When I first saw the cover of Thistlefoot I thought I was getting a YA Fantasy. I'm terrible about reading a synopsis and love to go into books blind. While this wasn't YA this was definitely fantasy and an absolutely amazing read.

I love fairy tales. I love mythology. This is such a great mix of those genres and a beautifully written and well-paced story. It's dark, atmospheric and a lot of fun. I especially LOVE the multiple POVs, one in particular (you'll have to read to see which one I mean 😂)

I was able to read this as an E-ARC from NetGalley but now I need to go find a physical copy for my bookshelf. This is definitely one I will read again and one I will recommend to fans of fantasy and mythology.

I sincerely appreciate the publisher and NetGalley for the review copy. While a review wasn't expected, I have offered my opinion and these are my own thoughts.

In Nethercott's Thistlefoot, estranged siblings Bellatine and Isaac Yaga find their way back to each other within this odd, dark story that is steeped in Jewish folklore.

"It's wild, isn't it...how there are all these stories that played out before we even existed. And their residue is all around us, all the time, but we don't even know it. Sometimes I wonder how much of me is my own, you know?"
This recently published debut novel from Gennarose Nethercott is heavy on Eastern European folklore and feels like an immersive fairy tale with modern references (for example, cell phones).

In Thistlefoot, estranged siblings Bellatine, a woodworker with mysterious powers, and Isaac, a con artist and street performer with his own magic, are reunited to claim a mysterious, bizarre inheritance: a sentient house on chicken legs.

You're going to need to roll with that premise for Thistlefoot to work for you, and if you're up for it, there are a lot of delights here.

Thistlefoot is a strange, epic, often dark adventure tale with roots in Jewish folklore, and puppets (which may or may not come to life at times) and the story they're used to tell are central to the plot.

Bellatine and Isaac find their way back to each other, bonded by trying to untangle the dangerous, sentimental, mysterious circumstances surrounding the house's existence. They find unlikely allies who are also seeking the truth about the house--and who want to protect its legacy from those who would destroy it.

This, as always, is only one version of the memory. Funny, how truth changes in the telling. How a person becomes a myth, how a myth becomes a hero. Do not mistake Baba Yaga for the hero of my stories. She is not. She is not the villain, either. She is only a woman. Sometimes, one cannot know until retelling what was right and what was wrong.
Thistlefoot includes some scenes in which World War II atrocities are central; delves into the desperation and cruelties of those who have struggled to America, imagining their salvation; and explores the binds of family and history.

I received a prepublication edition of this book courtesy of Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group and NetGalley.

If you like magical realism and folklore, you might also like the books on my Greedy Reading List Six Magical Fairy Tales Grown-Ups Will Love.

Weird and Whimsical, Thistlefoot captured me from the very first page and it's characters will stay with me for a lifetime.

We follow the Yaga siblings, estranged and living separately in America, until word comes that they've got a mysterious inheritance coming. Once Isaac and Bellatine Yaga reunite they soon discover that their inheritance is even stranger then they has imagined, in a larger than like shipping container they discover their ancestral home...on legs! Enter a sinister villain with special interest in the home and what you have is a surprisingly deep traveling story steeped in European folklore.

The world building here is wonderful, including perspectives from the actual house that gives the reader a witty look into the Yaga history. That being said, the characters are what really shined for me. They are complicated and complex. Their flaws and subsequent actions will break and mend your heart.

If dark fairy tales and gorgeous writing are buzzwords for you then Thislefoot is a must read!

I’m a simple girl: I see a book based on Jewish folklore, I immediately want to read it. So of course the second I saw this book I knew I needed to see what would happen in it, and I’m really glad that I did.

This was such an interesting concept for a story. It was really cool getting to see how Isaac and Bellatine’s lives were intertwined with Thistlefoot’s history. The flashbacks/storytelling of Gedenkrovka and the pogrom were done super well in my opinion, especially the overall message about the importance of the importance of a story carrying on. You could really tell that a lot of effort went into developing that part. I also liked the side characters, especially Winnie and her character development. It was really enjoyable to read this book, even when it had its darker and heavier moments.

The downsides of it were pretty much subjective. I felt like the ending was a bit unsatisfying and abrupt. It basically went right from the climax to the epilogue, and the epilogue wasn’t enough to really give a solid ending to these characters. Also I felt like the world building was confusing and I kept waiting for details or explanations that never came. This whole book takes place in a world where buildings can come to life in a way, and it’s pretty infrequently mentioned and never explained why this is possible (except in the case of Thistlefoot). Like that is something so interesting and definitely should’ve been more important to the plot. I also felt like some things in the plot just never got super good explanations (like where exactly Isaac’s powers are from, for example), but I get that the whole enigmatic vibe was part of the book.

