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Baba Yaga Laid an Egg
Baba Yaga Laid an Egg | Dubravka Ugresic
20 posts | 5 read | 33 to read
According to Slavic myth, Baba Yaga is a witch who lives in a house built on chicken legs and kidnaps small children. InBaba Yaga Laid an Egg, internationally acclaimed writer Dubravka Ugresic takes the timeless legend and spins it into a fresh and distinctly modern tale of femininity, aging, identity, and love. With barbed wisdom and razor-sharp wit, Ugresic weaves together the stories of four women in contemporary Eastern Europe: a writer who grants her dying mothers final wish by traveling to her hometown in Bulgaria, an elderly woman who wakes up every day hoping to die, a buxom blonde hospital worker whos given up on love, and a serial widow who harbors a secret talent for writing. Through the womens fears and desires, and their struggles against invisibility, Ugresic presents a brilliantly postmodern retelling of an ancient myth that is infused with humanity and the joy of storytelling.
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monalyisha
Baba Yaga Laid an Egg | Dubravka Ugresic
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Holy hell, @HufflepuffGirl90 💀!
How did you fit all this in one box? Not only are you a great gift-giver, you‘re an EXCELLENT packer!

I‘ve already started dog-earing pages of “Practical Candleburning Rituals” for the days ahead. Definitely planning to “Bring Pressure to Bear Upon an Enemy” before Tuesday. The subsequent spells, “To Protect Against Evil” & “To Soothe & Quiet the Nerves” should pair nicely. Thanks for ALL of the books & goodies!

monalyisha Happy Halloween & Blessed Samhain to all involved in the #BasicWitchSwap (& beyond) — especially @HufflepuffGirl90 @Meaw_catlady & @sprainedbrain ✨🔮! Hope you have a magical night! 🖤 3y
hermyknee 🙌 Wow! What a great gift. I love looking at all of the swap packages 📦 3y
Meaw_catlady Magical!!!!!! Blessed Samhain lovely ! 🖤🌙✨ 3y
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sprainedbrain What an awesome collection of gifts! Blessed be! ❤ 3y
sprainedbrain also... what are the odds you could share those election-appropriate rituals? 😉 Adding that book to my wish list for next year! 3y
monalyisha @sprainedbrain You got it! The way the book is split up, each ritual exists in duplicate; one is written according to the “Old Religion” & the double is a “Christian” version. I was definitely planning to perform the one meant for an “enemy” using the Christian set-up. I thought it‘d be apt to use his “own” religion (🙄) against him. But I‘m down to share whatever! 3y
HufflepuffGirl90 I‘m so glad you liked everything! It was so much fun shopping for you! I hope you have a magical and safe All Hallows Eve, Blessed Samhain 💜🖤🧡 3y
SamAnne Ooh yes, an election night candle ritual! 3y
64 likes8 comments
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flying_monkeys
Baba Yaga Laid an Egg | Dubravka Ugresic
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A footnote from Part 3 in which we get the scholar‘s (Aba from Part 1 and Part 3) analysis of the “manuscript” author‘s choice of title.

I wish I would‘ve snapped pic where the scholar herself remarks on the overshare of information; she even mentions the editor (who is really the reader) being bored by the info dump. 🤣😩🙃

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flying_monkeys
Baba Yaga Laid an Egg | Dubravka Ugresic
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One of the only passages I bookmarked in Baba Yaga Laid an Egg:

“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.“

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flying_monkeys
Baba Yaga Laid an Egg | Dubravka Ugresic
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This was a tedious read. I think mostly because of how it was structured. That Part 3, wooboy! I had to slog my way through it to arrive at a fun last coupla pages. I also enjoyed the older women characters, but again, too much work for my current mindset. Maybe if I wasn't already familiar with the Baba Yaga myth it wouldn't have felt like so much info dump??

