The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden

The Bear and the Nightingale (Winternight Trilogy, #1)

by Katherine Arden

Katherine Arden’s bestselling debut novel spins an irresistible spell as it announces the arrival of a singular talent with a gorgeous voice.
 
“A beautiful deep-winter story, full of magic and monsters and the sharp edges of growing up.”—Naomi Novik, bestselling author of Uprooted

Winter lasts most of the year at the edge of the Russian wilderness, and in the long nights, Vasilisa and her siblings love to gather by the fire to listen to their nurse’s fairy tales. Above all, Vasya loves the story of Frost, the blue-eyed winter demon. Wise Russians fear him, for he claims unwary souls, and they honor the spirits that protect their homes from evil.

Then Vasya’s widowed father brings home a new wife from Moscow. Fiercely devout, Vasya’s stepmother forbids her family from honoring their household spirits, but Vasya fears what this may bring. And indeed, misfortune begins to stalk the village.

But Vasya’s stepmother only grows harsher, determined to remake the village to her liking and to groom her rebellious stepdaughter for marriage or a convent. As the village’s defenses weaken and evil from the forest creeps nearer, Vasilisa must call upon dangerous gifts she has long concealed—to protect her family from a threat sprung to life from her nurse’s most frightening tales.

Praise for The Bear and the Nightingale

“Arden’s debut novel has the cadence of a beautiful fairy tale but is darker and more lyrical.”—The Washington Post

“Vasya [is] a clever, stalwart girl determined to forge her own path in a time when women had few choices.”—The Christian Science Monitor

“Stunning . . . will enchant readers from the first page. . . . with an irresistible heroine who wants only to be free of the bonds placed on her gender and claim her own fate.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Utterly bewitching . . . a lush narrative . . . an immersive, earthy story of folk magic, faith, and hubris, peopled with vivid, dynamic characters, particularly clever, brave Vasya, who outsmarts men and demons alike to save her family.”—Booklist (starred review)

“An extraordinary retelling of a very old tale . . . The Bear and the Nightingale is a wonderfully layered novel of family and the harsh wonders of deep winter magic.”—Robin Hobb

Reviewed by nannah on

4 of 5 stars

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1. Finally! Some Slavic stuff that isn't (mostly) wikipedia drivel!
2. Everyone downrating this book because it doesn't portray Christians in the positive light you Always Think Christians Should Be Portrayed In ... just ... take a breath. Please don't be ignorant. Christians weren't always the heroes, and it's unfair to expect them to be heroes in every single piece of media on Earth. Especially in books SET in periods when Christians completely destroy other religions.

Like in this book, set in a time where Slavic Pagans with one half of their heart worship the old gods and pray to the spirits of the house and forest, and with the other half are Orthodox Christians. Because ""Christianity won"", history often sides with Christianity. This book takes the Pagan side, which is why people get angry. Read with an open mind, ; the bad guy is actually a pagan god anyway, so .... . But if you're sensitive to this, best skip this one.

Book content warnings
period-accurate misogyny & sexism

A very, Very, VERY loose retelling of the Slavic/Russian fairy tale, "Vasilisa the Beautiful", this book is very well written, especially for a YA novel. I love the storytelling, old-world style it has, and that fits nicely with the subject!

Ugly Vasilisa's mother dies shortly after she's born. And as she grows, her father, Pyotr, discovers he needs another woman around (""to do some women's work!""). He goes to Moscow on business--and it IS intriguing when the book delves into some good ol' Russian politics--and he brings back a husband for one daughter and a wife for himself. But this wife is like Vasilisa; she can see spirits and demons, like the domovoi who helps protect the house, and the vazila, protector of horses. The difference between stepdaughter and stepmother, though, is that Vasilisa has never found anything threatening about these little spirits, and Anna, the new wife, screams and wails at each one (she was raised Christian).

When a famous monk is sent to protect the house from these demons, this family might lose the protection it needs the coming winter ... because this is the winter an actual Slavic demon has prepared to attack the forest surrounding the house. And all it needs, is someone who can See him.

So interesting setup, but I'm not sure I like the direction the author took the source material in ... There was so much someone could do with Vasilisa the Beautiful ... and instead of writing about Baba Yaga (and come on. it's BABA YAGA!! WRITE ABOUT BABA YAGA) ... she was cut to add a sort-of-romance with Death?? No. Give me Baba Yaga or give me ... wait, no (bad joke, sorry!).

I think this could more be a novel inspired by Vasilisa the Beautiful ... but maybe more so Russian folklore in general (I'm REALLY finicky because I love Slavic/Polish paganism. And while I'm not any expert in Russian folklore specifically, I CAN say this was Very Well researched compared to soooo many other Slavic YA books on the market right now. I won't name names.).

As I said before, the writing is really fitting for a retelling (and the cover, wow!). The beginning and the end are stunning as well, but the middle drags. Unfortunately, it's also by far the largest chunk of the book. For a while I'm not really sure what's happening plot-wise; it's just a bunch of PoV's thrown together, and a lot of the same things keep happening without much moving forward. But stay with it till the end, and you see that lovely ending.

I'll read on ... because maybe, just maybe ... there'll be Baba Yaga ...

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  • 18 April, 2019: Reviewed
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