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The Bear and the Nightingale
(The Winternight Trilogy #1)
by
At the edge of the Russian wilderness, winter lasts most of the year and the snowdrifts grow taller than houses. But Vasilisa doesn't mind--she spends the winter nights huddled around the embers of a fire with her beloved siblings, listening to her nurse's fairy tales. Above all, she loves the chilling story of Frost, the blue-eyed winter demon, who appears in the frigid n
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Hardcover, 328 pages
Published
January 12th 2017
by Del Rey
(first published January 10th 2017)
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Start your review of The Bear and the Nightingale (Winternight Trilogy, #1)
There’s a weirdly intense spot in my heart occupied by so much love and appreciation for lushly written magical tales imbued with the feel of centuries-old fairy tales. There’s just something extremely entrancing about this breed of fantasy that delves deep into the origins of storytelling and employs the stone foundation of fairytales to tell a story that is at once comforting and familiar as well as subversive, vibrant and new.
This book shares the same DNA as Naomi Novik’s marvelously brillian ...more
This book shares the same DNA as Naomi Novik’s marvelously brillian ...more
Jul 25, 2017
Melanie
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Recommended to Melanie by:
Emily
“Tell the story of Frost, Dunyashka. Tell us of the frost-demon, the winter-king Karachun.”
This book is magical. This book is whimsical. This book is one of the best things I’ve read in my entire life. I loved this with every bone, every red blood cell, every molecule in my body. This book was nothing short of perfection, and I’m sorry to gush, but I never expected this story to captivate me the way it did.
“In Russian, Frost was called Morozko, the demon of winter. But long...more
A beautiful, pastoral fairy tale set in a fantasy version of medieval Russia.
Narrated in lyrical prose and third-person past tense, Arden weaves a tale no less compelling for its slow, gradual development. Like all the best fairy tales, the author draws on the setting - a village in the northern woods of Rus' - to create an atmosphere that promises magic and suggests many horrors.
Atmosphere is the key word here: The Bear and the Nightingale captures that feeling of uncertainty and superstition ...more
Narrated in lyrical prose and third-person past tense, Arden weaves a tale no less compelling for its slow, gradual development. Like all the best fairy tales, the author draws on the setting - a village in the northern woods of Rus' - to create an atmosphere that promises magic and suggests many horrors.
Atmosphere is the key word here: The Bear and the Nightingale captures that feeling of uncertainty and superstition ...more
Apr 07, 2018
Miranda Reads
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
best-of-decade
Haunting. Riveting. Entrancing.
This is the sort of book that sweeps you on a journey .
"I want to save you, Vasilisa Petrovna," he said. "I will save you all. There are dark forces that you do not understand."Vasilisa "Vasya" Petrovna lives during the "old Russia" - back when fairy and folk tales were not legends.
To his surprise, and perhaps to her, she laughed.
Vasya always possessed the second sight, which made for some interesting conversations with the various creatures livin ...more
To see this review and Q&A with the author, please visit www.readrantrockandroll.com
Words cannot describe how much I cherish this book. The characters were described so well and the story was absolutely fantastic and so magical. ♡♡♡
Certain parts of the story felt so nostalgic to me. It reminded me of my upbringing with my Russian grandmother and our old Orthodox Church. Matyushka, Batyushka and many of the other words in the story evoked a glimpse into my past. There wasn’t anything I didn’t lo ...more
Words cannot describe how much I cherish this book. The characters were described so well and the story was absolutely fantastic and so magical. ♡♡♡
Certain parts of the story felt so nostalgic to me. It reminded me of my upbringing with my Russian grandmother and our old Orthodox Church. Matyushka, Batyushka and many of the other words in the story evoked a glimpse into my past. There wasn’t anything I didn’t lo ...more
I would walk into the jaws of hell itself, if it were a path of my own choosing.
That was amazing.
Saving the world is always hard. It can be a challenge even when you have loyal friends and numerous supporters on your side. Then imagine how much harder it is when your own family is actively sabotaging your attempts to help. When your entire community casts you out and punishes you for doing the right thing. When they not only make your work harder, but give you scorn instead of gratitude.