#WomenInTranslation #Myths

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PagesByTheWater
Baba Yaga Laid an Egg | Dubravka Ugresic
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✨I love the legend of Persephone, The Little Mermaid, and Echo
✨La llorona and El Cuco. I do not f*ck with ghosts or demons.
✨Chupacabra. As a kid I feared the very name, now I realize they‘re just poor wild dogs with mange.
✨Thor!
✨Ancient Egypt
✨Tagged! Read a fairytale about Baba Yaga as a kid and this looks interesting!
#mythsandlegendsswap #mythsandlegends

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monalyisha
Baba Yaga Laid an Egg | Dubravka Ugresic
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It‘s time to put Baby in the corner. And by that, I mean that my ancient 2003 Buick LeSabre, “Baby the LeSaby”, is about to retire. She won‘t be carrying any more watermelons & she won‘t be transporting me to & from my destinations any longer.

Tomorrow, I pick up my new Toyota Yaris. Help me choose a name! I‘ve traditionally gone the alliterative route: my Volvo was Vlad; my Impala, Indy. I‘m thinking Yaga Yaris but I have reservations...👇🏻

monalyisha 1/2: I love the witchy/folkloric association, & I love the way EVERYTHING travels in her tale (houses on chicken legs, zooming through the air in a mortar & pestle). I also read that “Yaga” could be the diminutive form of Hedwig, which... hey, double literary points! (plus the Yaris is white, like Hedwig). BUT... I‘ve also read that “Yaga” could mean “disease”, “worry”, “abuse”, & “pain”.... which I do NOT want to curse myself & my car with! 5y
monalyisha 2/2: Thoughts on Yaga Yaris? Alternative suggestions? Help me name my new babe! ✌🏻😘🚗 5y
Pruzy Yoko Yaris? 5y
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alisiakae I love Yaga Yaris! I like Yogi Yaris too. I drive a Ford C-Max named Frankie. And we also have Tommy Tesla. 😃 5y
monalyisha @Pruzy Ha! That‘s actually one of my bff‘s cats (the other is Henry, after Thoreau). 😺 5y
monalyisha @4thhouseontheleft Oh, Yogi. I do like picnics. 😆🐻🥪 (edited) 5y
REPollock Yolanda! 5y
LibrarianRyan Yogi (As in bear), Yaris Yoda 5y
67 likes8 comments
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Lcsmcat
Baba Yaga Laid an Egg (Main) | Dubravka Ugresic
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I love the Hut of Baba Yaga movement of Mussorgsky‘s Pictures at an Exhibition, so I might need to read this book set in #Croatia. #Augustisatrip @vkois88 @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks 👍🏻👍🏻 6y
59 likes1 comment
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Kalalalatja
Baba Yaga Laid an Egg (Main) | Dubravka Ugresic
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Mehso-so

I‘m in two minds. I loved the themes Ugrešic explores in her novel, especially the theme of (old) women‘s bodies was so interesting. The writing was exciting and different. But the last part of the book threw me off, and it got too intellectual about the origin of the myth of Baba Yaga. I just lost the connection to the story a bit. Although the last 5 pages were 🔥🔥🔥

It wasn‘t what I‘d expected, and I don‘t know if the book is or I‘m to blame.

UrsulaMonarch Interesting! Sounds intriguing enough to be stacked! 😄 6y
Kalalalatja @Lkelly I know @Moray_Reads really loved it, and her review does a much better job at selling it than mine 😄 6y
Moray_Reads @Kalalalatja the last part is an unexpected shift. I love things like that but I know it's not for everyone 6y
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UrsulaMonarch @Kalalalatja thanks! Would love to read the review but am not seeing it come up when I tap the book... @Moray_Reads , do you know if you reviewed a different version or anything? Thanks! ☺️ 6y
Kalalalatja @Moray_Reads it just went on for too long. At first I were really into it, but it was too thorough a walk through for my taste 😄 @Lkelly there are two versions on Litsy, I have the one with (Main) in the end 6y
Moray_Reads @Lkelly it took me a minute to find it too. If you search for the title I reviewed the first one that comes up, the one that doesn't have (Main) after it 6y
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Kalalalatja
Baba Yaga Laid an Egg (Main) | Dubravka Ugresic
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Another day, another book, another cake 👌

