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A review by nmkelsey
Vassa in the Night by Sarah Porter
5.0
Vassa in the Night is an urban-fantasy retelling of the Russian folktale Vasilisa the Beautiful. The tale is about a young woman, Vasilisa, who was given a little wooden doll by her mother on her deathbed. Her father remarries and Vasilisa becomes a slave to her stepmother and stepsisters.
One night while her father is away, the stepmother leaves all but one candle lit after giving the girls each a task to complete. The light eventually dies and the stepsisters urge Vasilisa to go to the hut of Baba Yaga to fetch more light, determined they can accomplish their tasks without it.
Baba Yaga is an imposing figure who lives in a hut on chicken legs in the woods surrounded by a fence of bones. One can assume they are from the victims who could not complete the tasks set before them by the witch and were eaten. Every day the hut is visited by three horsemen: a horseman in white, representing the day, a horseman in red, representing the sun, and a horseman in black, who brings the night.
She gives Vasilisa three tasks to complete in exchange for light with which to return home. With the help of her little wooden doll, Vasilisa performs each impossible task to perfection. Baba Yaga has no intention of allowing her to leave but Vasilisa escapes, returning home with a glowing-eyed skull from Yaga's gate. (There are variances; this particular telling I found at https://www.arvindguptatoys.com/arvindgupta/65r.pdf)
Porter takes this folktale and drops it within the confines of New York City, transforming the tale with an urban twist.
The hero of our tale, Vassa Lisa Lowenstein, true to the fairytale, lives with a stepmother, Iliana, who seems to loathe her existence, and two stepsisters, Chelsea and Stephanie. While her relationship with her sisters is not quite as volatile as in the folktale, there is still hostility between them.
One night, the lights go out and Stephanie dares Vassa to fetch more bulbs. So late at night, there is only one store open: BY's, a chain open 24/7, with a nasty reputation for beheading shoplifters and placing them as trophies on pikes surrounding the store that dances on the legs of a chicken. This particular location is run by an old woman by the name of Babs Yagg (our Baba Yaga). Babs catches Vassa 'stealing' and gives her three nights, one task a night, to prove she's as honest as she claims.
While this particular twist does not have a horseman, we do find the store to be guarded by a man in black on a motorcycle who, throughout the night, constantly rides around the perimeter of the locations. And there is much more to him than appears.
With the help of Erg, a magical doll given to Vassa by her mother on her deathbed, Vassa is able to complete the tasks and break free of Yagg's clutches.
Porter's spin on the tale is truly unique, and my comparison leaves many more intricacies to be discovered within the pages of the book. After reading Vasilisa the Beautiful, I was able to identify the similarities and differences throughout. It is dark, gruesome, but overall, captivating. I recommend diving into this world.
https://whiskeyandwonderlands.blogspot.com/
One night while her father is away, the stepmother leaves all but one candle lit after giving the girls each a task to complete. The light eventually dies and the stepsisters urge Vasilisa to go to the hut of Baba Yaga to fetch more light, determined they can accomplish their tasks without it.
Baba Yaga is an imposing figure who lives in a hut on chicken legs in the woods surrounded by a fence of bones. One can assume they are from the victims who could not complete the tasks set before them by the witch and were eaten. Every day the hut is visited by three horsemen: a horseman in white, representing the day, a horseman in red, representing the sun, and a horseman in black, who brings the night.
She gives Vasilisa three tasks to complete in exchange for light with which to return home. With the help of her little wooden doll, Vasilisa performs each impossible task to perfection. Baba Yaga has no intention of allowing her to leave but Vasilisa escapes, returning home with a glowing-eyed skull from Yaga's gate. (There are variances; this particular telling I found at https://www.arvindguptatoys.com/arvindgupta/65r.pdf)
Porter takes this folktale and drops it within the confines of New York City, transforming the tale with an urban twist.
The hero of our tale, Vassa Lisa Lowenstein, true to the fairytale, lives with a stepmother, Iliana, who seems to loathe her existence, and two stepsisters, Chelsea and Stephanie. While her relationship with her sisters is not quite as volatile as in the folktale, there is still hostility between them.
One night, the lights go out and Stephanie dares Vassa to fetch more bulbs. So late at night, there is only one store open: BY's, a chain open 24/7, with a nasty reputation for beheading shoplifters and placing them as trophies on pikes surrounding the store that dances on the legs of a chicken. This particular location is run by an old woman by the name of Babs Yagg (our Baba Yaga). Babs catches Vassa 'stealing' and gives her three nights, one task a night, to prove she's as honest as she claims.
While this particular twist does not have a horseman, we do find the store to be guarded by a man in black on a motorcycle who, throughout the night, constantly rides around the perimeter of the locations. And there is much more to him than appears.
With the help of Erg, a magical doll given to Vassa by her mother on her deathbed, Vassa is able to complete the tasks and break free of Yagg's clutches.
Porter's spin on the tale is truly unique, and my comparison leaves many more intricacies to be discovered within the pages of the book. After reading Vasilisa the Beautiful, I was able to identify the similarities and differences throughout. It is dark, gruesome, but overall, captivating. I recommend diving into this world.
https://whiskeyandwonderlands.blogspot.com/