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Critics' Opinion:
Readers' Opinion:
First Published:
Aug 2009, 320 pages
Paperback:
May 2010, 368 pages
Book Reviewed by:
Kim Kovacs
Baba Yaga
In A Long, Long Time Ago
And Essentially True, one of the
main characters, Beata, is constantly referred to by the nickname "Baba Yaga."
Baba Yaga is a popular figure in Slavic folk tales
(Slavic
language map). Also known as the "Old Woman
of Autumn," her origins can be traced back to the ancient Slavic goddesses of birth
and death. The derivation of her name is not clear: "baba," is an abbreviated form
of the word "babushka," the Slavic term for an old woman or grandmother;
but the origins of
"Yaga," are more muddy - possibly it is a corruption of
"yagat" (to abuse or find fault), possibly it is from a Proto-Slavic
word meaning lazybones, or it could simply be a diminutive of the Slavic name
Jadwiga (a Polish variation of the German name Hedwig).
This article was originally published in October 2009, and has been updated for the
May 2010 paperback release.
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