The Bear and the Nightingale

HAVE ALL THE STARS! This book deserves them. My god, what a masterpiece. No, you overreact a lot. When I originally started to read this, I struggled with the first 30%. I thought that maybe I didn’t really enjoy the beginning due to my mindset and where I was at (as can sometimes be the case), so I decided to go back to the beginning and start again. I am so glad I did because I fell in love with this book. I did the same thing with Ferrero Rocher – I had one once and didn’t think much of them, then I had another and now it should be the law that I own all Ferrero Rocher and nobody should question it. Anyway, I do digress. Gather round people, lend me your eyes and let me tell you for why I liked this book so much. Before the end, you will pluck snowdrops at midwinter, die by your own choosing, and weep for a nightingale. The Bear and the Nightingale is best summed up by the words of the author – “A book set in Russia in the middle ages and is a mix of actual history and Slavic folklore”. The story follows Vasilisa Petrovna (or Vasya for short) – the daughter of Lord Pyotr Vladimirovich. During the time this is set, Christianity is still relatively new to these lands, and when a new priest arrives into the village there is inevitably conflict between this new(ish) god and the old gods. Actually, they are nature spirits rather than gods, but you get the point. The story doesn’t take the typical, somewhat easy route of a split townsfolk warring against each other and instead focusses on what happens to the nature spirits when people start to forget about them. NEWSFLASH – it ain’t good for them. You see, they do good. And when they are forgotten about, they fade away and can no longer do good. "Dread settled over the village: a clinging, muttering dread, tenacious as cobwebs." I think Vasya may just be the greatest character to have ever been written ever not even slightly exaggerating!! I LOVE her so much (in a purely platonic manner). I’m trying to avoid referring to her as a ‘strong, independent, female character’ because quite frankly that just doesn’t do her justice. She is so much more than that. I heard Katherine Arden read a deleted scene in which Vasya was referred to as being particularly ugly. Her father refers to her as being a ‘forest imp’ and that term sums her up so well! Throughout the story we see that Pyotr marries off his children when they come of age (as was the norm at the time). Vasya has no aspirations to get married to a wealthy Prince or Lord (despite her sister reminding her how wonderful such a thing would be). Instead, she wants to live in the forest, and spend her days gathering food and climbing trees and digging in dirt, and I feel so at one with her. She spends her days riding horses and communing with nature spirits… wait, what?! Oh yea, did I also mention, she can see nature spirits that other people can’t see and talks to her horses – they also talk back, she’s not just a rambling mad woman (although, that is how the other villagers would see her). I particularly enjoyed the conversations between Vasya and her siblings, and Vasya and the priest. Vasya is witty, clever, funny and caring but can be rather savage at times. Her ability to deliver a thud of cold hard truth was so satisfying. Several times I was internally shouting "YEAH, YOU TELL HIM!" like some kind of Vasya team cheerleader, just with a lot more beard, and my wrists are much more sexy than that of the average cheerleader. “I go to church, Father,” she replied. “Anna Ivanovna is not my mother, nor is her madness my business. Just as my soul is not yours. And it seems to me we did very well before you came; for if we prayed less, we also wept less.” give me a V… give me an A…. Okay, enough Vasya love (there will never be enough Vasya love, I will not be silenced!) and let’s talk about Arden’s writing style because by the gods this woman writes magical sentences. As I was reading I kept thinking ’Oh, that’s a really good sentence’ and ’wow that’s beautiful’. I seriously can only hope to someday write with such strength and beauty. Just as one tiny example, look at this: "His voice was like snow at midnight." I mean, come on! Who even thinks to write like that. Bloody Katherine Arden does, that’s who. I doff my hat to you miss – I am in awe. I loved the setting. It’s dark, brooding, cold, and harsh. The weather is described in such a way that it feels much more powerful and important than usual. Throughout the book we are reminded of how hard it is to live in this environment. It’s easy to see how people didn’t survive the winter. It’s easy to forget in our modern age that there was a time when if you did not prepare for the winter, you simply died. The plot was great. I was invested throughout and the ending is really satisfying (although, there was one death I wanted that didn’t happen *shakes fist in the air*). I believe there is another book due out soon, and then there will be a third and I CANNOT WAIT JUST GIVE THEM TO ME ALREADY! If you have this book on your TBR just do yourself a favour and read it already. It’s bloody marvellous and I will fight you if you say otherwise (I won’t fight you. I will simply respect your right to be wrong). Sometimes if I read a kindle version of a book (as I did in this case) and I really like it (as you may have guessed I did in this case), I will then buy a physical copy to have on my bookshelf. And LOOK AT THIS COVER – as if there is even a chance I ain’t going to have a hardback copy of this on my shelf soon. Anyway, I’m off to bake some bread and then bury it in the garden as an offering to the old gods. Peace and Love.

Vasilisa pierde a su madre desde una edad temprana. Ama el bosque , es la alegría de la casa, pero es tan extraña como lo fueron su madre y abuela. Se murmura que pueden hablar con seres del bosque y se murmura que esta destinada a algo mayor en su vida. Eso preocupa a su padre, que parte de regreso a Moscú en busca de una esposa que le ayude a educar a su extraña hija e involuntariamente se ve envuelto en una trama política y religiosa que cambiará para bien y para mal el mundo que conocían.

Got me the first time but after I left it for a while I never took it back again

I read this series twice and loved it just as much as the first time. It is my all time favourite series because it is dark, gloomy but shows the human potential. I also love Neil Gaiman, Terry Pratchett......It has the right amount of romance with a perfect twist. The characters were brilliantly described, real and relatable. This book speaks of humanity, determinism, love and questions the perception of bad and good. I can see that hard core religious people will not like it as it touches on fanaticism, blame and desire. I read reviews that complained about this very subject- that he author gave her "subjective" view on religion. HOW dare she speaks her mind and is being critical!! The story takes place in the medieval time of Russia after all. Kathrin Arden beautifully depicts that coexisting with one another is of essence and the price we pay if we choose to not do so. I will definitely read it again.

"The Bear and the Nightingale" by Katherine Arden was a random purchase on line for me. I picked it because it was in front of my nose and because someone's write-up mentioned Russian folk lore which I wanted to learn more about. I'm really glad I bought it "sight unseen" as I would almost certainly not have invested in it had I encountered it in a bookshop: the publisher must have had something in mind with the cover and the blurb on the back and inside the cover, but they would not have sold me the book which would have been a shame because they are not representative of the story and I would have missed out on a real treat. The story is a robust mix of folk tales that escape from the fireside and roam the woods, even sneaking back into the house when the family aren't careful enough. The domoviye are a real part of people's lives and blend naturally with the developing Christianity provided no one tries to push the boundaries too hard. And the harsh winters give rise naturally to stories of ice and snow incarnate. "The Bear and the Nightingale" is a stunning debut novel. Katherine Arden has a well judged turn of phrase and moves the plot on at just the right pace. The historic setting is credible and the characters believable so that when something steps out of the world of folk myths neither the people in the story nor the reader are in the least bit surprised. If I was to pick one fault it would be with the editor who let a few small things slip past: not large enough to cause any real damage, but noticeable nonetheless.