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A review by apollinares
Vita Nostra by Sergey Dyachenko, Marina Dyachenko
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Oh my god, this book.
I can't explain it, or describe what I felt while reading it. At times, I grappled with it, both because I haven't read a book in my native language since 2017 (but I'm of the opinion that translations always, always pale in comparison to their originals, no matter how good, so here I am, picking it apart in Russian), and because my brain wouldn't cooperate with some of the concepts presented in it. But I loved every moment. I thought of this book when I wasn't reading it, and my dreams were full of it these past few weeks.
I will say, there is something about the Russian-language version that made it a much more engaging read for me. I got the humor; I related to the mundanity. I've experienced a summer in Crimea followed by an autumn in Moscow, and this familiarity, this connection - from the very start of the book - with Sasha's own life made me understand her as a protagonist a lot better than if I'd read it in English.
As an aside, it's nothing like Harry Potter - I don't know why it's marketed that way. If anything, the metamorphosis at the crux of the book would give transphobic Rowling an aneurysm.
I can't explain it, or describe what I felt while reading it. At times, I grappled with it, both because I haven't read a book in my native language since 2017 (but I'm of the opinion that translations always, always pale in comparison to their originals, no matter how good, so here I am, picking it apart in Russian), and because my brain wouldn't cooperate with some of the concepts presented in it. But I loved every moment. I thought of this book when I wasn't reading it, and my dreams were full of it these past few weeks.
I will say, there is something about the Russian-language version that made it a much more engaging read for me. I got the humor; I related to the mundanity. I've experienced a summer in Crimea followed by an autumn in Moscow, and this familiarity, this connection - from the very start of the book - with Sasha's own life made me understand her as a protagonist a lot better than if I'd read it in English.
As an aside, it's nothing like Harry Potter - I don't know why it's marketed that way. If anything, the metamorphosis at the crux of the book would give transphobic Rowling an aneurysm.