The Bear and the Nightingale

Vasilisa Petrovna is not your typical Russian girl. To the consternation and exasperation of her loving family, she is constantly running off into the woods and speaking of fairy-tale creatures as though they are real. It is all relatively harmless until her father goes to Moscow and brings a new wife back to the harsh wilderness of the north country. Vasya's new stepmother is extremely devout, and forbids the family from acknowledging the traditional household spirits. Things get even worse when a charismatic new priest arrives from the city preaching fire and brimstone for the unfaithful. As life in the unforgiving terrain deteriorates, Vasya must do her best to protect her family and village in the face of increasing hostility and suspicion over her unique abilities. Part fairy tale, part coming of age story, the Bear and the Nightingale features enchanting descriptions and well-developed characters trying to find a balance between old and new traditions.

I was unfortunately a little disappointed with this novel. I don't usually read much high fantasy or magical realism and I tried to read this as it is highly regarded and full of magical realism. I found the world building pretty strong and it made me want to try more magical realism in the future. However this story I felt became really dragged out. I didn't connect with many of the characters and I know that in terms of fantasy, world building takes precedent over character development but I didn't end up connecting with the main character and so the magical elements fell flat and I didn't feel the impending danger as emotionally as I should have done. Also I felt that there were too many magical things just thrown into the mix to move the plot forward like the walking dead, water sprites, a bear demon and a wind figure that is death and the terrible battle at the end just left me feeling meh instead of heartbroken as I was meant to feel. So overall a great idea and a good writer but a middle of the road reading experience for me.

The plot moves along, not any side tracking or focusing on subjects that don't contribute to the story or bog the movement down.

It has characters that seem interesting, including some of the spirits that share the world with humans.

And the author does a great job of providing information to show the perspective has changed from one character to another; either by calling out the new character's name or starting a new chapter.

Beautiful, atmospheric, and somewhat nostalgic. There's just something magical about this story, with its spirits in the woods and old gods that protect people's homes. It may feel rather slow in comparison to most YA books these days, but that's exactly what makes it good. You can take your time getting familiar with the countryside of medieval Russia and the protagonist, Vasya, who is fierce and rebellious but is never rude. Even when she wants to make her own decisions, something that is uncommon for a woman at the time, it is easy to understand why she feels that way instead of having it shoved in our faces in a nonsensical way.

It was amazing. It even has a little bit of schadenfreude towards the end. I love it.

Oh, and for those who are curious. The romance is thin. Like I'm sure it will develop further in the next books, but in this one, it's barely there.

What a magical, charming incredible read. Read this for the winternight read-a-long that I'm doing and I loved this book so much. Vasya is a perfect female protagonist that grew so much within this book I loved everything about her character. I loved the magic/fantasy element of it. the environments/worlds. just ugh soooo good. Can't wait to read #2 and #3 of this trilogy :) Definitely recommend for a magical fall/winter read :)

I've had the audiobook for this one sat in my Audible library for over a year, and at the prompting of a friend, I finally got around to getting the library book. I'm kicking myself for taking so long to get around to reading this, because I am in LOVE with this book.

Vasya is such a wonderful hero, plucky, compassionate, wry, and brave and her interactions with all the horses and magical creatures of Russian folklore are just delightful, and quickly become the backbone of the story.

So, I have this thing where, when I watch the live action Narnia movies, my eyes just start involuntarily streaming tears whenever Aslan is on the screen. He's just so beautiful and wondrous, and just touches my heart in a certain way that I can't help it. Well, when Vasya meets a character named Solovey (I won't give more away) I had the same experience, and after reading the descriptions of Solovey and his conversations with Vasya, my cheeks were damp and my soul was happy.

Yah, I know, that's weird, but I couldn't think of another way to describe just how much I was totally in love with book.

It's beautifully written, perfectly paced, and bursting with magic and suspense and heart. Truly, The Bear and the Nightingale is now on my list of all-time favorites, and I cannot wait to read the next two books.

