(no subject)

[skygiants]

My first book of 2020 was Aster Glenn Gray's The Wolf and the Girl, a novella that combines several of my favorite elements: historical revolutionaries, early cinema history, and plucky young women cursed by evil magic who make the best of their situation by developing their own vaudeville acts!

Masha, the book's protagonist, is a nice Russian peasant lass living with her elderly and vaguely magical grandmother; Raisa, the deuteragonist, is Masha's school friend who ran off to join the anarchists! Unfortunately, as a result of some bad revolutionary decisions involving peer pressure and the devil, Raisa has returned home as a transformed wolf, with an evil sorceress in hot pursuit.

The first half of the book focuses on Raisa, Masha, and Masha's grandmother; the second is Raisa and Masha's adventures on the run. The silent cinema bits in the back half were especially fun for me because a.) I got the rec for The Girl From God's Country from the author and it was really enjoyable to see the bits that influenced and b.) I just really dig early cinema stuff!, but the whole novella is extremely charming -- and I've seen so, so, so many Red Riding Hood takes that are just About Sexuality, full stop, that it's so nice to be reminded that there are, in fact, other ways to take the story; going into the woods and coming of age can mean learning how to support your friends! or stand up to evil possibly-demonic sorceresses! or come into your own as a silent film ingenue!

Comments

[oracne]

That sounds really good.

[skygiants]

It was a delight! As with the author's Briarley and Beauty and the Beast, my favorite Little Red take I've read in a long time -- I really enjoy the way Aster Glenn Gray approaches fairy-tale plots and puts real people in them.

[lirazel]

Okay, well, you've convinced me.

[skygiants]

Aster Glenn Gray is an auto-purchase for me at this point and I haven't been disappointed yet!

as an aside

[brainwane]

BTW, in case you read anything very recently released, I hope you'll consider nominating for the Otherwise (formerly Tiptree) Award.

Re: as an aside

[skygiants]

I will! I feel like it's rare that I get around to things before half the internet has gotten there first, but that's a thing I'll keep in mind for sure. It's books published in the year of nomination, right?

[asakiyume]

Yay!! I loved this so much too. Also the word deuteragonist is great.

[skygiants]

Such a charming book, I was glad to see that you'd also written it up!

And it's such a useful word, and so pleasantly mellifluous. :D (Unlike 'tritagonist', which for whatever reason doesn't give me any particular joy as a term at all.)

[asakiyume]

Oh, I don't know--I think I could find a liking for tritagonist as well, but I agree it doesn't quite flow from the tongue in the same way.

I was rereading your review just now and really loving also what you said about the retelling not making the story all about sexuality. Your last sentence is a gem--this whole review is a gem.

[sophia_sol]

I read this book today and was immediately like, IF SKYGIANTS HASN'T READ THIS THEN SHE NEEDS TO so I'm glad to see you have and that you enjoyed it :)