The Language of Thorns
Diving deeper into Grishaverse folklore, Leigh Bardugo brought together a collection of fairy tales that would have been told to children from Ravka to Kerch and beyond in this spellbinding book, The Language of Thorns. The six fairy tales she created combine multiple legends, folk tales, myths, and fairy tales. Each is unique and brilliant and full of dangerous magic best told around the campfire with a warm drink in hand.
Before I dive into the stories themselves, I must marvel at the artwork on the book jacket and inside. Sara Kipin is an amazing illustrator. I love how she ended every story with a full-page illustration that combined the border she created on the previous pages. As each fairy tale progressed, it was fun to try to find what had been added or removed from the previous page’s border. It reminded me of books from my childhood.
Every fairy tale Bardugo wrote took elements of the fantastical and mixed them together with a touch of reality that made them uniquely hers. In the first story Ayama and the Thorn Wood, she combined the fairy tales Beauty and the Beast and Cinderella with the legend of the Minotaur. Instead of turning the beast into a human, she had Ayama decide to become a beast as well. It showed that ordinary people could be courageous and adventurous. It was a wonderful story full of twists and turns with an ending I didn’t see coming.
Of the six stories, it’s so hard to choose a favourite. Each tale had elements that I loved. They all inspired me in some way. If I had to choose, it would be When Water Sang Fire. This story took elements from The Little Mermaid and made it drastically darker. What I found most poignant about this story is the betrayal at the end. Ulla lost everything she loved – her best friend Signy, her dream of becoming a court singer – but she gained immense magical power that let her survive the betrayal of Signy and Prince Roffe. This story showed that even through the most painful losses, people could survive it and make a new life.
Don’t leave this book out of your Grishaverse repertoire! You will miss out on one of the best fairy tale anthologies I’ve read.
The Language of Thorns Rating: ★★★★★
Before I dive into the stories themselves, I must marvel at the artwork on the book jacket and inside. Sara Kipin is an amazing illustrator. I love how she ended every story with a full-page illustration that combined the border she created on the previous pages. As each fairy tale progressed, it was fun to try to find what had been added or removed from the previous page’s border. It reminded me of books from my childhood.
Every fairy tale Bardugo wrote took elements of the fantastical and mixed them together with a touch of reality that made them uniquely hers. In the first story Ayama and the Thorn Wood, she combined the fairy tales Beauty and the Beast and Cinderella with the legend of the Minotaur. Instead of turning the beast into a human, she had Ayama decide to become a beast as well. It showed that ordinary people could be courageous and adventurous. It was a wonderful story full of twists and turns with an ending I didn’t see coming.
Of the six stories, it’s so hard to choose a favourite. Each tale had elements that I loved. They all inspired me in some way. If I had to choose, it would be When Water Sang Fire. This story took elements from The Little Mermaid and made it drastically darker. What I found most poignant about this story is the betrayal at the end. Ulla lost everything she loved – her best friend Signy, her dream of becoming a court singer – but she gained immense magical power that let her survive the betrayal of Signy and Prince Roffe. This story showed that even through the most painful losses, people could survive it and make a new life.
Don’t leave this book out of your Grishaverse repertoire! You will miss out on one of the best fairy tale anthologies I’ve read.
The Language of Thorns Rating: ★★★★★