~Full review and comments on The Bent Bookworm!~There was a time, not long agoWhen flowers grew all yearWhen days were longAnd nights star-strewnAnd men lived free from fearJust to clarify: The Bear and the Nightingale (TBATN) is NOT a YA book. I've seen it pop up on several lists as such, but it is not. It's also NOT historical fiction, though it is heavily inspired by historical, medieval Russia. It is adult fantasy that reads almost entirely like historical fiction until Part II, where it starts to feel like magical realism historical fiction...so let's just keep it simple and say fantasy. Could some teenagers read it and appreciate it? Yes, but the style is very different from most YA, and some of the content is definitely adult (marital rape and a little graphic violence). This obviously didn't deter me from ADORING it, but I thought the slight genre-confusion I've been noticing was worth a mention.In Russian, Frost was called Morocco, the demon of winter. But long ago, the people called him Karachun, the death-god. Under that name, he was king of black midwinter who came for bad children and froze them in the night.Feels:I am in love. With everything. With the world, with the characters, with the woods, the village. With Vasya. A little bit with Alyosha. I wept with Vasya and her family. I saw the spirits as Vasya did. I felt the fear of the villagers. I felt the pain and confusion of a young child with a wild, free spirit in a world that didn't accept her. The writing in TBATN is astounding. Lyrical, whimsical, and utterly entrancing.Characters:“I am only a country girl,” said Vasya. “I have never seen Tsargrad, or angels, or heard the voice of God. But I think you should be careful, Batyushka, that God does not speak in the voice of your own wishing. We have never needed saving before.”Vasya, the main character, is my sister from another mother. I swear. Her love of nature, her stubborn refusal to accept the fate others wish to push on her, her refusal to be broken. I already said I love her but it bears repeating. The story spans from right before her birth to the time she is 14 years old. She doesn't have an easy life, but she has to be one of the most resilient people I've ever met. Bent, at times, but never broken.“All my life I am told how I will live, and I am told how I must die. I must be a man's servant and a mare for his pleasure, or I must hide myself behind walls and surrender my flesh to a cold, silent god. I would walk into the jaws of hell itself, if it were a path of my own choosing.”Now no joke, there are quite a few characters in this story. However, they are all so clear and distinct I was never confused. Not once. Not even with the Russian names. I did have to realize in the beginning that everyone had a given (fancy) name and a called (shorter, plainer) name, but since Arden stuck mostly to the called names it wasn't hard. Also, each character experiences a growth arc in the book. No matter how minor, they show some growth and change – sometimes for good, sometimes for bad! That is an incredible feat and after reading so many books with such flat minor characters – amazing.Romance – guess what? There is none. None. None, none, none, NONE! It's such a beautiful breath of fresh air. There IS marriage. There's also sex – and by sex I mean marital rape. It's not graphic, but it's obvious. I feel it's treated as well as such a thing CAN be – these are medieval times, and in those times women were no more than property, no matter how highly valued that property. The women themselves often never questioned the right of their fathers and husbands to barter with them and then use their bodies for their own pleasure – it was a husband's right and a wife's duty! insert much sarcasm It definitely effects the entire dynamic of the story.Plot:TBATN is not a fast-paced book. It's a slow burn building up to more and more – and it's TOTALLY worth the read. All the details are beautiful and intriguing, and they really add to the mystery and overall atmosphere. The characters are really the driving force, and all the drama and suspense are very slow to build but after spending several chapters getting to know the people and the country I was already so invested I already knew I was in for the haul. Things really start to pick up with the arrival of a new priest in Vasya's village. There is a struggle between the new Catholic church and the old spirits of the land and as things start to happen at first NOTHING is explained. Everything just kept building and building and there's even a little mini-climax at one point (which was EXTREMELY satisfying), but things just keep going! Not only did it keep going, it picked up speed and I was completely wrapped up in the story.As previously stated, there is no actual romance in TBATN. It doesn't need it. There's also not an entirely happy ending. It is...heartrending, yet hopeful at the same time. There's no actual cliffhanger, but so much room for additional stories, and Vasya's fate and path seem far from decided.Worldbuilding/Setting:Phenomenal. It truly has a historical feel to it. I'm not all that well-versed in Russian history or mythology, but the detailed notes on language and history at the end, as well as the comments I've read from people native to that part of the world seem to bear out that thought as well. The descriptions allow you to fall through the pages into the story, and it really feels like a full sensory experience. When the mythological creatures begin to appear, it feels so amazingly right.Rating/Further Notes:5 stars. I don't have any more words for how beautifully savage this book is. I can't wait to see what Katherine Arden comes up with next. I've heard rumors this is the first of a trilogy, but in her author Q&A page I only see mention of a sequel. I'll be buying whatever she comes up with!Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me an eARC in exchange for an honest review!2019 - Still in love with this book and this entire series.Blog Twitter Bloglovin Instagram Google+

