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Looking for a fairy tale like fantasy novel set in medieval Russia? The following review should give you an idea as to whether The Bear & The Nightingale will interest you.
Title: The Bear and the Nightingale
Author: Katherine Arden
Pages: 312 (paperback)
Point of View: 3rd person
Genre(s): Fantasy
Instalments: Book 1 in the Winternight Trilogy
Vasilisa Petrovna is the youngest of Pyotr Vladimirovich’s children. Growing up in the cold of Russia with only her nurse and older sister as mother figures, she turns out to be rather rambunctious for a female in medieval times. Convinced his young child needs a real mother he sets out with his two oldest sons to Moscow to bring back a wife. Fiercely devout, Anna never wanted to marry as she is too scared to be anywhere else but in church for she has the same gift as Vasya; to see spirits. Whereas Vasya is comfortable with her ability and finds reassurance in her new friends, Anna believes them to be devils and demons. When a new priest is appointed to their village and the people are banned from honoring their household spirits, misfortune strikes.
A Darkly Tinged Fairy Tale
Beautiful and melodious, this retelling is written like an old fairy tale itself. Set in ancient Russia and filled with monsters of old tales, this novel has a dark tinge. It covers at least fourteen years as we follow the family shortly before Vasya is born to her in her younger years and concluding in her early teens.
Characters You Can’t Help But Sympathize With
You will feel immensely for Vasya as she seems to be the only one in the right and faces mistreatment even though she simply wants to be free of being weighed down by her gender. She is misunderstood by most as a hoyden and a witch. Something that will get you is that, thanks to it being written in third person, most of the characters actions are understandable, even the questionable ones. You are even able to sympathize with the priest in a way despite the storm he brings.
A Suspenseful And Powerful Tale
There’s no real romance to the plot, which also isn’t needed in the slightest as it focuses on the cruelty and the unfairness of their world. The plot is also quite unpredictable as you have mostly no idea where the story line will lead for a long time (aside from the obvious showdown).
The Bear and the Nightingale is a suspenseful and powerful tale about magic, a woman’s standing in medieval Russia and familial love.
Intrigued and feeling the need to read The Bear & the Nightingale? You can buy it here: Thalia
