September 2023 MBR The Folktale/Fairytale Shelf

The Folktale/Fairytale Shelf

Into the Forest
Lindy Ryan, Editor
Black Spot Books
www.blackspotbooks.com
9781645481232, $15.95 Paper/$5.99 ebook

https://www.amazon.com/Into-Forest-Tales-Baba-Yaga/dp/1645481239

Into the Forest: Tales of the Baba Yaga gathers new short writings inspired by the Slavic witch Baba Yaga fable, gathering works by award-winning authors and new voices. Readers might expect these stories to be steeped in horror (which they do receive), but one of the unexpected delights of this collection lies in not just its diverse takeoffs on the subject, but the disparate tones which each short story takes, from dark fantasy to folklore and reflections on women's powers and the ironies of their lives.

Take the opening "Dinner Plans with Baba Yaga" by Stephanie M. Wytovich. The poem is a dark study in ritual horror that captures subtle nuances in the Baba Yaga legend and figure, bringing them to life in unexpected ways: "You tell me to make a stew, to chop up the/onions, pull the radishes from the ground. I bite/my tongue, let my tears fall into the bowl, the salt/a sealant, a locked door boiling beneath the peas./I stir clockwise to summon you, imagine the rancid/perfume of your ghost."

"Last Tour Into the Hungering Moonlight" by Gwendolyn Kiste, in contrast, is an atmospheric study in ironic observations as the narrator, a 'tour guide', introduces readers to a strange community: "One home after another, we want to show them all to you. Our vaulted ceilings, our vaulted lives. This is our little pocket of paradise, you might say. After all, we have everything we could ever want. Our gleaming white walls as plain and straightforward as each new day in our lives. There's nothing out of the ordinary here, nothing calling to us from just beyond the property line."

The focus on the impact of living shielded lives next to a legend offers intriguing perspectives on the Baba Yaga folktale that are delightfully literary and analytical: "(They say her house in the deep, lonely woods is propped up on chicken legs and filled with a thousand bones. Late at night, we sometimes lie awake and wonder if those bones make her home stronger than ours. We also wonder if maybe we should find some bones of our own.)" Each piece offers a stunning new perspective on Baba Yaga's influence and legend. Each represents a powerful literary reflection that should not be missed by any with an interest in not just horror or this legend, but women's writings in particular.

Outstanding in its diversity and interpretations, Into the Forest: Tales of the Baba Yaga is very highly recommended not just for horror collections, but for libraries strong in women's literature, as well as for reader's book groups who would study the legend and realities of the Baba Yaga folktale as it journeys into the heart and soul of women's experiences and psychology.

Tales and Legends of the Devil
Claude & Corinne Lecouteux
Inner Traditions International, Ltd.
One Park Street, Rochester, VT 05767
www.innertraditions.com
9781644116852, $30.00, HC, 240pp

https://www.amazon.com/Tales-Legends-Devil-Guises-Shapeshifter/dp/1644116855

Synopsis: The devil has many more guises than the cliche red boogeyman named Lucifer or the Satan who haunts Christianity. In some traditions the devil is sinister and cunning, while others portray him as an oaf who can easily be conned and evaded by anyone with an ounce of cleverness. In other tales and legends, he is the primal shapeshifter, and the Roma, also known as the gypsies, claimed his talents of metamorphosis were so strong he could even assume the appearance of a priest.

Drawing on folk traditions from all over Europe, including Transylvanian Romania, Bulgaria, Albania, Switzerland, Italy, France, Scandinavia, Moravia, Bohemia, Lapland, and the Baltic countries, with the publication of "Tales and Legends of the Devil: The Many Guises of the Primal Shapeshifter", co-authors Claude and Corinne Lecouteux explore the many forms and abilities of the devil in stories, tales, and legends throughout the ages.

They trace the devil's shapeshifting powers back to their Vedic origins in ancient India and look at his connections with witches, storm magic, and other magical events. They examine the symbolic implications of the appearance of the devil in these tales, such as how he is often either limping or disfigured with the legs or feet of a goat or other animals traditionally linked to the lower powers or passions. They explain how the devil's limp or his goat-like feet reflect the prevalence in world mythology of the sacred nature of crippling injuries.

Peeling back the Christian veneer embedded in many tales and legends about the so-called Evil One, "Tales and Legends of the Devil" ultimately reveal how many of the qualities and magical powers attributed to the devil were once those belonging to pagan gods, like the Lithuanian thunder god Perkunas or the Titan Chronos, as well as to playful woodland spirits and the sometimes helpful, sometimes fearful fauns and satyrs of Greco-Roman mythology.

Critique: As fascinating as it is informative, "Tales and Legends of the Devil: The Many Guises of the Primal Shapeshifter" by Claude and Corinne Lecouteux is ably translated into English for an American readership by Jon E. Graham. A prized pick for personal, professional, community, and academic library Folklore, Mythology, and Metaphysical Studies collections, it should be noted that "Tales and Legends of the Devil" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $19.99).

Editorial Note #1: Claude Lecouteux is a professor emeritus of medieval literature and civilization at the Sorbonne. He is the author of numerous books on medieval beliefs and magic, including Tales of Witchcraft and Wonder. Corinne Lecouteux is a translator specializing in tales and legends. She is the coauthor with her husband, Claude, of Travels to the Otherworld and Other Fantastic Realms. The authors live in Paris.

Editorial Note #2: Jon E. Graham is an award-winning translator, artist, and writer specializing in esoteric topics and Surrealism.

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