That ...more
“All my life,” she said, “I have been told ‘go’ and ‘come.’ I am told how I will live, and I am told how I must die. I must be a man’s servant and a mare for his pleasure, or I must hide myself behind walls and surrender my flesh to a cold, silent god. I would walk into the jaws of hell itself, if it were a path of my own choosing. I would rather die tomorrow in the forest than live a hundred years of the life appointed me.”
So this was... unexpectedly amazing. Somehow, I went into t ...more
BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! This sound is not coming from the construction workers or the firefighters’ axes who are trying to enter my kitchen that I put on fire with my last cooking attempt. I literally hit my head against the wall several times. BECAUSE I SHOULD HAVE READ THIS BOOK BEFORE! WTH I waited tooooooooo lonnngggg!!! I already call my SLAP CLUB (the place I founded to punish the dislikable, detesting characters of the books) to teach me a lesson to choice my books wisely!
Katherine Arden ...more
Katherine Arden ...more
enchanting is really the only way to describe this book. this was the type of story that makes you want to go back to being a child who unconditionally believed in magic and wishes and the possibility of all things.
some might say this story was too slow, but i prefer to think of it as being patient. others might complain that there was no plot, but i saw it as being humble. and some could claim the writing was stiff, but i felt the language embodied the frigidity of long russian winters. everyt ...more
some might say this story was too slow, but i prefer to think of it as being patient. others might complain that there was no plot, but i saw it as being humble. and some could claim the writing was stiff, but i felt the language embodied the frigidity of long russian winters. everyt ...more
Just finished reading an ARC of this forthcoming book. You will have to wait until 201 to get your hands on it.
First, a metaphor. Have you ever been about to eat something, thinking it's flavored with vanilla and cinnamon? Then you bite into it and discover ginger and nutmeg (also favorites of mine.)
This book is a bit like that. It's fantasy. Okay, I've read lots of that. It's told rather like a fairy tale. Okay, ready for that.
It's told a bit like a Russian fairy tale only the setting is very ...more
First, a metaphor. Have you ever been about to eat something, thinking it's flavored with vanilla and cinnamon? Then you bite into it and discover ginger and nutmeg (also favorites of mine.)
This book is a bit like that. It's fantasy. Okay, I've read lots of that. It's told rather like a fairy tale. Okay, ready for that.
It's told a bit like a Russian fairy tale only the setting is very ...more
This is an atmospheric and intoxicating read that draws on history and Russian fairytales. Set in medieval times, it charts the origins of Vasya's birth and her mother's determination to have a daughter endowed with her grandmother's powers despite it meaning her death in childbirth. The novel begins with Dunya telling the story of Frost, a harbinger for what comes later.
Vasya is an enchanting rough and tumble girl, more at home in the wild outdoors and who chafes at the limitations pressed upo ...more
Vasya is an enchanting rough and tumble girl, more at home in the wild outdoors and who chafes at the limitations pressed upo ...more
Feb 01, 2017
Melissa ♥ Dog/Wolf Lover ♥ Martin
rated it
it was ok
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
library-book,
fantasy-all
Very unpopular opinion time because it seems everyone in the world loves this book :-/
I liked certain things about the book but overall it wasn't for me. Don't know if it was the book or my mood but I'm glad there are so many people loving it.
I liked the characters enough and the storyline for the most part but I don't know. Sigh ... ...more
I liked certain things about the book but overall it wasn't for me. Don't know if it was the book or my mood but I'm glad there are so many people loving it.
I liked the characters enough and the storyline for the most part but I don't know. Sigh ... ...more
Hmm... I'm at a loss with this one. I can't say that I loved it, but I didn't dislike it either. I feel like I'm missing something. This is a story that I should probably go back and re-read at a time when I can give it my full attention...but I didn't feel a strong enough connection the first time around to make me want to do that.
