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
3.5 stars. I love fairy tales and retellings, I also love mythology and folklore and fairy lore. Of course I was at least going to like this book a little bit just for the setting and lore. I did enjoy the story for the most part as well.
I almost gave up on this book. The first 1/4 or so of the story was definitely like a fairytale, it was written like a tale that should be told out loud. That is not immersive in the least, and I don't enjoy non-immersive reading (in fiction). I almost gave up. But I pushed through a little longer, despite a few groans and head desks of annoyance. And thankfully it paid off after Anna and Konstantin joined the story, that's when things got immersive. The beginning was just set up, thank the gods.
If I have to read or hear the words, "It's a womans lot" ever again I might just explode. I don't blame the author, that is historically accurate I am sure, but it really did piss me off. Not necessarily a bad thing though as it made me a bit more invested in the story, wanting to see the MC push past that lot she had been shoved into. Same can be said for the Christian vs Pagan part of the story. Sure, I was enraged by the Christian domination, but that was part of why I had to keep reading. It's kind of fascinating watching a religion implode. It's also fascinating to read about the way Russians probably kept hold of their pagan roots while being Christian, I believe some cultures and places still do this even today.
The fairy side of the story was interesting too, but it was only a small part really until the last part of the book when it all finally comes to a head. I suppose it couldn't be too fairy heavy though. The ideas and lore was interesting, and near the end when you suddenly realise, ohhhh that's why Marina was so skinny and weak at the start of the story, it was well done, even if it was only a minor point.
Overall I think the book was well done, as a retelling it's good. But there were parts that I just couldn't get into, parts that angered me and frustrated me (and I know it's not the authors fault, but it detracts from the story for me personally). And the fact that I was ready to give up on it at one point is also not a good thing. I will maybe read the sequels, but maybe not.