Overall I enjoyed reading this and would definitely recommend it.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of this book.

This was both more beautiful and more horrifying than I'd expected. I thought it would be a fun little book with folktales and puppets and a moving house - that all sounds just delightful, doesn't it? And it did feature all of those things, but I don't think I could classify it as "fun" nor "little."

The story of this book was built about grief, and the narrative, despite featuring magic and inexplicable abilities, didn't shy away from the horrors that caused that grief in the past. And our modern-day characters weren't without their (very valid) troubles too! I loved all the characters and their flaws and their big personalities, and I loved how this book was really written like a <i>story</i>.

I need to take a moment to speak ineloquently on the writing of this as well. I found so many passages just gorgeous, and so many that I re-read to take it in all over again. I think my status updates throughout reading this are a testament to that, copied and pasted passages that they are, and I had to sit on my hands to not add more status updates throughout.

Suffice to say, this book was so lovely, and so lovely for me specifically.

A strange and somewhat creepy twist to the Baba Yaga mythology, thistlefoot grabs you from the beginning as you follow the Yaga twins on their adventure with Their inheritance: a walking house.

I think the most intriguing part of this is how unremarkable they treat this absolutely remarkable things. Everyone takes a living house in stride as though it’s something you might see. Interesting, sure, but nothing to flip out about. This dose of magical realism is what sets this book apart for me.

The thrills of the chase they of through as well as struggling with their own powers, yearnings, and past decisions makes this a weirdly relatable tale. I fully enjoyed it.

Ok so this was a hard one to try to review. Because I had to restart the book a few times. I thought it was me, maybe I was reading when I was tired or wanted to do other things but at the end of the day, this book failed to pull me in.

Now as a retelling of the Baba Yaga myth that also uses the very real and very heinous history of what was going on in WW1 and the pogroms, that’s interesting and heartbreaking. The house itself is a character and I really liked that.

What I didn’t like was well, basically everything else. For one, the characters are flat. None of them pulled me in and I didn’t really like any of them. I sort of didn’t care? We’ve got a plot that sort of meanders in some places. We’ve got magic and puppets and shape shifting and it skews horror which I wasn’t upset by but it’s just a lot.

And I think the biggest contributor to the “it’s a lot” feeling was the writing itself. Sentences were long, paragraphs were long and after a point, they didn’t need to be. We don’t need to be told and shown the same thing happening multiple times from different angles that don’t add to it any way other than for the author to write more long winded overly descriptive sentences.

I was getting tired reading the book and bored because of it. Is the author bad at description? No but they needed to be able to reign it in or maybe an editor could have helped them with that. It was just so much.

I really wanted to like this and just didn’t. For all it’s potential, there were a lot of faults, at least for me. I’m giving it three (3) stars because two (2) is too low but I with two and a half (2.%) were really an option.

I received this eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thanks to them and the publisher.

I really liked Thistlefoot. Baba Yaga a folklore, in this story her ancestors inherit her home Thistlefoot. I loved the story, complex and mysterious. Brother and sister, Isaac and Bellatine are great characters. So much personality, I feel like I truly got to know them. They both have unique powers. I enjoyed the way the story told us different meanings of Thistlefoots origins. I loved Hubcap the cat and the puppets, the Fool most of all. A very exciting ending. Looking forward to reading more of this Authors work.
#Thistlefoot #NetGalley

I give Thistlefoot 4 stars for its mysterious read.
I would recommend this book to Fantasy fans.

A unique blend of whimsy and dread that really stands on its own two legs (forgive the pun). Gaiman’s Neverwhere is perhaps the closest comparison that comes to mind, as Nethercott brings a brilliant darkness to our world in the story she crafts. The balance between the two tones was remarkably done - for every time things took an eerie turn and left my brow furrowed in anticipation, the next page had me immediately cracking a smile for instance as a house apologized for their appearance and interruption as it told a chapter of its own. Yet for every shift to a different storyline focus, I never found myself wanting because each aspect of the book was so captivating in its own right.

While even secondary characters were well developed, the Yaga siblings stand out with incredible depth as we explore how they became who they are and what shaped them not only from their own experiences, but also from those who came before them.