#currentlyreading

Blaire This has been on my tbr. Interested to hear your thoughts. 6y
Heideschrampf Interesting! There used to be an old animated kids show about baba yaga, it would be nice to catch up with her 6y
LeahBergen Mmmm.... 6y
Kalalalatja @Blaire I will be sure to post a review when I finish. So far, so good 👍 @Heideschrampf this is a retelling, and it is definitely less magical and fantastical than the original. It is realistic and critical of society, of how we view women, women‘s age and women‘s bodies. And it is really interesting so far! 6y
Kalalalatja @LeahBergen it was definitely a mmmm moment 🤤 6y
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Kalalalatja
Baba Yaga Laid an Egg (Main) | Dubravka Ugresic
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Finally getting to this #blameitonLitsy buy. @Moray_Reads ‘s recommendation had me running to The BookDepository website so I could have this in my grabby little hands as soon as possible. That is two months ago now, but the mood has finally hit me! 👍

#currentlyreading

Tamra Sounds really odd, in an intriguing way. I‘d never heard of this myth before. Anxious for your review! 6y
Moray_Reads Hope you enjoy 🙏🤞 6y
rubyslippersreads Great cover! 🐔🥚 6y
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Kalalalatja @Tamra I love the myth of Baba Yaga, but this retelling is really something else. So far, it doesn‘t have any fantastical or magical elements, which makes it a bit harder to see the relation to the original myth. But I‘m sure you could enjoy it, even without knowing anything about Baba Yaga 6y
Kalalalatja @Moray_Reads so far (100 pages), I‘m really into it! But I can‘t put my finger on why 😄 the writing is great, but it is really different from what I expected, in a good way! 6y
Kalalalatja @rubyslippersreads I really like it too 👍 6y
batsy I read her book of essays and loved her style. I have this one but haven't gotten to it yet! 6y
batsy To clarify, I have Baba Yaga but haven't read it yet 😊 6y
Kalalalatja @batsy it sounds really interesting, I might have to look into that at some point 👍 6y
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rwmg
Baba Yaga Laid an Egg (Main) | Dubravka Ugresic
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Bailedbailed

After reading the main story, I couldn't be bothered with the appendix (about 1/3 of the book)

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rwmg
Baba Yaga Laid an Egg (Main) | Dubravka Ugresic

‘It‘s only old witches who lay golden eggs!‘ said David.

Kukla thought that the young man‘s Croatian was not as good as it had seemed to her at first. Who knows where he came across that clumsy sentence?

‘What do you mean by that?‘

‘It‘s an old Polynesian proverb. It means that old women do good deeds.‘

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rwmg
Baba Yaga Laid an Egg (Main) | Dubravka Ugresic
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Kalalalatja
Baba Yaga Laid an Egg | Dubravka Ugresic
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My reading isn't very #extraordinary these days. However, I do have a bunch of hopefully extraordinary books waiting for me to find the time and energy to read them 📚👌

#SeasonsReadings2017

ephemeralwaltz They all look great! 6y
Tamra Coveting Idaho! 6y
benchley1 I read I capture the castle about once a year, then i watch the film 6y
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rubyslippersreads I Capture the Castle is wonderful! 6y
emilyhaldi Good books in that stack! 6y
Moray_Reads That is a wonderful stack. You're in for a treat! 6y
needleminding A good stack of books to read is so exciting. 😁 6y
RealLifeReading Oh that makes me want to reread 6y
Kalalalatja @benchley1 @rubyslippersreads @RealLifeReading I might have to bump it higher up on my to read list then! 👍 @Tamra I've heard so many great things! @ephemeralwaltz @emilyhaldi @Moray_Reads @jaimeisbionic I can't wait to get to all of them, and it's good to know they are approved by fellow littens 👌 6y
dylanisreading I really want to read Idaho. I‘ve heard so many good things about it. 6y
BarbaraBB Hopefully you can start them during Christmas! 6y
112 likes11 comments
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Kalalalatja
Baba Yaga Laid an Egg | Dubravka Ugresic
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I love #BooksfromBoxes 📦📚 especially when they are pretty and come highly recommended by @Moray_Reads

