I'm not sure why I finished this book. It was interesting in the beginning and then it felt like it became another story altogether. Some parts were unnecessary, in my opinion. Otherwise, this book didn't really interest me but I finished it anyways. ( )

This a book for the intrepid reader who likes to grapple with ideas and meaning beyond plot. New York Times Book Review calls this “beguiling novel …. a powerful exploration of the relationship between our changeable bodies and our just as malleable identities….” The writing is beautiful and I love a narrator who lets the reader in on the joke –the story is narrated with an arch tone and with enough detachment to draw your own conclusions and sympathies. The story is fairy-tale-ish and takes place in an unnamed (universal) tiny country that seems vaguely Eastern-European/pre-Soviet bloc, where hunger and war are imminent and superstition and backwardness prevail. It centers on Pavla, whose name means “little” because she was born a dwarf to parents who long-awaited a living child. Agata and Vaclav are dismayed at first, but soon discover her value and her beauty, as does the rest of the village. Vaclav is a visionary and plumber, bringing the miracles of faucets and toilets to the hamlet, and Pavla is small enough to fit into the cramped places new pipes must go, becoming indispensable. The school girls call her “little nothing” and “Pavla revels in her name because she knows that if nothing is little, then it must be something indeed.” The book takes off from here, into Pavla’s adolescence where she encounters Danilo, an apprentice to a quack doctor her parents consult and the two fall in innocent love, but are thwarted by time and destiny and a host of other esoteric obstacles that require a reading leap of faith. But with the beautiful writing, themes and characters circle back around to a satisfying, if unconventional conclusion. ( )

‘’Love!’’, the woman exclaims. ‘’All anyone wants to know about is love! My God! Is there nothing more important on earth than that? Why don’t you ask the necessary questions: Will I have food in my belly? Will I have all my teeth? Will I be able to urinate without pain? But no, it’s always love! It’s pathetic.’’

In a country that resembles Poland during the beginning of the last century, an elderly woman gives birth to a girl. What should have been a blessing turns into an ordeal. Isolated peasants, the parents notice that the child is unusual. Whispers about changelings haunt the mother’s mind before she comes to accept that her Pavla is unique. More unique than she could ever imagine. Soon a story of transformation, desperate love and persecution begins, brilliantly written by Marisa Silver.

''Why is she staring at them? What horror does she see?''

This novel is full of horrors. Inspired by the wealth of Slavic myths related to wolves, Silver presents the complex theme of identity and transformation through the adventures of Pavla and Danilo. Using a wonderful combination of Folklore, seasoned with a sense of humour that varies from bittersweet to crude, and literary language that is raw and poetic, she chronicles the odyssey of being the Other. From the circus of extraordinary beings to the behaviour of the community of wolves, the terrifying asylums, the unspeakable horrors of war and the holiest obligation of protecting a child.

Each chapter, each page hides a surprise and there is no way the reader will be able to predict the story. Through misery, sadness, and isolation, a small glimpse of hope is born and change dictates our choices. Sometimes, though, Fate decides for us and all we can do is to adapt to new situations that may seem incomprehensible. The only problem I faced is the crude sexual remarks that were often and unnecessary, in my opinion. The story is so beautiful and constant emphasis on the brutal aspect of sex was tiresome.

The characters of Pavla and Danilo are excellent, full of surprises, their journey from innocence to the ugly face of life and whatever hope they still have left is beautifully communicated. Ivan is yet another memorable character, very realistic and his story was possibly the most moving sequence in the novel.
Little Nothing is anything but ''little''. It is one more literary gem...

''All she can do is stare out into the night sky. Once, she would have said that night was simply black. But now she knew differently about colour and pain and delusion. Russet red, indigo blue, brown, other. She chants this litany to herself over and over, building up a wall of words that protects her from the sound of her mother's voice, the feel of the chill on the tips of her ears and nose, the smell of chimney smoke carried on the wind. She needs to block out any intrusion that threatens to remind her of her being.''

My reviews can also be found on https://theopinionatedreaderblog.wordpress.com/ ( )

Marisa Silver weaves together a fairy tale that is as beautiful as it is haunting. The writing strikes me as a wonderful study of contrasts: grotesque imagery and disturbing themes juxtaposed with the lovely, dreamlike quality of the story and plot.

"Pavla makes her sound again and watches as her father's astonishment turns to pleasure, his smile unmasking a mouthful of brown and rotted teeth that emerge from his swollen gums at odd angles like the worn picket fence that surrounds Agata's garden and fails to keep out the scavenger deer. Pavla will do anything to keep seeing these teeth and so she laughs and waves her arms and feels, for the first time in her life, but not the last, the exquisite pain of love." ( )

Pavla's birth is difficult in many ways. Born to elderly parents whose desperation for a child has led them to consult a local witch she is born a dwarf and faces rejection from her disappointed and guilt-ridden mother. Over time the infant manages to overcome her mother's reservations and become her parents' darling but even as she grows beautiful and clever (if not tall) they worry for her future and turn to the disreputable Dr Smetanka and his assistant Danilo in the hope of a cure. As one might expect, things do not go to plan. So begins Pavla's tale of many transformations as she is buried, stretched and anointed in the quest for height and passes through forests, freakshows, prisons and several physical forms. Her story is paralleled by that of Danilo who is haunted by his role in Pavla's life and passes from doctor's assistant, carnival performer, madman and engineer as he seeks to make amends.

Silver has created a pitch-perfect modern fairy-tale with shades of the Brothers Grimm, Hans Christian Anderson, Angela Carter and Catherynne M. Valente. She uses the familiar tropes of transformation and redemption with great skill and such unwavering confidence that the reader is easily swept up in the fairy-tale logic of their childhood with no inclination to break the spell with unwarranted disbelief. But despite the feeling of familiarity she manages to surprise at every turn, the sudden shifts and shocks always supported by her evocative prose.

The tales of Pavla and Danilo beautifully compliment each other, both centring on the exploration of the self whether this is through physical change, from childhood to adulthood, from dwarf to wolf-girl or a change in situation and role. It is also a meditation on the way we use stories (and stories use us) to shape our identities and speaks for the transformative power of love and the consequences that our desires for our loved ones can have, for good and for ill. "Love is not always kind," a young Pavla realises, "and it is never simple." ( )