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 UprootedWinter lasts most of the year at the edge of the Russian wilderness, and in the long nights, Vasilisa and her … 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
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This novel is, in my opinion, fantasy at it’s best. Vasya and her family are people you can relate to, and you really want her to succeed in keeping them safe and saving the world as she knows it from the Bear. In many ways she is the Frodo of the story, the one who saves the world, but not for herself, because she no longer fits into it. I can’t wait to read the next book in the series!
I’ve been dying to read this book since I first heard about it and it is so gratifying when this book was as amazing as I’d hoped it’d be. The Bear and the Nightingale was simply magical. I loved the darkness surrounding this story. I loved the way the story slowly unfolded and the wonderful characters. I can’t even express how great this book is.
Four and a half stars! Well written, solid character development. Loved the Russian mythological influences. Looking forward to subsequent installments in what this series.
Wonderful tale of a long ago Russia when Christianity was starting to override local beliefs. Strong female characters (strong characters in general), great word use that paints the picture of the tale. Magical and engrossing. Loved it!
Part Game Of Thrones, part The Grisha…totally spellbinding and beautifully written.
Truly one of the best books I have ever read it. Truly magical in every way. Could not put this one down. 5 stars.
Amazing retelling of Vasilisa The Beautiful and other Russian myths/folklore! Poetic narration with true-to-self main character, this story will enchant you like never before.
Inspired by a Russian fairy tale, The Bear & the Nightingale is a stunningly atmospheric story for lovers of myths and legends.
Vasya is wild and wilful and her friends are the spirits. In the Northern parts of darkest Russia, where the winters are long and cruel, and the summers short and full of endless work, Pyotr Vladimirovich dwells with his family. Related to the Prince of Serpukhov in Moscow, they have standing in the small community. But as Vasya grows wilder by the seasons there are murmurs that the witch should be sent away.
Like all true fairy tales there is a wicked stepmother, one who herself borders on the edge of madness. She makes Vasya’s life miserable, but there is Dunya to wrap her arms around her and tell her tales of sorcery and of the Winter King, who comes for maidens who are wild.
This is definitely a young adult book aimed at girls, having said that I’m 59 and thoroughly enjoyed it! Still, there is the Winter King, tall dark and handsome, sometimes cruel sometimes kind, and the young maiden who must fight against the constraints of normality and the tradition of being married off young whether she likes it or not.
As a Christian I found Konstantin Nikonovich’s character a bit disturbing, a sinful priest that brings sadness to the town. His character was counteracted by Vasya’s lovely brother Sasha who becomes a monk to do good.
Evokes the feel of Medieval Russia and it’s people and society. Different from a lot of Fantasy and better then most
Excellent writing!! If you like twists on traditional fairy tales, you will love this. The author builds a great story over 3 books, this is the first. Each book was great and again, the writing, the word use, imagination used…just good quality. I always appreciate an author who does not use God’s name in vain or an overuse of crude words. I would highly recommend this author to anyone who enjoys good, intelligent fantasy!!
This book reads like a fairy tale. A Russian family, living in harsh conditions that include winters of starvation, love to listen to Dunya retelling the old Russian tales. Two of the six children leave, Sasha to be an itinerant monk and Olga to marry. The youngest, Irina, the child of Pyotyr’s second wife, and Kola, the second oldest son, really don’t play large roles. The main character is Vasilisa, a mystical girl whom many thought was a witch. Her brother Aloyesha trusts Vasilisa and helps her defend their home. Actually their home is quite happy, filled with various cheryti (household gods similar to elves), and the cheryti help the family so things run smoothly. Until Konstantin comes that is. He is the new priest and he believes the cgeryti are evil and godless, so everyone in the village must renounce them in order to be saved by the Christian God. But as the cheryti fade, the Bear (who symbolizes fear, famine, and discord) gains strength. Only the strength of Vasilisa’s belief and will stand in the way of potential disaster. It is easy to see this tale as a play of good versus evil, and that the author believes deep cultural and traditions are key. It took a while for me to find the rhythm of this book, but the more I read, the more I liked it.
I read this book as part of a book club and it was a lot of work. Let me just say, this isn’t my normal book, and probably something I’ll never read again.
It’s true to it’s POV, it’s well written and edited, and there was an unbelievable amount of detail in the book.
The reason why I gave it two stars is because:
1. It’s about the driest book I’ve ever forced my way through. It’s my understanding this book was written with the sequels and the purpose of it was to set up the sequels with background information. There is so much exposition, so many points that to me, not having read the sequels, seemed to be completely irrelevant. I just couldn’t get engaged. I wasn’t hooked or felt like there were points in the book where I HAD to know what happened next. At any moment I could have stopped reading and never found out the ending and would have been completely fine. It was only when the book got to chapter 21, I actually enjoyed the content.
