Today is Holocaust Remembrance Day – how fitting, then, to review this book – an otherworldly almost fable, told in part by a haunted house on legs. This is not a world wholly immersed in fantasy; instead this is a work of magical realism, the kind where events both glorious but also, and maybe mostly, tragic become solid and explicit in unexpected ways. The world is mostly familiar to us – but also, in this world, houses that experience trauma might grow wings or legs. Families that experience trauma might develop traits such as magical abilities to animate inanimate objects, or the uncanny ability to mimic others, or supernatural empathy.
The central trauma here is a fictional account of real events that took place during the anti-Jewish pogroms in Ukraine in 1919, a precursor to the Holocaust. The author makes clear that one of the most powerful threats in the aftermath of genocidal violence such as this is the forgetting – the act of remembrance is, in itself, a powerful act. She proposes that the sweeping hatred and fear, embodied here in this inventive novel, can be counteracted by the audacious act of witnessing.
Bellatine and Isaac Yaga are siblings who were close as children, growing up traveling around with their puppeteering parents. Their mother is mostly caring but also very distant. They don’t know much about their family, only that they are Jewish (but not really practicing) and that their family is one that claims their mother’s last name (love this). As young adults, Isaac and Bellantine are virtual strangers – Isaac left home when Bellatine was still an adolescent grappling with her strange abilities. The Yaga siblings are reunited when they learn of their inheritance on the death of their great-grandmother – a house with chicken legs and propensity for running away. This gift feels so right to Bellatine that she agrees to her brother’s terms to allow her to keep it – Isaac wants to take the house on a tour, reviving their familiar puppet show. Isaac is motivated by the profits, since he’s been a bit of a drifter and finds himself in dire need of funds. They plan to spend the year touring together – and, of course, events conspire to make their tour even more than they could have ever imagined.
Bella and Isaac explore history, both theirs personally as well as their shared family history. As you might have guessed from their name, they are connected to Baba Yaga, a figure in Slavic folklore. By the time you understand the origins of the house (the titular Thistlefoot), you’ll probably be fully engrossed in the battle being waged. I felt like this book took a little time for me to completely fall in love with, but by the end I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough. Go, indulge in this book that expands what it means to be haunted.
Content warnings – there are some truly difficult scenes, references throughout to violence, including violence towards a child. Nothing is gratuitous, it’s all essential for understanding and appreciating the story, but jarring nonetheless.
