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A review by abeerhoque
The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden
4.0
The Bear and the Nightingale (Book 1 of the Winternight Trilogy) by Katherine Arden is a gorgeously written story about a little girl growing up in a far northern Russian village, some time in the Middle Ages. The central conflict features the onset of Christianity tangling with an older religion of spirits and demons who live in fragile concert, supported by the humans who still believe.
Our little heroine can see more than most and her adventures in the forest nearby are wondrous and terrifying. I was bowled over by the language, as much for its lyrical beauty (“the air sullen with wet that was neither rain nor snow”) as for its literary anachronisms. I especially loved how the frozen unforgiving winter itself was a character.
But as much as I enjoyed the addictive story and rich characters and lush setting, I wasn’t tempted to continue reading the rest of the trilogy because of my knee-jerk response to religious themes. I can’t with the goddiness these days. And of course medieval times will come with overpowering patriarchy and I’d rather my fantasy reading not play out this old (and endless) narrative. However, if you’re a smidge more forgiving, and you likely are, Arden is an incredible writer and storyteller, and I’m awed that this was her debut novel.
Our little heroine can see more than most and her adventures in the forest nearby are wondrous and terrifying. I was bowled over by the language, as much for its lyrical beauty (“the air sullen with wet that was neither rain nor snow”) as for its literary anachronisms. I especially loved how the frozen unforgiving winter itself was a character.
But as much as I enjoyed the addictive story and rich characters and lush setting, I wasn’t tempted to continue reading the rest of the trilogy because of my knee-jerk response to religious themes. I can’t with the goddiness these days. And of course medieval times will come with overpowering patriarchy and I’d rather my fantasy reading not play out this old (and endless) narrative. However, if you’re a smidge more forgiving, and you likely are, Arden is an incredible writer and storyteller, and I’m awed that this was her debut novel.