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A review by april_does_feral_sometimes
The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden
4.0
The pagan Russian spirits of medieval times (14th century) are seriously scary! They will kill you or reward you depending on their mood. House spirits tend to be protective of the household, but the forest spirits are a mite touchy! They might be your friend if they like you, or they might eat you or enslave you!
In 'The Bear and the Nightingale' by Katherine Arden the main character Vasilisa (Vasya) Petrovna is a witch! At least, the people of the farming village in northern Rus, Lesnaya Zemlya, believes her to be. Since she was a child Vasya preferred playing in the forest to staying in the house. Everyone around her knew she should be married soon at puberty as it was obvious she was more strong-willed and feisty than a girl should be. A husband would break her to the bit-and-saddle of obedience, cooking and bearing children. Besides, Vasya talks to things that are not there. The child has the 'sight'. She is much like her grandmother, or so says Dunya, her nursemaid. Vasya's mother, Marina Ivanovna, wanted a child like her own mother, and she got her in Vasya. Unfortunately, in having Vasya, Marina weakened and died.
Vasya's father, Pyotr Vladimirovich, loves all of his children - the five from his first marriage to Marina Ivanovna - Olga, Nicholai Petrovich (Kolya), Aleksandr (Sasha), Lyoshka (Alyosha), and Vasilisa (Vasya), and from his second marriage to Anna Ivanovna - Irina.
Marina was half sister to the Grand Prince Ivan Ivanovich of Moscow. She was a suitable and well-loved wife by Pyotr Vladimirovich. Pyotr is a great lord and Boyer with "rich lands and many men to do his bidding." But Anna, his second wife, is quite different. While she is related to the same royal family as Marina, Anna is mentally ill. She also sees creatures that aren't there, but unlike Vasya who accepts the pagan spirits as natural, Anna believes she is surrounded by demons. She wanted to be a nun to escape these demons. Instead she is forced to marry Pyotr.
Father Semyon, a kind priest, is replaced by Father Konstantin from Moscow. Konstantin is a powerful speaker and mesmerizing. He soon has all the people of Lesnaya Zemlya frightened of demons and the Devil. The people regret their pagan customs of feeding and believing that their local spirits are helpful as long as they are pacified with gifts of food. Instead, they are led to believe by Father Konstantin their spirits of the woods and rivers and hearths are demons to be feared. The people begin seeing Vasya as evil since she appears to play with the demons.
As Vasya grows up, she tries to be normal, but she simply must escape to play in the woods, especially since Anna hates her and Konstantin wants to break her down into accepting her god-given role as obedient wife and mother. Vasya has only one human friend, her brother Alyosha, and some of the spirits she befriended. She also learns she understands the language of horses! She is generally happy.
However, an evil spirit of the forest is growing stronger with the coming of Christianity and Father Konstantin. Konstantin has convinced the villagers the old Russian spirits are demons. The protective spirits are starving from lack of food and gifts. The evil spirit of the forest is almost free from his bonds! Can Vasya do anything? She is only a young teen, and destined to be wife or put in a convent to tame her. Everyone in the village thinks her damned and wicked already, and wants to kill her.
What will happen? As this is the first book in the Winternight trilogy, we know she accomplishes her survival, but who wins the struggle for choosing her future - Christian believers, or the old pagan spirits, or will she be free to make her own choices?
The book is written somewhat in a manner reminiscent of a fairy tale. Vasya is engaging and likeable, and she is heroic and misunderstood - a perfect modern YA character. As to the Russian spirits, I'm afraid I know nothing of them, but they remind me of what I know of the spirits of Celtic myths, or the ancient Greek legends. The author's note informs readers the book is true to the period (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_the_Bold) as much as is possible. There is not a lot of historical documentation due to Russian Christians destroying all of anything they discovered referring to their pagan past.
In 'The Bear and the Nightingale' by Katherine Arden the main character Vasilisa (Vasya) Petrovna is a witch! At least, the people of the farming village in northern Rus, Lesnaya Zemlya, believes her to be. Since she was a child Vasya preferred playing in the forest to staying in the house. Everyone around her knew she should be married soon at puberty as it was obvious she was more strong-willed and feisty than a girl should be. A husband would break her to the bit-and-saddle of obedience, cooking and bearing children. Besides, Vasya talks to things that are not there. The child has the 'sight'. She is much like her grandmother, or so says Dunya, her nursemaid. Vasya's mother, Marina Ivanovna, wanted a child like her own mother, and she got her in Vasya. Unfortunately, in having Vasya, Marina weakened and died.
Vasya's father, Pyotr Vladimirovich, loves all of his children - the five from his first marriage to Marina Ivanovna - Olga, Nicholai Petrovich (Kolya), Aleksandr (Sasha), Lyoshka (Alyosha), and Vasilisa (Vasya), and from his second marriage to Anna Ivanovna - Irina.
Marina was half sister to the Grand Prince Ivan Ivanovich of Moscow. She was a suitable and well-loved wife by Pyotr Vladimirovich. Pyotr is a great lord and Boyer with "rich lands and many men to do his bidding." But Anna, his second wife, is quite different. While she is related to the same royal family as Marina, Anna is mentally ill. She also sees creatures that aren't there, but unlike Vasya who accepts the pagan spirits as natural, Anna believes she is surrounded by demons. She wanted to be a nun to escape these demons. Instead she is forced to marry Pyotr.
Father Semyon, a kind priest, is replaced by Father Konstantin from Moscow. Konstantin is a powerful speaker and mesmerizing. He soon has all the people of Lesnaya Zemlya frightened of demons and the Devil. The people regret their pagan customs of feeding and believing that their local spirits are helpful as long as they are pacified with gifts of food. Instead, they are led to believe by Father Konstantin their spirits of the woods and rivers and hearths are demons to be feared. The people begin seeing Vasya as evil since she appears to play with the demons.
As Vasya grows up, she tries to be normal, but she simply must escape to play in the woods, especially since Anna hates her and Konstantin wants to break her down into accepting her god-given role as obedient wife and mother. Vasya has only one human friend, her brother Alyosha, and some of the spirits she befriended. She also learns she understands the language of horses! She is generally happy.
However, an evil spirit of the forest is growing stronger with the coming of Christianity and Father Konstantin. Konstantin has convinced the villagers the old Russian spirits are demons. The protective spirits are starving from lack of food and gifts. The evil spirit of the forest is almost free from his bonds! Can Vasya do anything? She is only a young teen, and destined to be wife or put in a convent to tame her. Everyone in the village thinks her damned and wicked already, and wants to kill her.
What will happen? As this is the first book in the Winternight trilogy, we know she accomplishes her survival, but who wins the struggle for choosing her future - Christian believers, or the old pagan spirits, or will she be free to make her own choices?
The book is written somewhat in a manner reminiscent of a fairy tale. Vasya is engaging and likeable, and she is heroic and misunderstood - a perfect modern YA character. As to the Russian spirits, I'm afraid I know nothing of them, but they remind me of what I know of the spirits of Celtic myths, or the ancient Greek legends. The author's note informs readers the book is true to the period (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_the_Bold) as much as is possible. There is not a lot of historical documentation due to Russian Christians destroying all of anything they discovered referring to their pagan past.