2. I know the religion portions and how it relates to the plot (Old gods vs the New) was important, but not at one point did I care about what was being said.
3. Out of all of the characters, and there were a lot, there were only three I liked. Two of the brothers and the Frost King. That was it. Obviously there were things about each character and some of their actions I enjoyed, but as for likeability as a whole, very very small. Including the heroine. If this were setup for other books, perhaps they’d have character arcs in the future? I hope so.
4. Overall my experience with the book was just … meh. And that isn’t the way I like to feel after reading a book.
Now, it didn’t mean that it didn’t have it’s good points, because it did. Like I said, very well written, edited, and developed. I would be curious to see what happens with the Frost King because I genuinely enjoyed that portion (the very very small) portion of the book but not enough to continue with the series. It really just wasn’t my kind of story
I will freely admit to picking up this book solely due to the beautiful cover. I can see why some people adore this book, but I never fell in love with the characters or their stories. There was enough plot resolution at the end of this book that I am ambivalent about what happens in the rest of the trilogy.
I am a huge lover of cultural anthropology, mythology, folklore, and fairy tales, and this was by far the best book I have read in a long time! It’s categorized as YA Fantasy/Folklore/Fairy tale but it does not feel YA at all when you read it. A lot of Russian cultural research went into the story and even though there were many mythical beings and creatures it never felt hokey or childish.
The story follows Vasya, a young girl who grows up into a woman (at the time in 1300s Russia which means she’s a teen). The author never came right out and said the time of the story but with some historical references I was able to figure it out. It takes place between 1310 and 1350. Vasya is a wild child who loves nature and is not like the other girls. She speaks her mind, which made me love her, and she does not want to get married and be a wife. She has a special ability that she can see all the mythical creatures, beings, and demons of her homeland, a country and wintry part of Russia that made me long for a powdered snowstorm the entire time I was reading it. I would say it’s perfect for a Christmas read, but really I would love it anytime of year. Vasya’s mother was like her, a bit magical, but she died in childbirth. Her father finally remarries so that Vasya can have a stepmother, but her stepmother is cruel. I was so surprised at the stepmother because she had the same abilities, to see demons and creatures, but instead of embracing it like Vasya she was terrified of it and that is why she hates Vasya I believe. Vasya spends her days talkin to horses, because she can speak with animals, and hanging out with the nymph- like woodland creatures. Her nursemaid, Dunya, is her best companion. Secretly, she is trying to protect Vasya from the winter demon who seems to want her for himself. He said she is to have a gem when she is old enough but her family does not want her to have it because they fear it will be bad news for her. The frost/winter demon is the brother of a terrible war bringing winter demon who also wants Vasya. As you can probably guess, it ends in an epic battle between both sides. Another aspect of this book was how Christianity came into a land that still honored the old ways and old gods. This is always interesting to me, especially since I am looking at it from a Christian point of view. Vasya does not want the old ways to die and it was interesting the author personified this concept by having her mythological creatures waste away the less people sacrificed to them or gave to them or believed in them. I am a Christian and I love mythology and the old ways, not as a religion but as a study in historic cultures, so this book was everything I didn’t know I was looking for in a book!
This book was full of magic, action, heart, wintry wonderlands, history, mythology, and so much more. It is the first book in a trilogy. Immediately when I finished this one I ordered the next one so I could keep going. It’s been a long time since I’ve read something I’ve liked so much. It reminded me just how much I love mythology from other cultures and the fun things authors can do with them. My series Chronicles of a Supernatural Huntsman takes mythology from different cultures and places those creatures and beings in the main character’s path, but she is usually fighting them because they’re evil. In The Bear and the Nightingale a lot of the beings were good, household demons or elves or whatever you would like to call them. They were friends with Vasya and hardly did harm.
I highly recommend this read. I breezed right through it and never wanted to put it down. I’m so glad it’s a trilogy and I plan to read all of them. If you would like to read the Bear and the Nightingale click the button below.
Bear and the Nightingale is a gripping retelling of an old Russian story that is neither weighed down by the historical source material or carried away by the more mythical touch of lore. It is a solid start to a trilogy that will inspire research and birth daydreams.
The book is set in the 14th century and has its roots in the fairy tale of Vasilisa, here called Vasya. She is the wild daughter of a Boyar and possesses the site and ability to speak with nature and household spirits from her Grandmother, a rumored witch. Something which is important to the Winter King, Morozko’s, plans. He fills the early role of antagonist, and odd benefactor. But not is all as it seems.
Speaking of him, I found the the use of the Winter Demon, Morozko particularly intriguing. In the old Rus folktales Medved and Morozko appear to be largely depicted as one and the same, with separate aspects, demeanors. Arden separates the two. Morozko is winter, and death – taking on the form of a reaper, or guide to the afterlife – though mostly benevolent, while Medved is the Great Bear; war, rage, fear, and chaos. The story’s main plot centers on the latter’s escape, and the danger it causes to the world of men and Cheryti (a sort of Russian fairy, or spirit).
