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hpez 's review for:
The Bear and the Nightingale
by Katherine Arden
This is an amazing Russian style fairy tale set into a trilogy. It is full of villains and heroes, love and loss. I cannot suggest this book enough.
However, there seem to be a lot of negative reviews on here. Mostly, it seems people that are giving a negative review do not understand that this is influenced greatly by historical and cultural norms of medieval Russia. It was a very dark time with a lot of conflict. It also, was a time where Christianity was coming in to Russia and the old ways were being set aside for the pomp and posturing of the Christian god.
So here are your content warnings I guess.
Read this book if you love:
Heroes
Strong sense of family
Strong sense of honor
Fairy Tales
Villains and their demise
Do not read if you can't handle:
Non-Westernized culture
Historically inspired depictions of Christianity
The idea of a villain being a Christian
Chyerti - the spirits of medieval Russian folklore/belief
and finally, don't read it if you can't check your ego at the introduction. Not every tale told will conform to your ideals and world view, but that is the joy of reading. You get to explore a new culture or a new idea.
I truly enjoyed this book and I think others will as well. So give it a try!
However, there seem to be a lot of negative reviews on here. Mostly, it seems people that are giving a negative review do not understand that this is influenced greatly by historical and cultural norms of medieval Russia. It was a very dark time with a lot of conflict. It also, was a time where Christianity was coming in to Russia and the old ways were being set aside for the pomp and posturing of the Christian god.
So here are your content warnings I guess.
Read this book if you love:
Heroes
Strong sense of family
Strong sense of honor
Fairy Tales
Villains and their demise
Do not read if you can't handle:
Non-Westernized culture
Historically inspired depictions of Christianity
The idea of a villain being a Christian
Chyerti - the spirits of medieval Russian folklore/belief
and finally, don't read it if you can't check your ego at the introduction. Not every tale told will conform to your ideals and world view, but that is the joy of reading. You get to explore a new culture or a new idea.
I truly enjoyed this book and I think others will as well. So give it a try!