As the house itself states “a folktale can never be forgotten because it wiggles and rearranges until it sits neatly on the heart”. Nethercott has certainly rearranged the classic tale of Baba Yaga to one that will not be leaving my heart anytime soon.

I had a hard time deciding if I should rate this one on personal experience or the author's merit, but decided to go with personal since this is more about me remembering what I thought of the books than anything else.
So despite the fact that it's an expertly written reimagining of the Baba Yaga myth played out in the modern day with a very dark and real history of the horrible pogroms that took place in Russia after WWI and the Russian Revolution, it failed to pull me in.
Both the lead characters are so standoffish that it jumps off the page and makes it difficult to care about their story. Issac eventually grew on me, but too little too late. The rest of the characters are little flashes of interest that get neither the page time nor the development that would have benefited the story.
Overall, I really appreciate what Nethercott was trying to do and the fact that she shines a light on a very much ignored horror in history, but the story was just not for me.

Happy thanks to NetGalley and Anchor Books for the chance to discover this story!

I love Baba Yaga stories, so I was really excited for this one. Sadly, it was not what I was hoping for.
My biggest complaint is that the House with Chicken legs in modern day just didn't work for me. I love it in a fantastical setting. This also went more towards horror than fantasy, and horror is not my favorite.
I didn't like the characters at all, so that made me just not care what happened with them.

Based on other ratings, I'm in the minority with my opinion, so if it sounds good to you, give it a shot.

If Thistlefoot had me with "two estranged siblings embark on a national tour of their puppet show in Baba Yaga's chicken foot house" and sold me with "oh, and they are super Jewish too!". Nethercott eschews stereotypical depictions of Baba Yaga's journey: de-centering her from the narrative and making her more of an archetype; a ghost the haunts the story in allegorical asides and detritus from the life she passed on to her many times removed great-grandchildren. I loved the way the tone flip-flops, shifting from something dark but whimsical to a profound exploration of generational trauma. Baba Yaga is a perfect vehicle to deliver this type of complex, layered narrative, being herself a shell for so many different folkloric traditions throughout history.

Actually 4 1/2 stars.

Isaac Yaga has the ability to become anyone he meets or thinks of. He even calls himself the Chameleon King. He leaves New Orleans and ends up near his sister, Bellatine. He encounters a strange man in a bar, who is searching for something left by their ancestor, Baba Yaga.

Bellatine has an ability too—she can make the dead or nonliving things come to life. So when she learns what Baba Yaga left them, a house with chicken legs that can run away to other places. Her brother offers her a way to buy out his half of Thistlefoot; although leery, Bellatine does it.

This different take on the Russian witch, Baba Yaga, that adds Jewish legends. The witches are Baba’s great-grandchildren, and the house is sentient. All blended into a dark fantasy makes for a wild remade fairytale about how you shouldn’t count your chickens. It will surprise you, all the way to the end.

The marriage of horror and mythology in this book was really clever and intriguing, as it added layers to the plot and hidden meanings to the metaphors. The characters breathed off the page, and the haunting prose and descriptive scenes made everything feel as if it was truly occurring and gave the book a charged atmosphere. I really enjoyed how the story sucked you in and always had you guessing about what the characters were going to do next — it forced you to be an active participant in the plot, just like one of Isaac’s audience members.

I generally love retellings or reimaginings of fairy tales and learning about the stories of other cultures, but this one was tough. I had trouble getting invested in the characters. The pacing was mixed, sometimes too fast sometimes way too slow, and the narration was confusing at times. The villain was not much of a villain, or rather just not the type of villain I would expect from a fairy tale reimagining. On a positive note the imagery was great and the skeleton structure of the book was solid.
I can see how this will appeal to many other readers and fans of the genre, but this one wasn't for me, sadly.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the dARC of this work in exchange for my honest review.

3.5 stars. Enjoyable story, with very descriptive language. It was a very slow moving start, and it took me some time to get into the story but once I did I enjoyed learning more about the heirs of Baba Yaga. Not knowing more than the very basics about the lore behind Baba Yaga, this was just a story for me but I really enjoyed it.

I genuinely enjoyed this story! It was slow-moving for me initially, but near the end it all came together and really picked up. The portrayal of Baba Yaga was so interesting and had a lot of depth I didn’t expect. The characters were layered and the magic system lent beautifully to their personal flaws. I didn’t expect this story to hit me as deeply as it did in the end, but I know I’ll be processing the work for a long time to come. Couldn’t recommend it more but be cautious with trigger warnings.

