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A review by kjjohnson
The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden
4.0
Closer to 4.5?
I knew little about Russian folklore before this book, and I found it very interesting. The book also had way more horror vibes than I expected, and starting from about midway right until almost the end I was in a constant state of tension while I read; the sensation of creeping and inevitable dread was very well done.
I enjoyed Vasya's free-spiritedness, and how their family [almost] always had each others backs. The dad's sacrifice at the end almost made me tear up, much more so than when the various Russian household spirits joined in (I almost wish it had just been the dad; they kind of confused the scene a bit for me). The descriptions of the cold, and forest, and Moscow/Russia in general were fantastic, even if the characters were a little thin, and the exploration of how Christianity mixed with the older beliefs. And the book didn't end with a cliffhanger or a romance, which I appreciated!
I knew little about Russian folklore before this book, and I found it very interesting. The book also had way more horror vibes than I expected, and starting from about midway right until almost the end I was in a constant state of tension while I read; the sensation of creeping and inevitable dread was very well done.
I enjoyed Vasya's free-spiritedness, and how their family [almost] always had each others backs. The dad's sacrifice at the end almost made me tear up, much more so than when the various Russian household spirits joined in (I almost wish it had just been the dad; they kind of confused the scene a bit for me). The descriptions of the cold, and forest, and Moscow/Russia in general were fantastic, even if the characters were a little thin, and the exploration of how Christianity mixed with the older beliefs. And the book didn't end with a cliffhanger or a romance, which I appreciated!