There Once Lived A Woman Who Tried to Kill Her Neighbor’s Baby:  Scary Fairy Tales by Ludmilla Petrushevskaya (Penguin, 2009)

Why couldn’t I put this book down?  Same reason Grimm’s Fairy Tales still captivate us – how awful can it become for these victims?  I must continue to read to see the macabre outcome.  

To add spice, these tales come from Russia, so are tinged with Slavic pessimism, deep, dark woods, snow covered steppes and hangovers of Soviet deprivation and nihilism.  Yum.  These are not scary fairy tales for children.  These are adult to their anguished soul.  Read one a night and enjoy Petrushenskaya’s craftsmanship.