There Once Lived a Woman Who Tried to Kill Her Neighbor's Baby: Scary Fairy Tales

Like those of a dark, bleak, surreal O. Henry, most of these stories end with a twist, but they aren’t exactly linear up to that point in any case. They are very dream-like, or nightmarish, starting at one point that’s soon forgotten after taking a 90-degree turn to somewhere unexpected, settings and plots suddenly metamorphosing into something else with the logic of dreams. Most of the stories could be said to be about how dismal life was in the Soviet Union: Characters full of paranoia, suspicion, and selfishness. Stories of betrayal, abandonment, poverty, illness, and death. Fortunately, the last section offers stories with some hope or redemption, but until then what a long, strange, grim trip it’s been.

Originally banned from publishing in the Soviet Union (aren’t they all?), Ludmilla Petrushevskaya is now a famed Russian contemporary writer with this collection being one of the first introductions to English readers. This collection of not-so-fairy fairy tales is a mix of Edger Allen Poe and Grimm’s. Dark, bleak, and occasionally grotesque, they represent the difficult past (and present?) of the Soviet and Russian lives. At first glance, they are filled with negativity, from hungry families and towns, distrust and envy amongst neighbors, selfish youth, to murders, death, and overindulgent parents with what little they have. Deeper within is a repeated theme of resilience, whatever it may take to work through the hardship, often show more with sacrifice that may be ‘rewarded’, even if in a twisted way.

The 19 tales are separated into 4 categories: Songs of the Eastern Slavs, Allegories, Requiems, and Fairy Tales.

The most lauded tale is “The New Robinson Crusoes”; it read a bit like a mini version of “The Road” where a family is constantly staying ahead and away from the bandits who will rob and kill everyone they encounter. From darkness, the family unit grows stronger.

My two favorites are “The Shadow Life” and “Marilena’s Secret”. The former addressed an orphan girl who grew up to be a self-reliant woman and gained closure of her missing and deceased mother’s love. The twin girls in the latter triumph over an evil wizard, greedy fiancé, and murderous future sister-in-law.

Not an easy read to stomach and a dose of ‘what just happened’, I can’t recommend this book without caution. Nonetheless, I thought it was a worthy read. show less

Take equal parts Edgar Allan Poe and The Brothers Grimm, throw in a good helping of classic urban legends, and add a light dusting of the bleakness of One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich and you'll come up with something close to Ludmilla Petrushevskaya's There Once Lived a Woman Who Tried to Kill Her Neighbour's Baby.

The book is divided into four sections: "Songs of the Eastern Slavs", "Allegories", "Requims", and "Fairy Tales". I didn't much care for the stories in the first section, which seemed kind of abrupt and unfinished to me, but the stories of the remaining three sections were nearly all very good. Some of the standouts were "The New Robinson Crusoes", about a family trying to survive in the country, "The Miracle", wherein show more a mother considers how far she is willing to go to help her son, "The Father", concerning a man who finds his family in a most peculiar fashion, and "The Old Monk's Testament", a tale about a monk that I’m not quite sure how to summarize.

This is a strange collection that I won't read cover-to-cover again, but I wouldn't mind revisiting some of the stories in the future. show less

I loved this book. The tales are beautifully strange, modern fairy tales with a slightly creepy edge. Immensely readable. Even when the subject of the story is horrifying, such as suicide or a woman who wants to kill her friend's baby, the author manages to make the tales wondrous and realistic at the same moment. Her stories take place in a world like our own, but far more magical, where the unusual is usual.

Imagine Angela Carter’s dark, surrealistic stories are even darker than they are. Got it? Now, go even darker. Now you’ve got the tone of Petrushevskaya’s short tales. Set in Soviet era Russia, these stories explore extremes of poverty and despair. This is a world where there is never enough to eat, where if you have even a little bit you are at once a prime target for theft, where sons rob their mothers and neighbors plot murder.

These are surreal, magical tales. A number take place in that liminal place between life and death, and love can beat death. Some characters find themselves in strange places or even strange bodies. Are these events real, or are they illusions brought on by stress? Are the characters alive or dead? The show more author leaves us to decide for ourselves. Human relationships are more important than physical reality. Highly recommended. show less

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Petrushevskaya was formerly banned from publishing books in Russia. Many of her stories were not translated into English until recently. Her short stories depict mostly Russian women in dark, melancholic despairing situations during post-war Russia.

Petrushevskaya writes in allegoric form. Her stories read like urban folk tales. She uses surreal, mystical and fantastical imagery to convey the transformative experiences of her characters. Like a dream, the world around them metamorphoses from one moment to the next. The characters wander in nekyia- night journeys where they separate from their physical bodies and float through mysterious tunnels, doors and apocalyptic worlds. The woman, often on the show more brink of death or in some other catastrophic situation within their daily lives, are able to see and understand their circumstances differently and return to life with a renewed perspective. It is a form of redemption and, sometimes, healing.

I was mesmerized by Petrushevskaya’s tales. Together, they portrayed the extreme impoverished conditions of post-war Russia; the soul of its people crushed by oppression, starvation and valueless money. Petrushevskaya’s otherworldly style reveals the indomitable spirit of a people forced to live in squalid and often inhumane situations. Similar to Chekhov, this is story telling at its finest. show less

Modern settings and dark undertones make for fascinating collection of what the editors dub scary fairy tales. Some examples of the tales: A family is forced to hole up and hide from strange disease infects the city. A woman encounters a friend who has married Poseidon's son. A family migrates to the country in an attempt to escape the collapse of society.

What seems to make them fairy tales or folk lore as opposed to simply fantasy and science fiction stories is the tone of the writing combined with the use of modern day archetypes. For example, in the title story the classic witch is transformed into a jealous neighbor who tries to get rid of her friend's baby.

The first few stories didn't quite grab me, but the later stories (the show more Allegories and Fairy Tales) seemed to have more depth to them, and I was completely fascinated by them. show less