When I listen to an audiobook, I'm usually doing something else that requires part of my attention (i.e. driving). For this reason, I try to keep my audiobook select ...more
When I listen to an audiobook, I'm usually doing something else that requires part of my attention (i.e. driving). For this reason, I try to keep my audiobook select ...more
Jun 03, 2016
karen
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
free-from-work,
distant-lands
oooh, goodreads choice awards semifinalist for best fantasy AND debut goodreads author! what will happen?
this is a stunning debut that perfectly mimics the tone of a classic fairytale, but breathes new and exciting life into the familiar themes with lyrical writing, strong characters, and by weaving in elements of russian folklore, which were mostly unfamiliar to me, and therefore fresh and exotic.
quickplot first, then i will return to these three strengths in greater detail.
pyotr vladimirovich ...more
this is a stunning debut that perfectly mimics the tone of a classic fairytale, but breathes new and exciting life into the familiar themes with lyrical writing, strong characters, and by weaving in elements of russian folklore, which were mostly unfamiliar to me, and therefore fresh and exotic.
quickplot first, then i will return to these three strengths in greater detail.
pyotr vladimirovich ...more
Magical is the word that best describes this unusual tale, in every sense. I have to say that I've not read anything quite like this one, but believe me, that IS meant as a compliment.
It transports the reader back to medieval Russia, to a place thick with forests and deep crisp glistening snow. It is here that we find Vasya, and her family. Vasya is a child of nature, a wild and wilful girl. She has powers that leave the villagers questioning the nature of those powers, many believing that she's ...more
It transports the reader back to medieval Russia, to a place thick with forests and deep crisp glistening snow. It is here that we find Vasya, and her family. Vasya is a child of nature, a wild and wilful girl. She has powers that leave the villagers questioning the nature of those powers, many believing that she's ...more
“Fairy tales are sweet on winter nights, nothing more.”
Every moment I spent reading The Bear and the Nightingale was an absolute pleasure. It was magical, atmospheric and very slow paced - so prepare yourself for that if you're going to be picking this up.
The writing was enchanting and I felt transported through words into this story.
Though this book is mainly about Vasya there are many chapters in POV of other characters and we get to know them as well. Arden gave us complex characters wh ...more
Every moment I spent reading The Bear and the Nightingale was an absolute pleasure. It was magical, atmospheric and very slow paced - so prepare yourself for that if you're going to be picking this up.
The writing was enchanting and I felt transported through words into this story.
Though this book is mainly about Vasya there are many chapters in POV of other characters and we get to know them as well. Arden gave us complex characters wh ...more
4.5 stars! Review first posted on Fantasy Literature:
In the northern lands of medieval Rus’, a daughter is born to Pyotr Vladimirovich, a boyar, lord over many lands, and his wife Marina, who dies in childbirth. But Marina, daughter of the Grand Prince of Moscow and a mysterious, swan-like beggar girl, has bequeathed her daughter Vasilisa a mystical heritage.
Vasilisa the Brave (or Beautiful)
Vasilisa, or Vasya, grows up to be a spirited and rather rebellious young girl who, like an untamed colt ...more
In the northern lands of medieval Rus’, a daughter is born to Pyotr Vladimirovich, a boyar, lord over many lands, and his wife Marina, who dies in childbirth. But Marina, daughter of the Grand Prince of Moscow and a mysterious, swan-like beggar girl, has bequeathed her daughter Vasilisa a mystical heritage.
Vasilisa the Brave (or Beautiful)
Vasilisa, or Vasya, grows up to be a spirited and rather rebellious young girl who, like an untamed colt ...more
Such an enchanting story. Vasya is who I aspire to be.
An eerie, whimsical winter fairytale.
Once upon a time, on the fringes of Russian wilderness, in a land of harsh winters wavering between superstition and the observance of the old spirits and demons and Christianity, a peculiar girl was born. She was untamed, fey, a cacophony. She could see and converse with sprites, she talked to horses, spent her days in the fore ...more
❝ There was a time, not long ago
When flowers grew all year
When days were long
And nights star-strewn
And men lived free from fear ❞
Once upon a time, on the fringes of Russian wilderness, in a land of harsh winters wavering between superstition and the observance of the old spirits and demons and Christianity, a peculiar girl was born. She was untamed, fey, a cacophony. She could see and converse with sprites, she talked to horses, spent her days in the fore ...more
Apr 21, 2020
Anne
rated it
liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
audio,
fairytale,
poopin-in-the-woods,
witchy-woman,
coronavirus-read,
magic-stuff,
read-in-2020
This is lovely...but not much happens.
