Vassa in the Night

This book is Young Adult in that the heroine is a teenager, but Im an anything-but-young adult and I thought it was wonderfulas writing, as a character study, and as an invocation of magic.

The very beginning, Prelude in Night, shows how lyrical the writing can be: When Night looked down, it saw its own eyes staring back at it. Two big black eyes, both full of stars. Lyrical is not the writers only strong mode, however; she can do humor just as well. She does a particularly wonderful job of designing icky fantasy foods and other products to stock the magical convenience store in which most of the story takes place.

Her characters are also excellently developed, particularly Vassa, the teenage heroine, who matures in many ways in the course of the story. Other characters are also interesting, including Erg, Vassas talking-doll protectress; Vassas mother, who appears in memory/flashbacks; and Babs, the modern version of evil Russian witch Baba Yaga, who owns the convenience store chain. (The story is a contemporary retelling of a classic Russian fairy tale, Vasilissa the Beautiful.) The idea of Baba Yaga, complete with traditional chicken-footed house, in charge of a convenience store is fun enough to make me give the book at least four stars for that alone.

Finally, the book has a feeling for magic that is found only in the best fantasy authors, such as Neil Gaiman, Charles de Lint, and newer arrival C. S. E. Cooney (Bone Swans). They recognize that magic is not simply a matter of waving wands or reciting spells, but grows out of who you are and what (for better or worse) you are willing to let yourself become. Like those other authors, Porter does not merely adapt the form of a fairy tale for a modern audience; she gets at the soul of what fairy tales are really about.

Vassa in the Night starts off like a fairly straightforward tale of adolescent angst, and then takes some wildly fantastical turns, but Porter’s prose is so tight and imaginative, and her empathy for her 16yo protagonist’s feelings is so great, that it’s easy to roll with her as the plot grows increasingly (and genuinely) surprising. I’m easily put off by things seeming gratuitously grotesque (I close my eyes the minute someone mentions David Cronenberg, for example, and am not even remotely tempted to peek until I’m sure the nasty business is over); there’s some tough stuff here, but it all felt earned by the emotion of the story. A very enjoyable read.

A young adult novel lovingly based on the ancient Russian tale “Vassilissa the Beautiful” – but moved to contemporary working class Brooklyn.

Of course there is plenty of gritty (sometimes grim) fantasy and related action. With the help of a magic doll from her late mother, Vassa must withstand the machinations of the evil witch Baba Yaga, who runs a 24 hour convenience store and keeps Brooklyn in near-perpetual night.

This book makes suspenseful reading, but can also be understood as a modern retelling of a classic folk myth.

I was totally unprepared for the experience of reading this book. Its a different retelling of the Russian tale of Baba Yaga & Vasilisa that reads like a crazy, dark dream/nightmare/fairytale. Its so different from anything I think Ive ever read, and its almost like watching a movie – the descriptions are so vivid that I could see everything happening in my mind.

Honestly its one of the best things Ive read in recent memory, and so magical that it will stick with me for a good while. And while its technically YA, it doesnt follow the usual tropes.

Love love love this book!

As a child, one of my favorite fairy tale characters was Baba Yaga. So whenever I see that Baba Yaga is part of a story, I pick up a book. A lot of the times, I hurl the book away from me.

This book, I will hold close. It is interesting and unusual and sensitive to the Russian culture and to the Brooklyn one as well. And it is intelligent. And fun!

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