Uprooted: An extraordinary spellbinding fantasy inspired by Slavic folklore

This is going to be a long one because Uprooted is, quite simply, one of the best books that I’ve read this year and possibly one of my favourite books ever. In fact I love this book so much that I bought my own copy after originally borrowing it from the library. Considering the state of both my bookshelf (overflowing) and my bank balance (dwindling) that should speak for itself.I’ve never read anything by Naomi Novik before (which I now understand to be a grave oversight on my part). This is largely due to the fact that, although I have long admired the premise and indeed the beautiful cover art of the Temeraire series, I’ve never been able to get hold of the elusive first book (Lancashire Libraries why do you not have it?!?!). So, I understandably jumped at the chance to read a stand-alone novel from her.A lot of the literature I’ve seen sells Uprooted as something of a Beauty and the Beast retelling. Whilst I can kind of see where they’re going with this, I don’t completely agree. There’s certainly a degree of intertextuality between the two tales that I really enjoyed and that I definitely feel enhances the novel. But the main reason that I enjoyed it was that, whilst I was able to point at the places where B&B started to bleed through – the dark figure in the tower taking girls to serve him, the importance of the library, the heroine going away to solve a problem and then willingly coming back into danger – it’s all dealt with in a really intriguing way.In fact Novik appears to use the original B&B story as more of a launch pad than anything – with the rest of the novel going into new and intriguing directions. I feel that its these deviations from the expected elements that make this story so spellbindingly beautiful that I want to read it again and again.Agnieska is a something of a reluctant heroine. She has grown up with the knowledge that it is her friend Kasia who will be the one be taken; the Dragon choosing the golden girl with her many talents and her bravery seems to be a foregone conclusion. Instead, it is Agnieska who finds herself whisked off to the Dragon’s tower for ten years, but all she wants is to go back home.As Nieska grows and changes throughout the book it is her longing to still be some part of her home that really moved me. She doesn’t want to run away and have grand adventures, she wants to be her own person, to help the valley, her family and all the villagers. The manner in which she achieves this is utterly brilliant and – as I’ve already mentioned – the book’s ending was perfect. She does have to compromise – she’s no longer the villager she thought she was, but she manages to find her own balance nevertheless.One of the best things about this book was the enduring friendship between Agnieska and Kasia. It all felt incredibly real and believable and above all balanced. There was a sense that they evened each other out, that any envy they felt for each other was felt in the reverse by the other – the scene with the Summoning and Agnieska’s determination to rescue her friend was so touching. After Nieska was taken in Kasia’s place I was concerned that the two would be put into conflict with one another. But I needn’t have worried, Novik dealt with it brilliantly and the turn that she takes the story on instead is wonderful. I loved that it really did feel like Kasia’s story as well and that she still go to be the hero in a different way.The world building is also wonderful, incredibly well thought through and very original. There is a very definite sense of place without ever trying to attribute it to an existing country. The Eastern European elements and the way that the stories of the region are dealt with, really serve to enrich the tale. Novik somehow manages to do this without it ever appearing to be too much of an information overload or ever proving distracting from the overall narrative. As I said before – balanced.The concept that the whole village is so sure that Kasia will be taken is completely credible and I love that Novik addresses the fact that Kasia has a very different life because of this. The fact that families ‘love dragon-born girls differently’ is very evident and understandable. I really loved the supporting cast of the valley’s inhabitants and thought that they really stood on their own two feet rather than just being set dressing. You felt for them as well as Nieska/Kasia and their families and the fact that they mattered really made me buy into the fact that the wood needed to be defeated for good.The only thing – a very, very slight thing that may be my own fault for reading it so fast – is that the concept of the Wood Queen actually being a creature never even seemed to occur to me and so came a little out of nowhere. I like elements in books that surprise me and I really loved the idea of the wood just being a different race that time and humanity had overtaken. However, the transition from thinking of the wood as one creature – a sort of primal force – to being a race that had been corrupted through the grief and rage of one of their kind was initially a little hard to get my head around.Finally, I have to say that I really hope this is a stand-alone novel – at least in terms of focusing on Agnieska’s character. I’d love to see some more from Novik in this universe, perhaps following Kasia’s adventures, because it’s an utterly fascinating world that she’s writing about. But I feel that this stands so well on its own – an absolutely perfect book – that I’m unsure how I would feel about a sequel. I’d rather carry on thinking of Agnieska wandering through her valley – mingling both with the village people and the creatures of the wood – and occasionally dragging Sarkan kicking and screaming into adventures that he wants to go on anyway but would never admit to.

