Egg & Spoon

I was lucky enough to get an Early Reivewer Copy of Gregory Maguire's new book, Egg & Spoon through librarything.com.
Thank you, librarything!

Maguire is great at reimagining familiar stories, fairy tales and folklore. Wicked, his reimagining of The Wizard of Oz, is one of my favorite books.

In this one he goes to Russia, bringing his spin on Russian folklore. Egg & Spoon is a romp that comes with social and political commentary, folklore, and vivid characters.

       

The story starts with Elena, a Russian peasant girl. We feel her hunger, loneliness and desperation. She meets Ekaterina, a privileged and pampered girl, traveling through Russia by train, during an unplanned stop in Elena's town. And then there's Baba Yaga, a witch who is dangerous, capricious, clever, funny, and maybe even a little bit vulnerable.

As one might expect reading Maguire, there are many adventures. Here they involve mistaken identities, a magical Firebird, the tsar, melting winter, Baba Yaga and her chicken legged house, an ice dragon, and a prince. Matroyshka dolls also figure prominently.

While I haven't loved all of Maguire's other books as much as I loved Wicked, I think Maguire is in top form here.

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