‘When Among Crows’ Review: Short and Bittersweet

Veronica Roth, the author behind the beloved young adult “Divergent” novels, has breathed new life into Slavic folklore in her latest book, “When Among Crows.” This fantasy novella follows Dymitr, a mysterious newcomer to the Chicago metropolis, on his search to find the witch Baba Jaga. Dymitr’s mission requires him to find unlikely allies, including a zmora — or fear-eating immortal — named Ala. Eventually, Dymitr reveals to Ala that they are connected through more than just a quest to find magic, and as they traverse Chicago’s underbelly, the duo discovers how to break free from their ties to the past. “When Among Crows” is deeply imaginative and refreshingly self-contained, but its attempt to juggle more than its central quest threatens the novella’s ability to satisfy its audience.

Roth’s novella is praiseworthy for highlighting the rich Polish immigrant community of the Midwest and creatively placing ancient Slavic folklore in the present United States. The immortal creatures that litter Roth’s Chicago — from leshy to banshees — represent how immigrants’ connections to their homelands travel alongside them. “When Among Crows” explores the often overlooked aspects of Polish life in Chicago: snatches of Polish language sprinkled throughout conversations, small neighborhoods where people know each other, and bedtime stories that grandmothers never abandon. The story oozes passion for the Polish immigrant experience in the Midwest, similar to how Roth’s “Divergent” reads as a love letter to the Chicago landscape. Roth’s intimate understanding of the Polish immigrant community, as well as her depiction of both Chicago’s grand and dingy corners, imbues the novella with a bittersweet tinge of hominess and nostalgia.

One of the most refreshing aspects of “When Among Crows” is its restraint. Coming in at just under 200 pages, the work is blissfully self-contained. Dymitr has a simple arc throughout the novella: He seeks a mystical power and deals with the consequences of finding it. When he discovers that the magic he seeks will lead him in a surprising direction, he embraces his ability to forge a new path, and then his story simply ends. Roth’s compact storytelling is appreciated in a fantasy landscape plagued with unnecessary installations. The novella’s length also keeps the pacing snappy and exciting — Dymitr’s search quickly zips from obstacle to obstacle without ever becoming stale.

Yet, alongside this brevity comes some problems with the novel’s depth. Dymitr’s progress fits within a succinct arc, but the other narratives that Roth attempts to explore are not given ample room to develop. For example, another character that accompanies Dymitr and Ala on their journey to find Baba Jaga is Niko, an immortal hiding in the Chicago urban sprawl. Roth sketches out a romance between Niko and Dymitr that turns out disappointingly shallow. Dymitr, who deals with the scars of a suppressive religious upbringing, initially struggles to accept his attraction to this immortal. His reluctance to join the magical underworld mirrors the struggles that some feel to accept their sexuality in suffocating circumstances. But his development is rushed within the last fifty pages as his romance with Niko rushes forward unnaturally. Roth’s examination of religious trauma and the difficulty of accepting one’s own sexuality is almost too much to fit into such a short, action-focused novella. The book benefits from its brief length, but Roth’s attempt to add storylines outside of Dymitr’s central quest makes the story feel unbalanced.

Overall, “When Among Crows” takes on the fantasy genre with an angle that celebrates Chicago’s Polish community. It is fresh, short, and bittersweet, even if it bites off a little more than it can chew. While the novella is far from groundbreaking, it is a lovely addition to the fantasy landscape and proves that Roth’s writing prowess goes beyond the young adult genre.

—Staff writer Hannah E. Gadway can be reached at hannah.gadway@thecrimson.com.