Novik is the author of the Temeraire fantasy series, and “Uprooted” is her only standalone novel to date. She captivates the reader’s attention from the get-go when she tells of a Dragon that whisks the villager’s daughters to his castle, one per decade, as a kind of tribute, and then the unreliable narrator, a young woman who is awaiting the year of her cohort’s selection, self-corrects, but the truth is not any less magical or intriguing.We find out that Agnieszka lives in the village of Dvernik, as part of the larger kingdom of Polnya. Dvernik is in the valley just next to an enchanted forest, and she is quite unlikely to be chosen, messy and clumsy and unremarkable as she is. But we all know such are the qualities that are bound to hide some magical gifts which would propel the story forward.In terms of plot, it reminded me of Diana Wynne Jones’s “Howl’s Moving Castle”, with the same old crusty magician who develops a kind of relationship with a simple girl. But what sets Novik’s story apart is her ability to make magic come alive without you even really noticing it. She has a remarkable way of conjuring up the right language to describe spells and incantations, and giving them a musical quality that sings in her narrative. (Readers who speak Malay would be amused to find out that “alamak” is a spell for walking through walls/barriers).Her portrayal of the enchanted wood and its threatening presence, and creatures that lurk within is also very well done and the battle scenes, which can be a little graphic and gory, brings the drama right inside the reader’s mind effortlessly and with rather lurid prose. Perhaps the touch of sensuality surrounding the romance part of the novel would appeal to some as well, though I felt it unnecessary. What moved me most was the close sisterhood between Agnieszka and her childhood friend Kasia, which gave Agnieszka’s daring and reckless rescue of Kasia when the latter is captured by the wood, a touching motivation. The conflicting emotions and the way she has to lay bare her jealousies, anger, and the nastier parts of her friendship with Kasia in order to totally rid her of the wood’s possession with the spells she casts over her friend, was realistic yet fantastical.There is much to recommend in this book, and not least Novik’s able prose, which is totally free of the awkwardness in description of fantastical elements, and the shallow characterisation which sometimes mar some works of this genre.

Beautiful, visceral, evocative writing and a timeless narrative with an eastern European flair. It skips neatly over the underpinnings of pointy hats and pointer swords common in modern fantasy. Heartily recommended

Ich liebe Naomi Noviks Romane. Diese Mischung aus Folklore und Fantasy in flüssiger, moderner Sprache. Die Figuren sind liebenswert und das Setting einfach wundervoll

I got swept away by the fable style of the book, the main character's wisdom despite her young age and the beautiful metaphors woven into this story. A wonderful, wonderful book that'll stay dear to my heart.

This is the first, and so far, the only book I’ve ever read (on the Kindle) where I kept watching the ‘percentage left to read’ and hoping it would just go on and on!It’s 3am and I’m desperately searching for a sequel.I want more!!!It is by turns, beautifully written, exciting, intriguing and terrifying, while also managing to be sweet.I loved the characters, the magic, the monsters and the trees ♥️While there are bits that go slow, there is not one bit that is ever boring. Be grateful for the slow parts - you’ll need to catch your breath.

Loved it... from the first page... When I have finished it, bought the other book from the same author (Spinning Silver)... Thought it can't get better, but it did... My only problem- what to read now that I have finished this? What I liked here- well l, the heroine, her resilience, her courage, her love for others... a good feemale friendship bond...a dash of interesting romance...