, but I want at least names of the characters to be believable, and the way they call each other.
Sorry, if it is nitpicking.
Baba Yaga doesn’t need an explanation in a Russian story, she is so much a part of a culture, a mass consciousness, that she just is. Of course, academic discourse is different – it demands some kind of explanation. I am a fan of Vladimir Propp myself (not that I read many more.) But when I see a detailed explanation of Baba Yaga in the story, it annoys me, and it kills the character. In my opinion, both Orson Scott Card and Mercedes Lackey give too many explanations, and too many details that don’t feel natural.
Patricia McKillip, on the contrary, does everything right.
She doesn’t rewrite a fairytale. She picks up elements, details and images from the fairytales that are familiar and dear to me, and curious for most other people, and weave her own story using it. We end up with a rich and fancy tapestry that belong only to PMK’s beautiful imagination and feeds the imagination of the readers. Her firebird is not the firebird of the Russian tales – and is the same firebird. Just like her firebird is Brume and is not. The picture doubles, and triples, and changes like in a kaleidoscope. Ronan is chasing death, Ronan is chasing firebird, Gyre is chasing firebird, Sidonie is looking for Brume, for Ronan’s heart, gyre is looking for the heart of Serre, but find his own, Euan follows the tale. Is he just recording the other’s tale or is he creating it? The images and thoughts and words are rearranging itself, and one moment you think you figured out everything, the next moment the sense has broken into tiny shards, and you are chasing the firebird deep in the forest.
We belong where our hearts belong.
I liked the characters a lot, especially Euan. For some reason he started a completely different story in my head. ;)
Also, I believe people need to read more fairytales beyond Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella. Fairytales are fun. Occasionaly quite gruesome fun. :)
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Date: 2005-03-21 06:58 pm (UTC)Did you see the piece in the essay about how western writers tend to borrow the characters of the tales and use them for certain purposes?
Yes, I read this piece, and it is a perfectly valid practice. I, however, can't help but feel slightly proprietory: Oh no, they get Baba yaga all wrong! I seem to have got imprinted in my head a list of proper uses of some fairytale characters. ;)