Uprooted is a novel by Naomi Novik.
Finished on: 21.5.2024

Plot:
Agnieszka has grown up in Dvernik, in a valley that is dominated by the Wood that consistently tries to take up more space and regularly sends out some horrors or swallows up villagers who aren’t careful enough. Keeping the forest at bay is the so-called Dragon, a wizard. Every ten years, the Dragon collects a girl from the villagers. And not just any girl, but the most beautiful and brightest one. Everybody knows that this year, it will be Kasia, Agnieszka’s best friend, who will be chosen by him. Only that the Dragon takes Agnieszka instead, leaving her reeling, afraid of what’s to come and entirely confused.

Uprooted is a wonderful read, one that feels a lot like a folk tale (and it is based on Polish folklore), but also reads like a modern novel. The romance didn’t work that well for me, but I loved pretty much everything else.

I think what stood out to me the most was the Wood, a wonderful antagonist. Otherworldly, scary, but even it gets its own tragic backstory and kind of a redemption arc, with I loved. The way it works, the way it always tries to swallow up the villages, was perfectly described by Novik.

Generally speaking, the novel is very evocative and manages to translate the feeling of fairy tales, and some of their structures (fairy tales often have a kind of sequential, “yes and” way of being told that I found mirrored here). But not just any fairy tales, but particularly fairy tales from Eastern Europe. I maybe wouldn’t have been able to pinpoint it as Polish folklore, but definitely from around there, and not just because of the presence of Baba Jaga.

I also really liked Agnieszka, even when I wanted to shake her a little bit. I loved her friendship with Kasia (and I do kinda wish that the romance had been between them), her character growth and how she sticks to her guns when it comes to her magic. That the Dragon finds her way of doing things ridiculous and somehow lesser is also a perfect comment on how generally male and female knowledge and ways of knowing are framed in society.

The biggest problem for me was Agnieszka’s romance with the Dragon, or Sarkan, as we learn. He is too much of an asshole in the beginning, and even when he knows better already, he keeps falling back into his condescending fuckery, and it’s just not sexy. At all. No thank you.

But other than that, though, I really enjoyed reading Uprooted, and I’m excited to read more by novik. Spinning Silver sits on my shelf already and will have its turn soon.

Summarizing: an excellent read.