The nature of the conflict also sets it apart from similar retellings. Outside the fight between brothers, spirits of Winter and Death respectively, and the clash of the pagan world against waxing Christianity, is another that is less obvious, but just as important; Vasya’s often chaotic, freedom seeking nature versus the traditional roles of women in fourteenth century Russia. Even separated by all those centuries, and by genders, I found myself constantly at war with her predicament.
And it is an unforgiving world she lives in. Outside the limitations of a patriarchal society, Vasya must navigate a world that is as deep as any of the other characters written here. The bitter cold. The lonely forests. They all teeter out of the folds of imagination to bring a real sense of foreboding, and depth. Arden’s descriptive writing and ability to set a scene is refreshing in a world of authors that seem to forgo such in favor of plain action.
Final Thoughts: there is plenty to love in this piece, as the prose synchs nicely with the plot, and flavor. It is at times complex, others simple, but always enjoyable. Bear and the Nightingale is an excellent first part to what I expect will be a thrilling trilogy.
So close to being a five star read for me! I loved almost everything about this. The world building was rich and so very fascinating, filled with myths and folklore, and of course, one of my favorite settings – a dark, magical forest. I loved the characters. They were wonderfully flawed. The story was filled with whimsy and the writing was flowery in the best ways.
Unfortunately the pacing was a little off. While the book started incredibly slow, the building of this world was so necessary, so that worked. But then the pace either picked up to 100 or back down to 0. I never found a flow to it.
Still, I’m so excited to jump into the next book in this series! I’ve heard it only gets better, and I can’t wait to find out what happens next!
This russian fairytale was so good. I loved Vasya. The beauty of the northern village was lovely. I cannot wait to read the next book. I would recommend this book.
I loved learning about a new Culture and the stories behind it.
This book was amazing! The rich culture of Rus’ in the 1300’s (I think that is the time period from the authors discussion at the end of the book), and the mythology. I really loved the way this story felt real and true but with the added fantastical creatures and myths interwoven. Russia has always felt both real and mystic to me so this story was right up my ally. The brilliant use of the characters, everyday life, beliefs and the writing style really had be hooked. I didn’t want to put this book down and thought about it every minute I could not read it. I will be starting the next book asap!
Recommended: Yes! Between the non-american fairy tales and deities, clash of religions, social norms and a dash of darker magic, it is a compelling read.
Note: There are spoilers further on.
Pros:
I have a lot of pros for this book. There is no love triangle, which is refreshing in this case as it lets focus sit on the more important aspects of the story. Katherine Arden does an excellent job conveying the youth of the protagonist. She is stubborn and willful, but clings to comfortable things as children do. Her journey to becoming a young woman who makes her own choices, consequences and all, is well handled and subtle enough that you don’t even realize it until it is wrapping itself up. She wants to experience the world on her terms, a desire that isn’t typically attained by young women in orthodox Russia in the time period. I personally liked that her village turns against her by the end. Scared, hungry and mad, they pin their worries on the strangeness of this young girl that defies what is expected of her. She accepts that consequence to do what she must and it is a lasting one that doesn’t just disappear with the binding of the Bear.
The immortal characters are interesting as they are not bound by the same views and virtues as mortals. The frost king is both malicious and benevolent in kind, based on whether he finds the person worth it. The magic is wavering and not fully explained, which works in the frame of the story. The magic is infused with the natural world and slips between the two seamlessly. It keeps an air of mystery about it and since the protagonist is so young, she takes to just going with it. Switching the POV between a handful of characters was refreshing and gave us more insight to not only the other characters, but the environment they are in. Vasya is insightful and can see what others cannot, but she is still young and oblivious to the subtle consequences of her actions and the changing of the seasons in respect to age and responsibilities. The other characters add urgency and consequence to the main story line i.e. the mounting suspicions of the villagers and the more mundane social consequences to a girl exploring her independence. Her motivations are based on her family and the spirits she protects. As a young girl, she saw marriage and men more as an inevitability, one that is so assumed that she is not really against it until she really stops to think about what SHE wants out of her life.
The priest’s decent into madness and corruption was handled expertly and had early foreshadowing and an organic progression. His pride is evident and he is aware of how he struggles with it, but finds ways to rationalize it, creating a believable character who I was always interested in seeing what action he would take next.
Cons:
Honestly I struggle to find many cons with this story beyond my wish to know more. I know it is the first in the series so further exploration into the mystical characters and their relationships could still be a possibility. I understand keeping it minimal. I suppose it would have been interesting to see more insight into Anna’s mind towards the end. I feel like her chapters dwindled towards the last third of the book, but that is me nit-picking.
Also I know Vasya is a better person than I am as I would have taken the Frost King’s gifts in a heartbeat.