[On May 10, 2021 Strange Horizons officially expressed its political support for Palestinian solidarity. The views of Tangent Online reviewers are not necessarily those of Strange Horizons. Fiction critiqued at Tangent Online is, as much as is humanly possible, without prejudice and based solely on artistic merit.]

Strange Horizons/Samovar, July 22, 2024

“Bone by Bone” by Mónika Rusvai

“Worker’s Song” by H. Pueyo (reprint, not reviewed)

Reviewed by Victoria Silverwolf

As part of the magazine’s Samovar series of international fiction, “Bone by Bone” by Mónika Rusvai is translated from Hungarian by Vivien Urban. The main character is a witch-like being, eternally reborn as her own daughter. She is able to become a bird by consuming avian bones and absorb the consciousness of dead humans in a similar way. The plot deals with her experiences during the bombing of Dresden during World War Two. (The setting will be familiar to readers of Kurt Vonnegut’s 1969 novel Slaughterhouse-Five, or, The Children’s Crusade: A Duty-Dance with Death.)

This is a greatly oversimplified synopsis, as the story jumps back and forth in time and involves multiple incarnations of the main character. The result is much more impressionistic than linear. The author creates an effectively eerie and melancholy mood, but readers are likely to find much of the story unclear.

Victoria Silverwolf has never been to Hungary.