The Malachite Casket

[wiseheart]

phyloxena, do you have any idea where I could get an English copy of "The Malachite Casket" by Bazhov (sp???)?

I used to have a Hungarian copy with awesome illustrations, but somehow I managed to lose it by all the moving I used to do in the years of my forgotten youth. And I don't have enough Russian to read it in original.

Not so long ago, I bought the Russian movie version of it on DVD. What can I see, it was a big disappointment. I think the Queen of the Mountains had no character at all - plus she was way too plain - and Sztyepan was portrayed as an idiot. But it's probably just me.

When I was a child, I used to spend hours with that book, trying to imagine the subterranean realm of the Queen. That was my first touch with fantasy, way before Tolkien, Larry Alexander or the Darkangel trilogy.

The tale I particularly liked was the one with the Cat who walked underground and just his ears, in the form of foot-long flames, could be seen above the earth. I'd like so much to read those tales again!

Comments

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

I liked lizards on the ground and how Stephan's daughter disappeared into the wall.

Which was done well enough in the film, surprisingly. What angered me more that everyone behaved like capricious children.

Too bad you don't have photos about those carvings. But again, perhaps they wouldn't mean the same to you now as they did when you were a child.