Review: The Bear and the Nightingale

Posted by Marzie's Reads November 27, 2017

Review: The Bear and the Nightingale

The Bear and the Nightingale (Winternight Trilogy #1) by Katherine Arden
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I received this book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.

This review first posted in December 2016 on Goodreads. It is republished here in advance of the release of The Girl in the Tower (Winternight Trilogy #2).

"Come in, Vasya. It is cold."

The Bear and The Nightingale might be better titled "Vasilisa the Brave Meets the Bear and Death, and Befriends a Nightingale." This is a book "of bears and sorcerers, of spells made of sapphire and the king of the sea." It is more than enough. This is a delightful book, something like a Bildungsroman of a young woman realizing her potential for magic and embracing it. It also makes it clear that the greater part of magic is truly seeing the world around us. With an unconventional take on Russian folklore, in which the rich natural world of folklore is in no small measure pitted against the restrictive Russian Orthodox Church and the stifling limitations of gender-typical roles for women, Arden gives us a tale that is reminiscent of Catherynne Valente's Deathless, which I hold in high esteem. Vasilisa is not a young woman willing to be caged in. This is a very polished debut novel and I will look forward to more from the author! I am glad to know she has more of Vasya's world planned. This is the first of a trilogy.

I'm offering a Giveaway of this book!

Appropriate for mature middle school readers through adult readers.