For Estonia, I read The Man Who Spoke Snakish by Andrus Kivirähk, translated by Christopher Moseley. This is my new favorite fantasy novel, and I do not say that lightly.

I LOVE fantasy. If I had to commit to reading a single genre for the rest of my life, I would miss sci-fi, mysteries, and thrillers, but fantasy would be my choice. In another life, in another dimension, I’m actually a hobbit on a quest to read a book by an author from all the kingdoms of Middle Earth. That Courtney is probably having a heck of a time finding a book translated from Goblin to English, and I would love to continue this analogy, but I think I’ve made my point. I. ADORE. FANTASY.

And The Man Who Spoke Snakish blew me away. When I was in the sixth grade, my dad introduced me to Tolkien at the beginning of Easter vacation and I proceeded to devour The Hobbit and entire Lord of the Rings trilogy in less than two weeks. While reading Snakish, I felt like I was reconnecting with the 12-year-old Courtney who was exhilarated by her first encounter with Gandalf. I had all the same feelings of joy and awe as I stepped through the metaphorical wardrobe into a new world of talking snakes and grandfathers with poisonous fangs.

The Man Who Spoke Snakish is narrated by Leemet, a boy who was taught Snakish by his uncle. In the not so distant past, most Estonians lived in the forest and spoke Snakish, which allowed them to command the animals. They milked wolves, had fangs like snakes, and worshipped the Frog of the North, and sometimes, women fell in love with bears, but now, people are abandoning the woods for villages, where they spend their days doing backbreaking labor to grow wheat so they can eat this disgusting stuff called “bread.” (And the storytelling was so convincing, I actually gave bread the side eye. Very briefly. But still.)

Leemet’s story feels ancient and old, like Camelot and King Arthur, but it also feels new and fresh and unlike anything I’ve ever read. It questions what it means to be wild versus civilized while ruminating on religion and faith and the horrendous things humans do in the name of both.

I could gush about this book all day because it excelled in so many different ways. The characters! The setting! The story! The themes! It was all so satisfying! I can’t wait to give this book to my kids when they are in high school. If I’m lucky, they’ll let me read it to them when we are stuck at home on a rainy weekend, cozy in our pajamas, while sipping tea and nibbling cookies.