A significant number of the negative reviews (of which there are mercifully few) seem to center around the fact that this is, first and foremost, a very Russian story. From the get-go, the reader is immersed in a folk tale that reads like Dostoevsky eating a handful of mushrooms and crafting a medieval fable, and if that sounds amazing, that’s because it is. Unfortunately there is a vocal, hand-wringing subset of the population that seems to suppose that anyone who engages with unapologetically Russian content must surely be a vatnik. Ignore them and take this ride.
The “typos” in the book are intentional, they are a callback to the spelling one might see on an illuminated manuscript “fyre” instead of “fire,” etc. The way that the dialogue is peppered with modern phrases serves to further cement a sense of “otherness” or dreamlike quality to the story, as if we’re reading a prophetic narrative that moves in and out of time. Once you fall into the rhythm of the prose it becomes not only tolerable, but a downright pleasure to read.
Orthodox Christianity pervades the entire book, so if you are already acquainted with that faith system you’ll find it welcoming and familiar. Appreciators of St. Seraphim of Sarov and St. Xenia of Petersburg will recognize some parallels here. And if Orthodoxy is foreign to you, then this is as good a primer as you’re bound to find. It avoids being pedantic completely, and highlights the beauty (and sometimes absurdity) of Russian folk belief.
As a lifelong fan of Dostoevsky I’d been looking for something to scratch that itch after exhausting his oeuvre, and this novel succeeded in all fronts. A weird, lovely, rewarding journey indeed.
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Reviews with images
This book would be good without all the spelling errors
My book has a bunch of spelling errors in it. I know the translator Lisa Hayden has a Masters Degree in Russian translation from the University of Pennsylvania. I highly doubt the author and translator would make this many errors in their best selling International book. I'm giving them a five-star rating because I believe the Mandela Effect has made the spelling errors, not the author or the translator. I hope the author sees my review. I believe this book was affected by the Mandela Effect because the book speaks about God. I believe this book was proof-read by the author and the translator before going on the shelves.
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PortDal
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