The House with Chicken Legs

Abstract

The House with Chicken Legs, by Sophie Anderson is reviewed.

Anderson, Sophie The House with Chicken Legs Usborne Publishing, 2018, pp336. ?6.99 978 1 47494 066 5

Baba Yaga in Slavic folklore is a hideous, terrifying being. In Sophie Anderson's engaging novel, she is much loved by her adopted granddaughter, Marinka, and kindly to all the dead people who, nightly, she guides through the Gate into the spheres beyond. When she disappears through the Gate herself to guide a dead young girl who has got left behind, Marinka is devastated. It will take almost the whole story for Marinka to stop searching for her and learn that, unusually, she can choose between a life as an already dead person or the life of a normal girl because she belongs to both spheres. But her passion and desire are for the real world. The choice is obvious.

But what will Marinka do without her house? Baba Yaga's house is in many ways the most engaging feature of this fascinating story. Yes, it has chicken legs as in the folklore. But it also can - and does - run off sometimes, taking Baba Yaga and Marinka with it. They could suddenly find themselves in a desert or on the beach. It's exhilarating. Besides this house can heal itself if it gets damaged (oh, would that I had it!) and, furthermore, it expresses emotions. In every way, it's a fabulous invention which gives yet more delight to the story.

Mary Medlicott