Book Review: The Bear and the Nightingale
- Author: Katherine Arden
- Series: Winternight Trilogy
- Pages: 319
- Published January 10th 2017 by Del Rey Books
The Bear and the Nightingale
Christmas is the time of year when we all long for the snow and cozy winter evenings under the blankets by the fireplace with a cup of tea or coffee. So if you are thinking of a book that is perfect for this time of year, be sure to read our review and recommendations of a very magical book, The Bear and the Nightingale by Catherine Arden.
The extraordinary Vasya Petrovna
Arden takes us to the Russian wasteland where the snowdrifts are higher than the houses. She throws us into the wide world of fairy tales. The story introduces us to Vasya and her family. Having no mother, she was raised by her nanny Dunya, who tells her and her family fairy tales every night. But Vasya Petrovna is not an ordinary girl and she sees things that others do not. Every page of this book is steeped in magic, the whole story is based on Russian folklore. Much of the book is devoted to religion. There is a clash between pagan customs and the newly introduced Christianity. When Vasya’s father brings his new wife Anna to Lesnaya Zemlya, she is ready to do anything to eradicate the people’s faith and impose Christianity once and for all.
Wonderland
Will people be able to forget the familiar spirits, the immortal Kashchei, Baba Yaga and Morozko? I liked that we follow life in Lesnaya Zemlya even before Vasya is born and she grows up before our eyes. This gives the book itself an added charm. We also see what the women’s place was in the house and how difficult it is for Vasya to follow her destined path. A very warm book that goes hand in hand with Russian history, well-developed characters and a dash of love. A wonderful prelude to the “Winternight” trilogy.
If for some reason you missed the magic of “The Bear and the Nightingale” if you miss the blanket of winter snow, or if you just want to read it again, I recommend a cup of hot chocolate and a fluffy blanket. The coziness that the story creates is amazing and somehow close.
“The Girl in the Tower” Book Review
“The Winter of the Witch” Book Review
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
