https://fromtheheartofeurope.eu/baba-yaga-laid-an-egg-by-dubravka-ugresic/

This won the Tiptree Award in 2010, but is also of interest to me because I know Croatia a bit – we lived in Zagreb for several months in 1998, and I get back when I can.

It’s a novel in three parts. In the first, the (Croatian) narrator talks about her elderly (Bulgarian) mother in Zagreb, and visits Bulgaria; the second part, which occupies the middle two quarters of the book, is about three old Czech ladies at a spa, and the various people they interact with, including a Bosnian masseur; and a fictional anthropologist’s guide to the lore of Baba Yaga, the mythic Slavic crone who flies in various conveyances (often a mortar bowl) across the land.

The stories are engaging in themselves, and also very layered in folklore, with the last section explaining some of the roots of the first two. It’s very entertaining to see old themes reworked, and it works in part because the old folkoric themes are so powerful and tap us at a deep level, and in part because it is funny. The third section, an academic essay in form, ought not to work – I’ve seen other authors earnestly explaining the symbolism of their stories, usually very badly – but it does, I think because Ugrešić’s humour comes through as well.

I also found it interesting that Ugrešić has pulled together perspectives from several different Slavic traditions – Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech and Bosnian – and found threads unifying them. Certainly I had always thought of Baba Yaga purely in Russian terms, and it’s salient to be reminded that there are a lot of other places that share the old Slavic traditions in different ways.

It’s also quite short, another point in its favour. ( )

A fascinating format for a book-- Part 1 is a fictionalized memoir, Part 2 a short story written by the memoirist character, Part 3 a folkloric analysis of the first two parts by a minor character from the first. ( )

I'm still thinking about this. It goes from a flat sincere first person to an incredibly woven and self referential first person. Where can I sign up with the Babas? Totally good. ( )

This book is in three sections, each translated by someone different. The first part is the story of a middle-aged scholar taking care of, and reflecting on, her relationship with her dying mother, who is suffering from dementia. The last part of the story tells of a journey to the scholar's childhood village, with a young acolyte, Aba, tagging along. The scholar barely tolerates the young acolyte. But after the journey, the scholar's relationship with her mother seems to improve.

The second story is about three women of a certain age, one of them very much older, going for a vacation at a spa. This is the most interesting part of the book; I pictured something like Hotel Budapest without the satire. During the course of their visit, the ladies make friends with some of the hotel regulars and staff, and at one point a surprise visitor reveals something life-changing. The characterizations of the staff are memorable, and there is a surprise or two.

Then we come to the tedious third part of the book, which is the acolyte Aba analyzing the first two stories as they relate to the Baba Yaga myth. It's unbelievably boring. Why not just relate some of the tales of Baba Yaga, rather than this confusing and confounding exegesis of the folklore? There are expansive sections on the mythic characteristics and significance of: Baba Yaga, witches, the hut, the mortar and pestle, cannibalism, mother, sister, wife, the bath, feet and legs, claws, the nose, guys, dolls, comb and towel, broom and rubbish, and of course, the egg, the hen's god, birds, and old age. This section, running more than 100 pages is followed by 40 pages of footnotes! When I'm reading fiction, I'm not interested in reading an academic treatise.
At the end, in writing to the supposed editor, Aba even admits the tedium: “In some places you sighed with boredom, in others you yawned, in others again your forehead creased in a frown. You had fiendish folklore coming out of your ears. You were given an overdose, I know. ” But according to her, it's all in the service of encouraging feminist power: “Sooner or later, the time will come. So let us imagine women (that hardly negligible half of humankind, after all), those Baba Yagas, plucking the swords from beneath their heads and sallying forth to settle the accounts?! For every smack in the face, every rape, every affront, every hurt, every drop of spittle on their faces. ”

Let's just say I'm all for Aba's feminist rage, but there's a problem with the means of expression. This book is one of the Canongate series of myths reworked by contemporary writers. Alongside Atwood and Winterson, this effort does not stand up. ( )

"Our whole life is a search for love... Our search is frustrated by numerous snares that lie in wait for us on our journey. One of the most dangerous snares is time. We need only be one second late and we will have lost our chance of happiness."

A tedious read. Maybe a little too meta for its own good??

In my opinion, the journey would've been more enjoyable had the story been restructured as Aba's manuscript review (manuscript being Parts 1 and 2) with Aba's "Remarks" worked in throughout the "manuscript," with only numbered references to Aba's 'Baba Yaga For Beginners' aka a glossary of sorts or Notes at the end, rather than in or as part of the main story. As-is, Part 3, which runs from pages 235-327, well, Aba (who is really Ugresic after all) puts it best:

"I'm sure you won't mind admitting that there was too much of everything. In fact, you were afraid at one point that I would never stop. In some places you sighed with boredom... You were given an overdose, I know..."

The only thing I enjoyed about Part 3 was the section titled "And Here, My Friend, Comes The Story's End," in which we get a feminist rally cry.