Rant & Rave- Vita Nostra by Marina and Sergey Dyachenko, Translated by Julia Meitov Hersey

 Hi All!

Here is the much-anticipated, spoiler free, Rant & Rave for Vita Nostra, by Marina and Sergey Dyachenko, and translated by Julia Meitov Hersey.  

Vita Nostra centers around Sasha, a seemingly ordinary sixteen-year old Russian girl who is preparing to attend university.  During the summer break before her senior year, she meets a man who makes several strange requests of her.  When she doesn't comply, bad things happen to people she cares about.  As a reward for completing these strange requests, she receives special coins that later serve as the entrance fee to the Institute of Special Technologies, located in the small town of Torpa.  No one has ever heard of the school, and despite Sasha's objections, the man requests that she attend the school.  She does so, in order to protect her family, although they despise the idea.  The book follows Sasha's first two and a half years at the institute, where she quickly learns that the school is anything but normal.  The books can't be read, the lessons are obscure, and nothing can be memorized. She starts to notice changes in herself, and they aren't all for the better.  Vita Nostra is a dark fantasy novel, using psychological suspense and terror to both humanize and dehumanize Sasha in the eyes of the reader.

Let's get to the raving:

My favorite part of the book, by far, was the transcendental encounters Sasha experiences.  They are perfectly described so the reader can understand what's happening, but the experience is not relatable to real life.  Without giving too much away, there are multiple times when these encounters occur in the books, and each one is given a unique description.  

The prominent characters in the book are are well-written, with quirks and peculiarities that make sense for the character and the situation.  A common example is smoking, but pacing, going for walks or jogs, and cleaning are also used. There aren't many parts in the book that elicit a positive response, but hugging to show relief is utilized quite a bit.  I think the authors did an excellent job of pairing each main character's personality with an appropriate response to a situation.  For example, when Sasha gets into trouble with her teachers, the strict, unfeeling one smokes and yells at Sasha, while the calmer, more emotional one paces the room looking for a solution.   

This book felt almost timeless, as though it could exist in any time and place.  There are some things that restrict it to fairly modern times, such as the fact that cell phones exist or the clothing descriptions, but even these only restrict it to sometime in the last thirty years or so.  Much of the activities and classes are not bound by a specific time.  Torpa is still described as an old fashioned town, and the Institute, even more so.  I think this gives the school a certain amount of credence and mystery.  Overall, I think the timelessness adds to the darkness surrounding the book and ushers in the right psychological thriller vibe.

Finally, I think the translation is excellent.  It goes beyond merely words, to maintain the intended atmosphere throughout the book.  You can tell the book takes place in Russia, and see some Russian foods and customs, but nothing feels "out of place" as a reader from the USA.  This is an issue I've had with some other translated novels, where a custom is named but isn't explained, and therefore doesn't make sense to me without doing some outside research. Vita Nostra doesn't make many culture-specific references, but when it does, Julia Meitov Hersey explains or describes instead of merely translating the words.  

And the ranting:

I, personally, did not like the authors' voice in this novel.  This is 100% personal preference, and might have been influenced by the translation as well, but- It felt disjointed at the paragraph and section level.  Sometimes it would jump from one topic to another, seemingly randomly, or move between transcendental scenes and normal life within one sentence.  Occasionally, this was used well, such as to hint at causality, but most of the time it just felt like the reader is jumping around.  At the sentence level, I often found myself having to reread a sentence because my internal voice or tone didn't sync up with what was on the page.

Another problem I had with the book was that most of the time it felt like a "slice of life."  While this is fine in most cases, it's not what I look for in a fantasy book.  The plot was slow going and, at times, boring.  This was likely designed to build suspense, but I found it functioned in quite the opposite manner- it made me want to put the book down and do something else.  The only thing that kept me going was my own sense of curiosity.  

And, perhaps the biggest problem I had with the book, is that it didn't have much of a conclusion.  My curiosity kept me going for 400 pages, only to find out that there was no satisfying ending.  I was looking for answers, and found none.  

So my sum-up of this review is short and sweet: Do I think the book is interesting and am I glad I read it? Yes.  Am I pleased with the culmination of the book? No.  But on a more serious note- the writing of this book reminds me of The Vorrh by Brian Catling.  It is a type of fantasy that focuses more on spiritual and psychological growth than a well-planned plot.  Personally, I prefer an exciting story with a perfect conclusion.  However, I do see the value in books that focus more specifically on character growth, especially in a genre that is dominated by fanciful and ostentatious plots.  

Thanks for reading! Up next is Sweet and Bitter Magic by Adrienne Tooley, from my witch-themed Owlcrate box.  Let me know what you think of Vita Nostra, or my review, in the comments!

Dana