#bookmail #TuneintoNovember

Cinfhen Oooh!!! I ❤️BookDepository!!! Enjoy your new goodies😁 6y
UrsulaMonarch Lovely! 6y
chlobee Love that edition of Darker Shade of Magic! ❤️ 6y
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Kalalalatja @Cinfhen BookDepository is the best! 👏👏 and lucky they came today, so they could be used for the prompt 😄 6y
Kalalalatja @chlobee it is really pretty! 6y
Moray_Reads Hope you enjoy! 6y
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review
Moray_Reads
Baba Yaga Laid an Egg | Dubravka Ugresic
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Pickpick

A brilliant multi-layered retelling and analysis of the Slavic myth of the hag-witch Baba Yaga. Ugresic rails against the treatment of women, particularly elderly women while also celebrating the power of their socially transgressive positions. It's clever, it's poignant, it's funny and it's angry. Its part Angela Carter and part Catherynne M Valente and @Kalalalatja I think it's right up your street if you haven't already read it!

monalyisha Holy crap. This sounds amazing!!! 6y
Moray_Reads @monalyisha it's very, very good! 6y
Kalalalatja I need this! I'm putting it on my Christmas wishlist (if I can wait that long!) 6y
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monalyisha Also, what‘s going on with the wall behind you? It‘s very cool! Is this in your house? 6y
Moray_Reads @monalyisha it's one of my bedroom walls, just covered with illustrations from books and art that focuses on books/readers 😊 6y
monalyisha @Moray_Reads It looks great! Are they postcards/framed? Your girl needs details. 🙌🏻 6y
Kalalalatja Okay, I couldn't wait. Went to look at BookDepository, and now I have ordered it 😳😄 6y
Moray_Reads @Kalalalatja 😂 you lasted 7 minutes. I'd say that's pretty impressive! 6y
vivastory I second @monalyisha At the risk of sounding intrusive, I'd love pictures of your wall of postcards 🙂 6y
Kalalalatja I think it might be longer than when you recommend Maresi, but it's close 😂 6y
vivastory @Kalalalatja I was just about to say you should order it! Easiest peer pressure 😂 6y
Moray_Reads @monalyisha they're just pictures I gathered on the internet and Pinterest and then had developed using a photo printing service. I think I used Snapfish but there are a whole load to choose from. Then I just stuck them on the wall! 6y
Moray_Reads @monalyisha @vivastory I think all the images I have are from my Pinterest board. And there are quite a few others too. Feel free to steal! (it's not like they're mine 😓) https://pin.it/lDhnL4g 6y
TheWordJar I'm just going to second everyone here...need the book, love the wall! 6y
Kalalalatja @vivastory haha you don't say! I have been on a bit of a book buying ban, so it doesn't take much for me to crack 😂 6y
Moray_Reads @Kalalalatja I am definitely having a book buying ban in November and I really need to stick to it! The only books I'm allowed are Christmas presents for other people and books I've already pre-ordered. I'm dreading it already 😣 #NoBooksNovember 6y
Kalalalatja With both birthday and Christmas coming up, I don't really feel like I can buy a lot of books, in case I get them as a present. But it is haaaaard 😖 6y
LeahBergen I've just put myself on a book-buying ban until Christmas, too! 😬😬 @Moray_Reads @Kalalalatja I'll need you two to help me stick to it! 😆 (edited) 6y
Moray_Reads @LeahBergen @Kalalalatja we're going to need a support group! 6y
Kalalalatja @LeahBergen @Moray_Reads I'm all in for a support group! So no more awesome reviews!! 😄😄 6y
batsy Lovely! I'm so glad I already have this :) The one book I read by her and loved is this one 6y
UrsulaMonarch @Moray_Reads thanks for directing me here! I'm rewarded with a great review AND pic! 👍👍 6y
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Moray_Reads
Baba Yaga Laid an Egg | Dubravka Ugresic
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Fascinating. The author links the contemporary obsession with female hair (in the right places!) with the hairiness AND hairlessness that often "identified" witches

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AstreaTaylor
Baba Yaga Laid an Egg | Dubravka Ugresic
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Can't wait to read these #books! #bookhaul