Skull and Pestle: New Tales of Baba Yaga

by Kate Wolford (Editor)

Other authorsAmanda Bergloff (Introduction)
Ebook, 2019

Status

Available

Call number

808.831

Tags

fantasy, short stories, e-book, witches, folklore

Genres

Collection

E-books

Publication

World Weaver Press (2019), 195 pages

Description

She can be the enemy of your nightmares or the spirit guide to your dreams. Her hair is wild and gray. Her teeth are made of iron, and she travels using a giant mortar and pestle and lives in a shack on chicken feet surrounded by a fence of skulls and bones. She is Baba Yaga, a crone who ruthlessly uses the needy and greedy for her own devices. And in this anthology of new stories starring Baba Yaga, she lands in some spectacular scenarios.A Jewish resistance fighter in World War II Poland must gain the help of Baba Yaga to vanquish three supernatural men and avenge the loss of her comrades. A young mother leaves her family to serve the witch in penance for committing a terrible wrong. One story delves into Baba Yaga's tragic origins, while another re-examines the classic tale of Vasilisa, following the young girl who comes to Baba Yaga for fire on her own journey from maiden to mother to crone. One tale transports the witch from the forests of Russia to the swamplands of the American South, expertly weaving together Slavic and African-American folklore, and another brings her right into the modern day, as a young boy goes looking for a witch to put a spell on a school bully and gets more than he bargained for.… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member flusteredduck
I recieved this book through LibraryThing's Early Reviewers.

This is an intriguing anthology of Baba Yaga stories. They start with takes on the traditional stories which are both beautifully told and also set the scene so the reader has a good idea of the mythos of Baba Yaga. They then branch out
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 into less traditional tellings which give an interesting slant on the legend of Baba Yaga. The idea of Baba Yaga as a specifically woman's myth is explored in fascinating ways with several stories following the progression through a woman's life from childhood to motherhood to cronehood. The various creation myths of Baba Yaga are especially good and I particularly appreciated the view of Baba Yaga as being reliable in that she always follows through with her promises and never resorts to trickery. The stories emphasise her "tough love" approach which is so much more realistic than most western European fairy tales and highlights how based she is in the probable real lives of women, even through the fantasy elements attached to her stories. I finished the anthology wanting to investigate her further and struck with how much more relatable she was than the Fairy Godmothers of the fairy tales which were the standard fare of my childhood. Anyone interested in fantasy, fairy tales and women's literature will find this a particularly absorbing anthology.
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LibraryThing member Griffin22
I didn’t know a lot about the folklore of Baba Yaga before reading this so it was instructive to peruse this collection, but the major flaw was that it seems there is only one story about her - told here over and over with a slight variety of backdrops. It got quite repetitive. The second story,
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 “A tale soon told” by Lisa Sloan was frustrating in that it hinted at an additional storyline but it skimmed over the essentials and none of the other contributions fleshed it out so I was left confused. My standouts were “Boy meets witch” by Rebecca A Coats and “Teeth” by Cordo Cook.
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LibraryThing member Leano
If you ever had an itch to know more about the witch, this series of stories will satisfy. Sometimes fairy tale characters are pretty one dimensional, but Baba Yaga is much richer than most. Rather than being purely evil (which she can be), she also honors her agreements with those who are brave
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 enough (or foolish enough) to seek her help. She sets unreasonable terms with horrific consequences, but she also rewards success; few questions asked. These stories provide various points of view as well as various times and cultures—the witch is everywhere. Fear her, hate her, understand her a little better, this volume will definitely flesh her out. The book is not exactly geared toward children, but it’s a good read for those who never outgrew fairytales.
Early Readers Review
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LibraryThing member Cfraser
Overall I enjoyed this collection of short stories. I always like reading reimaginings of old stories and fairy tales so from the start this was up my alley. Quick and easy to read and suitable for many age groups (although Baba Yaga is scary, I didn't find the stories so). At times I found some
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 bits a bit too repeative across the stories but don't let this put you off.
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LibraryThing member Anamcha
An easy and enjoyable collection of stories. Familiar or not with Baba Yaga, you are sure to be pleased at the different faces of this folktale star!
LibraryThing member UrbanAudreyE
These were great little stories of the Baba Yaga. I really enjoyed reading it. I especially enjoyed A Tale Soon Told and Teeth. This would appeal to anyone who enjoys fairy tales and folklore.

*I received a copy of this book for free. The review is my own, honest and unsolicited.

Language

English

Original language

English

Physical description

196 p.; 15.19 cm

ISBN

1732254621 / 9781732254626

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