I kept hearing how this was so amazing and whatnot, but it was (looking back on it) slightly boring and could have been seriously condensed. By a lot of pages.
BUT. <--that's just me.
I don't dig lyrical shit all that much.
Anyway, this was set in Russia, which got my attention right away. Very cool.
So the (super-condensed) gist is that this girl, Vasya, is a bit magical and she does some helpful magical stuff to save all the ungrateful peasants.
Only it takes ...more
I kept hearing how this was so amazing and whatnot, but it was (looking back on it) slightly boring and could have been seriously condensed. By a lot of pages.
BUT. <--that's just me.
I don't dig lyrical shit all that much.
Anyway, this was set in Russia, which got my attention right away. Very cool.
So the (super-condensed) gist is that this girl, Vasya, is a bit magical and she does some helpful magical stuff to save all the ungrateful peasants.
Only it takes ...more
Apr 21, 2019
Maryam Rz.
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Recommended to Maryam by:
Just about a thousand people, more or less :|
Shelves:
adult,
religion,
mythology,
literary-fiction,
faves,
retellings,
fantasy,
historical-fiction,
feminism,
paranormal
5 STARS! Thank you, the thousand people who nagged at me to read this.
Soberly magical; solidly whimsical; silently wild; grimly light...The Bear and the Nightingale is all of this and none of this and more. Forgive me while I go weep in my bed of snow and dream of little demons and bird-horses and winter-kings 🥺
Review to come when I'm done with the series—meanwhile, do check out the playlist (Spotify LINK) filled with magical, spooky music and Russian folk songs to get the mood.
• • • • • •
[PRE-R ...more
Soberly magical; solidly whimsical; silently wild; grimly light...The Bear and the Nightingale is all of this and none of this and more. Forgive me while I go weep in my bed of snow and dream of little demons and bird-horses and winter-kings 🥺
Review to come when I'm done with the series—meanwhile, do check out the playlist (Spotify LINK) filled with magical, spooky music and Russian folk songs to get the mood.
• • • • • •
[PRE-R ...more
This looks like a perfect winter read. I will save it for Christmas.
5, just take them all Arden stars!!!
Full review along with a recipe for Zharkoye (traditional Russian beef stew) featured on my blog Recipe & a Read!
So, first things first in this review: I LOVED THIS BOOK. It was magical and whimsical and absolutely not what I was expecting at all. I’ve seen all the hype around this book / series, I’ve seen the fantastic reviews but for some reason I just kept glazing it over for other books. This, was a huge mistake and I wish I would’ve read it sooner because ...more
Full review along with a recipe for Zharkoye (traditional Russian beef stew) featured on my blog Recipe & a Read!
So, first things first in this review: I LOVED THIS BOOK. It was magical and whimsical and absolutely not what I was expecting at all. I’ve seen all the hype around this book / series, I’ve seen the fantastic reviews but for some reason I just kept glazing it over for other books. This, was a huge mistake and I wish I would’ve read it sooner because ...more
‘’Fairy tales are sweet on winter nights, nothing more.’’
Russian fairy tales are unlike any others, in my opinion.They are not simple, ‘’happily-ever-after’’ myths, but wonderfully detailed glimpses in the daily lives of people born in times gone-by and tales that hide themes that are relevant to our era. They contain female heroines that surpass inexplicable odds and many have ambiguous closures. There is a sadness that permeates the Russian fairy tale tradition and a fierceness, a strangel ...more
Russian fairy tales are unlike any others, in my opinion.They are not simple, ‘’happily-ever-after’’ myths, but wonderfully detailed glimpses in the daily lives of people born in times gone-by and tales that hide themes that are relevant to our era. They contain female heroines that surpass inexplicable odds and many have ambiguous closures. There is a sadness that permeates the Russian fairy tale tradition and a fierceness, a strangel ...more
Wow.....*Stunning*!!!!