A fairytale retelling that feels familiar. A brother and sister - who have a very interesting ancestry - inherit the house on chicken legs and apparently a man that follows.

This book has beautiful prose, sometimes not for its own good either. While it could be a stunning and gorgeous read at times, it was also occasionally very, very slow and hard to get through. If you want a book packed full of surprises, you aren't really going to find that here, either. What you will find, though, is a book of interesting characters, wonderful writing, emotional journeys, and multiple POV's (even one from the cottage itself). While it isn't exactly a gentle read - you should look up the TW - it was a great one.

THISTLEFOOT, by GennaRose Nethercott from Anchor, is a modern day fairy tale steeped in Jewish lore, all based around the legend of Baga Yaga and her chicken-legged home.

The estranged Yaga twins, Isaac and Bellatrine, are brought back together when they are bequeathed a family heirloom from a long deceased ancestor. This heirloom is the chicken-legged, sentient house which Bellatrine names Thistlefoot. Coming from a family troupe of puppeteers, Isaac decides they should take Thistlefoot on tour across the United States and perform their family’s signature show, The Drowned Fool, to raise money to escape his debts. What neither sibling knows, though, is they are being pursued by the Longshadow Man, who is leaving a path of death behind him on his quest to capture Thistlefoot for himself.

I’m not familiar with the legend of Baba Yaga beyond the most basic understanding, but I feel that Nethercott has done her research and reworked the legend nicely as a story of Jewish survival. While sometimes loaded down with an excess of purple prose, the story is still wildly engaging. Nethercott has that rare ability to write a story with characters who seem to exist somewhere out of time; while the story seems to be taking place in the now, the characters have this timeless quality about them and could be existing in the then and now simultaneously, especially Isaac. He could be living as a vaudeville performer in the 1920s just as easily as a puppeteer performer in the 2020s.

I wasn’t as sure that I was going to like this at first (unfortunately, the purple prose really can drag the story down at times), but ultimately this turned out to be a great read for me. A huge thank you to @netgalley and @vintageanchorbooks for an eARC in exchange for an honest review. THISTLEFOOT will be available September 13, 2022.

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Thistlefoot was simultaneously what I want out Russian fairy-tale-inspired books, and also not what you expected. I think that this is a book that will hit really powerfully for some and be super annoying to others. I think that it's best to go in with as little context as possible and to suspend your disbelief. But also be prepared for a book that is worthwhile to read and well crafted, but also not entirely enjoyable. This is not a disney fairytale, this is a Grimms' original, cut off your foot to fit in the slipper, type of fairytale. It deals with hard things, but I think in the end it does its topics justice.

Most of this book is positives for me. I think the narrative structure of Thistlefoot is brilliant. I can't say too much because of spoilers, but the way different stories are broken up and told opposite and in front and in back of each other is well done. If you have any familiarity with slavic fairytales it will feel familiar but also clever. I also loved the prose and the narrative tone of the book. Nethercott is also a poet, and that definitely comes across in her writing. It's very suited to a liminal fairy tale. I really liked the discussion of the power of story, remembrance, and generational memory. I wrote my college thesis on Russian generational memory surrounding WWII, so it's a topic that I've spent a good amount of time with, and I thought that Thistlefoot was a really good vehicle to explore that topic.

The few negatives for me that I noticed, but didn't necessarily impact my enjoyment of the book. Occasionally the prose got a little unwieldy in my opinion and the book could have been shorter. I thought the minor romance that develops came out of nowhere and did nothing; I'm not sure that it even served as a plot device. I think there's good development for Isaac and Bellantine, but don't expect the side characters to be really well fleshed out. I thought they were sufficient for this story, but this might bother character driven readers. The settings felt often very vague despite seeming vivid to the characters. It was very hard to remind myself that this was taking place in modern day. Finally, I think the ending was probably the right choice thematically, but it was not necessarily satisfying, particularly for our characters.

Overall, I am really glad I read Thistlefoot. I'm looking forward to what Nethercott comes up with next, because I really appreciated what she created here. If you are a fan of slavic folklore/fairy tales, I think that this is definitely worth picking up. The blub likens it to Spinning Silver, and I don't disagree, but I think it is more similar to Deathless by Catherynne Valente. If you enjoyed Deathless, Spinning Silver, or the Winternight Trilogy (which I had serious problems with), give Thistlefoot a try!

Thanks to Netgalley and Anchor Books for an eARC in exchange for my honest review. I also listened to the audiobook narrated by January LaVoy, who overall had a terrific narration.