The Bear and the Nightingale (The Winternight Trilogy, #1)
Katherine Arden
At the edge of the Russian wilderness, winter lasts most of the year and the snowdrifts grow taller than houses. But Vasilisa doesn't mind—she spends the winter nights huddled around the embers of a fire with her beloved siblings, listening to her nurse's fairy tales. Above all, she loves the chilling story of Frost, the blue-eyed winter demon, who appears in the frigid night to claim unwary souls. Wise Russians fear him, her nurse says, and honor the spirits of house and yard and forest that protect their homes from evil. After Vasilisa's mother dies, her father goes to Moscow and brings home a new wife. Fiercely devout, city-bred, Vasilisa's new stepmother forbids her family from honoring the household spirits. The family acquiesces, but Vasilisa is frightened, sensing that more hinges upon their rituals than anyone knows. And indeed, crops begin to fail, evil creatures of the forest creep nearer, and misfortune stalks the village. All the while, Vasilisa's stepmother grows ever harsher in her determination to groom her rebellious stepdaughter for either marriage or confinement in a convent. As danger circles, Vasilisa must defy even the people she loves and call on dangerous gifts she has long concealed—this, in order to protect her family from a threat that seems to have stepped from her nurse's most frightening tales. The Bear and the Nightingale is a magical debut novel from a gifted and gorgeous voice. It spins an irresistible spell as it announces the arrival of a singular talent.
I'm so interested to hear how people's experience of this book and story differ based on their religious background. I myself am not religious and felt like while I was still led to sympathize to some extent with characters like Anna and Konstantin, that only went so far due to the misalignment with my personal beliefs. Especially for anyone who has a genuine belief in the existence of God and demons, I'd just love to know first if that was done justice and also how that colored the folklore elements of the book. On the flip, did anyone or their family actually grow up with folklore like this?
0This book has been on my tbr list for years (thanks to a recommendation from a friend who has never once been wrong 🫶) and I am so so glad to be finally getting to it. My only wish is that it was winter because this is so perfect for a snow day. I am so enraptured by this story and the characters and am so looking forward to the rest of this book and the others in the series. From what I've read so far I'd call it cozy, but I'm sure that's in part influenced by the tidbits of Russian thrown in which is done really well and in a way that I think would feel comforting to other Russian speakers as well (entirely unlike Leigh Bardugo's Shadow and Bone which I'll never stop being annoyed at, but that's a separate rant)
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0This book has a lot of high ratings but somehow I feel like it’s still underrated? Read it, it’s cold and blistery and magical.
0Wow wow wow, this may be shooting straight into my favorite books list (thank you again Jackie for the rec half a decade ago). It ticks so many boxes for me - fantasy story in a somewhat familiar realistic setting, strong witchy heroine, interesting secondary characters and relationships, endearing magical creatures, the list goes on. First off I LOVED the incorporation of Russian terms and folklore and spirits, and Katherine Arden did a remarkable job of treating these elements in a thoughtful and respectful and knowledgeable manner, which cannot be said for some other authors (*cough* Leigh Bardugo). It's set around the 14th/15th century so it's not at all modern. There is also a glossary so the story is entirely accessible to non-Russian speakers, but has plenty of little Easter eggs for those who do know the language. The domovoi and vazila and rusalka will forever have my heart. As to the characters and story itself, it really was just so fascinating how Vasya essentially finds herself in a folktale. There was a gorgeous blending of myth and reality, and it was also really interesting how the reader gets to be introduced to all those pieces through the perspective of different characters so we don't immediately know who is right and what to trust. Anna's character was one I found extremely compelling, naturally because she's a foil to Vasya, but also because I just love a complex and somewhat sympathetic villain. Pyotr too I found myself thinking a lot about, especially with how utterly human his internal struggle was between his love for his family, his cultural values and beliefs, and his duty to his people. I suppose my only critique is that part 3 of the book did go a little bit too quick for me and I didn't really expect to get to the resolution that we did within this book. That said, I am grateful there wasn't a crazy cliffhanger and the door is still open for a natural continuation into the sequel.
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