Enchantment

Title: Enchantment

Author: Orson Scott Card

Pages: 387

Genre: Fantasy

Grade: A-

Synopsis: The subtitle of the book reads: "A classic fantasy with a modern twist" and that seems to be a pretty good description of the book. Ivan was born in the Ukraine when it was still under Soviet rule. His family finds a way to leave the Soviet Union and emigrate to the United States. When Ivan is a graduate student working on his dissertation about old Slavic folktales he returns to visit and study in the Ukraine. Once there, he wakes an enchanted 9th century princess placed under a spell by Baba Yaga with a kiss (ala Sleeping Beauty) and then finds their lives intertwined across a millennium.

Disclaimer: While I wouldn't call the book dirty, it does have some fairly frank discussions about sexuality.

My Review: Alison recommended this book to me a few years ago and then was surprised that I was reading this book because she didn't really like it. First off, this book was really strange. A large chunk of the story takes place in Russia and is based upon popular Slavic folktales. I'm not sure if I liked the book because of its Russian and Slavic folklore references or because it was a good book. I actually took a class in college on Slavic Folklore and was able to relate to many of the stories and tales that the book is built upon. At the beginning of the book I felt like Card was really struggling to make the story believable (and I realize that the book is a fantasy), but by the middle of the book the story begins to mesh and flow a little better. I found the book to be very clever.

From the Book: "(p. 20) Before we are citizens, he thought, we are children, and it is as children that we come to understand freedom and authority, liberty and duty. I have done my duty. I have bowed to authority. Mostly. And now, like Russia, I can set aside those burdens for a little while and see what happens."

"(p. 83) You get used to being naked, that's the first thing that Ivan discovered. Crashing through thick brush with branches snagging at your bare skin, you stop worrying about who's looking and spend your time trying to keep yourself from being flayed alive. He got shy again when they entered the village, but once he decided simply to let the gawkers gawk, he found himself much more interested in what he was seeing than what they were."