The Book: The Witch and The Tsar
The drink: Kvass (a drink made with fermented rye bread, we didn't actually drink this, though Olesya says it's delicious)
Best line: He will be the greatest ruler that Russia has ever seen. Or he will tear her apart.
Combining Russian folklore and history - Olesya's DEBUT novel is a a stunner. That's right - it's a debut! A feminist retelling of Baba Yaga - turning the witch into a sympathetic woman fighting for her country - makes for an ambitious and fascinating read. The brutal history of Ivan The Terrible is reflective of what we're seeing now in Russia. We talk about the beauty of inspiration, balancing folklore and magic with the hard facts of history and the pleasures and pains of editing vs. writing.
If you like historical fiction and/or fantasy novels - this one is for you!
In this stunning debut novel, the maligned and immortal witch of legend known as Baba Yaga will risk all to save her country and her people from Tsar Ivan the Terrible—and the dangerous gods who seek to drive the twisted hearts of men.
As a half-goddess possessing magic, Yaga is used to living on her own, her prior entanglements with mortals having led to heartbreak. She mostly keeps to her hut in the woods, where those in need of healing seek her out, even as they spread rumors about her supposed cruelty and wicked spells. But when her old friend Anastasia—now the wife of the tsar, and suffering from a mysterious illness—arrives in her forest desperate for her protection, Yaga realizes the fate of all of Russia is tied to Anastasia’s. Yaga must step out of the shadows to protect the land she loves.
As she travels to Moscow, Yaga witnesses a sixteenth century Russia on the brink of chaos. Tsar Ivan—soon to become Ivan the Terrible—grows more volatile and tyrannical by the day, and Yaga believes the tsaritsa is being poisoned by an unknown enemy. But what Yaga cannot know is that Ivan is being manipulated by powers far older and more fearsome than anyone can imagine.
Olesya Salnikova Gilmore weaves a rich tapestry of mythology and Russian history, reclaiming and reinventing the infamous Baba Yaga, and bringing to life a vibrant and tumultuous Russia, where old gods and new tyrants vie for power. This fierce and compelling novel draws from the timeless lore to create a heroine for the modern day, fighting to save her country and those she loves from oppression while also finding her true purpose as a goddess, a witch, and a woman.
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