I'm surprised I finished it. For me, The Bear and the Nightingale was a rather boring fairytale. It was supposedly driven by its characters, but the characters didn't seem driven themselves, and I found every single one of them uninteresting, boring, or lackluster, with the few characters complex enough to hold any attention being rather despicable.

My biggest gripe is the double-standards and flatlining of characters. Anna, the stepmother, seems at first sympathetic, when it is revealed she has the Sight and is used by men in different ways, as power plays and as a bride/wife, yet for the rest of the story, there is nothing done with her to sympathise with her plight, and she becomes nothing but the evil stepmother. Her Sight and her plight is undermined by her cruelty, and she becomes something one-note. Still, the book tries to have feminist themes, but those feminist themes are offered only to the special girl, the wild girl, the wood-sprite Vasya, and no other woman is given the chance to have a choice. It is especially annoying that Vasya is given the opportunity to whine about the plight of women, when she had never been squandered by it like the rest. She had been running free in the forest since childhood, she escaped bridehood and wifedom, and she wasn't sent to a convent–of all the women and girls, she's the only one that has always been free, and she is the only one who gets to be free. She's special, and freedom is only for the special ones. I don't know whether that was Arden's angle, but that's how her writing made it seem.

Another double-standard is that between Konstantin and Morozko. Apparently lusting after teens is bad if you're a priest but if you're an immortal frost-lord, you can kiss them without consent just fine and can lord your powers over them without issue.

The whole first part of the book ended up being bloated and useless. So much of it could have been cut, and what little of it was relevant could have been interspersed throughout the other parts of the story as flashbacks or tales. The only thing the book had going for it was the prose, which has a distinct lyrical rhythm to it. It wasn't particularly conducive to battle-scenes however, and so the ‘climax' didn't feel like much of anything.

Then also comes the whole Russian aspect of it all. Multiple other reviewers in the 1-star and 2-star sections have touched upon it and they're very much correct. Arden wanted to have her cake and eat it too, make the main family “rich” boyars but present them more like peasants so that they'd be more relatable and to give Vasya the freedom needed for her to do the Cool Witch Girl Shtick she had been doing her whole life. The exoticism made apparent by the Author's Note also churns my stomach. I'm not Russian, but I share their Slavic roots, and Arden's parting words have left a bad taste in my mouth.

Overall, the story doesn't do anything special, its messaging is bogged down by Not Like The Other Girls syndrome (aka misogyny), double standards, and its characters lack the charm of real people, which makes the book's lack of plot all the more troublesome. At least the prose makes the reading experience overall smooth, even if I needed to recharge my attention span every 10 pages because of the boredom.

2020: I still adore this book. I almost wish that HBO would adapt the trilogy into a big, expensive series, but I think I prefer the version in my head.

2017: If Gaiman and Dostoyevsky got together and wrote a Russian novel with folk and fairy tale elements, this could be their diabolical creation. I can't believe this is her first book. Looking forward to many others from this author.

