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A review by myrtosfullybooked
The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
The perfect read for a chilly winter's night, the Bear and the Nightingale is the first book of Katherine Arden's #Winternight Trilogy, but can also be read as a standalone.
This book was recommended to me at a time when I was really sceptical towards fantasy as a genre and considered it mostly dull and predictable (hero's journey and all that...). Two years later, I find myself a big fantasy fan, mostly thanks to this book.
Arden builds a beautiful, fantastical world on a victionalised version of medieval Russia. I thought she did a fantastic job of weaving historical and cultural elements of that time within the story in such a natural way. Also, the glossary at the end offers valuable insights into items of clothing, rituals, and customs mentioned in the book and I am an absolute sucker for this type of thing. Vasya, the central heroine is so well-constructed and her journey is anything but predictable and dull. Following her character development and story was captivating, and I was oh so grateful that it did not all fall into fantasy-adventure-turns-romance trope with a romantic element overtaking everything else.
My favourite theme from the story was the clash between folkloric superstition and Christianity; how a religion not born from that soil, from that way of life, can come and extinguish people's connection with their land and their traditions. We get to follow how old superstitions and rituals are phased out by blind religious obedience and how the latter sometimes alienates humans from nature and its gifts to us. Also, without spoiling anything, that scene with Konstantin painting an icon was😚🤌.
This book was recommended to me at a time when I was really sceptical towards fantasy as a genre and considered it mostly dull and predictable (hero's journey and all that...). Two years later, I find myself a big fantasy fan, mostly thanks to this book.
Arden builds a beautiful, fantastical world on a victionalised version of medieval Russia. I thought she did a fantastic job of weaving historical and cultural elements of that time within the story in such a natural way. Also, the glossary at the end offers valuable insights into items of clothing, rituals, and customs mentioned in the book and I am an absolute sucker for this type of thing. Vasya, the central heroine is so well-constructed and her journey is anything but predictable and dull. Following her character development and story was captivating, and I was oh so grateful that it did not all fall into fantasy-adventure-turns-romance trope with a romantic element overtaking everything else.
My favourite theme from the story was the clash between folkloric superstition and Christianity; how a religion not born from that soil, from that way of life, can come and extinguish people's connection with their land and their traditions. We get to follow how old superstitions and rituals are phased out by blind religious obedience and how the latter sometimes alienates humans from nature and its gifts to us. Also, without spoiling anything, that scene with Konstantin painting an icon was😚🤌.