Rusalka (1989) is a fantasy novel by C. J. Cherryh that reworks Russian folklore into an alternate history of the Kievan Rus’.
Sasha Misurov, a young and untrained wizard, and Pyetr Kochevikov, a drinking/gambling/screwing around “scoundrel” who doesn’t believe in magic, are forced out of their hometown of Vojvoda after one of Pyetr’s illicit affairs goes awry. In the wilderness they take refuge under the dubious hospitality of an old wizard named Uulamets, who is trying to bring his daughter back to life after she was murdered and turned into a rusalka. (In this book, that’s the ghost of a dead girl that drains the life of everything around her in order to go on existing.) Uulamets enlists Sasha to help him find and resurrect his daughter, but it ends up being Pyetr that the rusalka chooses to reveal herself to, and — well, the headline “A Perilous Love” on the back cover is a pretty good indication of what that causes.
The title of this book caught my eye while I was wandering around in the fantasy section of a secondhand bookstore. I’m a huge fan of Russian folklore — and folklore in general — so I zipped over to the bookshelf. I was even more excited when I read the back and saw there were going to be not only a rusalka but also a dvorovoi (a Yard-Thing) and a vodyanoi (a Water-Thing).
The title of this book caught my eye while I was wandering around in the fantasy section of a secondhand bookstore. I’m a huge fan of Russian folklore — and folklore in general — so I zipped over to the bookshelf and was even more excited when I read the back and saw there were going to be not only a rusalka but also a dvorovoi (a Yard-Thing) and a vodyanoi (a Water-Thing).
I bought it and read it over Christmas break, and I can tell you I was not at all disappointed. The way Cherryh portrayed the folkloric elements — particularly the magical creatures like the domovoi, dvorovoi, and vodyanoi — corresponded well to what I’ve studied of Russian folklore, while also taking liberties that enhanced the world and the story and creatively reimagined the much older tradition. The vodyanoi was a terrifying figure, as he should be, and the dvorovoi, although he started out rather scary, became one of my favorite characters by the end. I have a hunch that Cheburashka is secretly his cousin.
I also need to credit Rusalka for reawakening my lifelong love of the fantasy genre. I gave up on the genre a while ago because I was sick of your typical elves and wizards and dragons and mages (affff don’t even say that word around me! as soon as I read the word “mage” my brain shuts down). I was also sick of witches and vampires. The wizards in Rusalka, however, are not of the same kind we see in high fantasy.
Their magic involves wishing. If a wizard wants or wishes for something, forces will conspire to make it happen … even if the means for it to happen cause unforeseen suffering and death. This is “be careful what you wish for” times ten. Wizards like Sasha and Uulamets have to be very guarded with their thoughts and emotions and are often forced into solitude, so dangerous are their gifts to themselves and others. Magic is ambivalent. You can use magic to get out of something … but you may pay even more dearly for it later.
This ambivalence fits in well with folklore, particularly in this case Russian folklore, where you can accept hospitality from a leshii but end up paying for it when a pack of wolves comes and devours your prize cow.
I already mentioned that I loved the dvorovoi Babi, but in general the characters are great, complex and easy to sympathize with — even if you want to punch certain characters in the face most of the time. I loved the “ordinary” Pyetr in particular, and his nuanced friendship with Sasha is very well drawn.
All in all, I can say that it’s a good thing Rusalka is actually the first book of a trilogy — the other books being Chernevog and Yvgenie — because I haven’t had enough of the world nor the characters.
One thing I am not so fond of in Rusalka, however, is a rather confusing stream-of-consciousness style of presenting their thoughts. I understand that the characters themselves are confused about whose thoughts are whose sometimes, and that’s fine, but sometimes there appear to be too many contradictions or personal pronouns without clear referents, making it rather incoherent. I found myself often re-reading to figure out who was acting, speaking, or being spoken about in a given passage.
Nevertheless, the story, characters, and world are all compelling, and I’d recommend Rusalka with enthusiasm, particularly for anyone interested in folklore.