“That evening, the old lady sat in the best place for talking: in the kitchen, on the wooden bench beside the oven.” In the street of the small village I grew up in, there lived (and lives to this day even though she is very, very old now!) a lady of sheer infinite kindness. During the 1980'ties she still used an old oven that burned wood in her wonderfully old-fashioned kitchen. I spent many days there doing my homework for school, warming up on a wooden bench next to said oven or just hanging around listening to her stories. Thus, when I read the introductory quote, I felt immediately reminded of those days during my childhood and I was hoping for being taken back into those simple times. Unfortunately, this was not really to be: Many of the slavic “demons” or rather familiar spirits appearing in this book were part of her stories as well so I did feel a slight connection. Nostalgia isn't enough, though, and this turned out to be a very, very slow read. I almost lost patience with it and might have put it aside for good because too much irked me about this book even though the story is promising: Vasilisa “Vasya” Petrovna is the youngest daughter of Pyotr, the local squire, and Marina, his wife, who dies giving birth to Vasya. Marina's mother had special talents and Marina just knows that Vasya will inherit those. In fact, Vasya is a wild child, a tomboy, very down to earth and connected to nature. Above almost everything else she values (her) freedom. Due to all this, she can actually see the familiar spirits she knows so well from the old stories told by her nurse, Dunya. She lives in harmony with them, feeds them and even talks to them and learns from them. Doom is heralded by harsh winters, though, and the arrival of a new Christian priest who tries to “save” all those “heathens” from their worship of the old gods: “He spoke of things they did not know, of devils and torments and temptation.” And this is where things start to go severely wrong in the book: We're exposed to tons of religious crap. Neither the villagers nor Vasya need saving in the first place – they used to live in peace and harmony with each other and nature and only the arrival of the zealous priest makes things go deeply awry. Religion, and especially Christianity, pretty much poisons the local society depicted here and, true to life, is basically as much a cancer there as it is in our society today. Vasya is the only ray of light in this because she is a free spirit herself: “I would walk into the jaws of hell itself, if it were a path of my own choosing. I would rather die tomorrow in the forest than live a hundred years of the life appointed me.” It takes way too much of the book to get to this point where Vasya finally declares her independence. Of the titular “bear” we first get to hear after almost half the book! The “nightingale” comes even later... Until then we have to deal with religious nuts expressing all the things that are “sinful” and even the well-meaning people like Vasya's father are contemplating how to “save” her: “Marina, thought Pyotr. You left me this mad girl, and I love her well. She is braver and wilder than any of my sons. But what good is that in a woman? I swore I'd keep her safe, but how can I save her from herself?” I wanted to grab Pyotr at that point and club some sense into his thick head! No matter the gender, leave people be the way they want to be and if that includes going wild, so be it. Only when the book is almost over do we get some true development and, thus, a glimpse at how good this book could have been had it gotten to the point a bit quicker: “Morozko spared Vasya a quick, burning glance, and she felt an answering fire rising in her: power and freedom together.” At the end, we get to really feel that fire, the raw (narrative) power that could have made a brilliant book! Alas, it's still too little and too late to raise this book above the two stars I can justify to award it. And, yet, I might actually read the second book of the trilogy to see if it's more of the long-winded same or if Arden actually succeeds in allowing Vasya and Morozko to roam freely and wildly as they should. Blog Facebook Twitter Instagram

What a fantastic winter read! I loved the fairytale quality of it, the exotic feel of Medieval Russia and characters I quickly fell in love with, especially our headstrong female protagonist. I loved also how big a roll family played and that they were so tight as a family and that it didn't follow the typical tropes of fairytale, while also still managing to give it that feel. It isn't an action packed story, more of a steady, slow burn to the climax, but that isn't a bad thing in my opinion. It was never boring, due in large part because the writing is so beautiful and manages to convey the feel and atmosphere in such a profound way. I enjoyed just reading descriptions about the weather! The exploration of the spirit folk of Russia and religion was tastefully done I thought, even if it more heavily leaned on the pagan beliefs than the Christian ones, it showcased well the tumultuous time between the two really well. The magic is not overt, but laced into the story in a wonderful way that somehow makes it seem very natural. Overall I really enjoyed it, highly recommend it if you enjoy fairytale fantasy and I am looking forward to book two next!