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
I had been highly anticipating this book because I love love love all things Russian and it didn’t disappoint. It’s very familiar and evocative of classic fairytale storytelling, but is fresh via the Russian folklore elements and Arden’s strong characterization and lyrical writing. Arden’s passion for Russian culture, literature, and folklore is evident on every page and I feel that she really did it justice in making it come alive anew.
I was pleasantly surprised by the themes at play in this book. The protagonist, Vasya, struggles to balance her faith in the spirits with a new priest’s strict teachings, as well as the community’s discomfort with her “masculine” or unconventional traits (horseback riding, wandering in the forest, dressing like a boy, etc.). I would love to reread this and delve more into the gender and religious issues at hand here, especially because the strictest figures in the book both acknowledge the beauty and freedom in her wildness:
“She is a handsome girl,” said Pyotr. “Though a savage. She needs a husband; it would steady her.” But as he spoke, an image came to him of his wild girl wedded and bedded, sweating over an oven. The image filled him with a strange regret, and he shook it away.
He saw all at once, as Pyotr had seen, the wild thing brought indoors, busy and breathless, a woman like other women. Like Pyotr, he felt a strange sorrow and shook it away. . . . He thought again of years, of childbearing and exhaustion. The wildness gone, the hawk’s grace chained up . . . He swallowed. It is for the best. The wildness was sinful.
It’s reminiscent of [b:Uprooted|22544764|Uprooted|Naomi Novik|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1495022714s/22544764.jpg|41876730] by Naomi Novik in terms of its atmosphere, and also reminds me of [b:The Star-Touched Queen|25203675|The Star-Touched Queen (The Star-Touched Queen, #1)|Roshani Chokshi|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1446058438s/25203675.jpg|44916095] by Roshani Chokshi in terms of writing style. Sometimes, like Chokshi’s writing, it gets a little too adjective-heavy, but that didn’t detract from my love of Arden’s style overall.
100% recommend this to fantasy and historical fiction fans, even fans of magical realism. It’s the kind of book that will be immediately apparent if it’s for you or not, so you may want to check out the first chapter, which is available on Arden’s website.