Katherine Arden's lush and lovely debut novel deftly transports us to Russia in the 14th century with incredible lyricism- scents-sounds-vivid beauty-subtle intrigue- and gorgeous Russian folklore.
At the start Marina is frail and weak. She has 4 children and is pregnant with her 5th. Pyotr, her husband, and Dunya, her devoted nurse, both beg Marina not to keep the baby. They are fearful she will die. Marina had given Pyotr 3 sons and 1 daughter....but she was still hoping- ...more
Katherine Arden's lush and lovely debut novel deftly transports us to Russia in the 14th century with incredible lyricism- scents-sounds-vivid beauty-subtle intrigue- and gorgeous Russian folklore.
At the start Marina is frail and weak. She has 4 children and is pregnant with her 5th. Pyotr, her husband, and Dunya, her devoted nurse, both beg Marina not to keep the baby. They are fearful she will die. Marina had given Pyotr 3 sons and 1 daughter....but she was still hoping- ...more
12/30/17 - TODAY ONLY! ON SALE for $2.99:
http://amzn.to/2EiufLU
Reviewed by: Rabid Reads
3.5 stars
I added another new bookshelf to Goodreads: religious nutters
I preface my review with that statement, b/c it's important that you know exactly how off-putting I find anyone who uses religion as a crutch to excuse their abominable behavior.
Agamemnon sacrificing his daughter to ensure favorable winds as he sails to Troy? Kill him on his own alter. Spanish Inquisitioners torturing anyone not Catholi ...more
http://amzn.to/2EiufLU
Reviewed by: Rabid Reads
3.5 stars
I added another new bookshelf to Goodreads: religious nutters
I preface my review with that statement, b/c it's important that you know exactly how off-putting I find anyone who uses religion as a crutch to excuse their abominable behavior.
Agamemnon sacrificing his daughter to ensure favorable winds as he sails to Troy? Kill him on his own alter. Spanish Inquisitioners torturing anyone not Catholi ...more
Do you know that fuzzy feeling when you find a book with a world so immersive that you don't want it to ever end? This was a book like that for me. I absolutely adored it - and I am not quite sure if this review will at all be coherent, but I'll try my best.
This was a book that I was super super excited to get to read early. I love books set in Russia, especially the North of Russia; I love Fairy Tales; I love the books the blurb compared it to. I only wanted to read the first chapter because I ...more
This was a book that I was super super excited to get to read early. I love books set in Russia, especially the North of Russia; I love Fairy Tales; I love the books the blurb compared it to. I only wanted to read the first chapter because I ...more
Jun 04, 2018
❄️BooksofRadiance❄️
rated it
it was ok
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
ya-fantasy-sci-fi,
historical
Set in a Fantasy-esque Medieval Russia with Russian folklore, this was supposed to be my jam. It should have been.
It started out well and somewhere down the line, in the last third part of the book particularly, I... simply lost interest.
Oh, well.
It started out well and somewhere down the line, in the last third part of the book particularly, I... simply lost interest.
Oh, well.
"Am I a child? Always someone else must decide for me. But this I will decide for myself."
Reread Thoughts: Yes, I am a fool. A hack. Witless. Brainless for the words I wrote two years ago. But I did enjoy this even more the second time around! On to the next!
Also, for the record, I’m surprised to see this series shelved as “Young Adult” because it doesn’t really read that way at all.
The Bear and the Nightingale is a wonderfully atmospheric story with a definite origin in the Slavic folktales. Fr ...more
Reread Thoughts: Yes, I am a fool. A hack. Witless. Brainless for the words I wrote two years ago. But I did enjoy this even more the second time around! On to the next!
Also, for the record, I’m surprised to see this series shelved as “Young Adult” because it doesn’t really read that way at all.
The Bear and the Nightingale is a wonderfully atmospheric story with a definite origin in the Slavic folktales. Fr ...more
5*****
Wild birds die in cages.
”All my life,” she said, “I have been told ‘go’ and ‘come.’ I am told how I will live, and I am told how I must die. I must be a man’s servant and a mare for his pleasure, or I must hide myself behind walls and surrender my flesh to a cold, silent god. I would walk into the jaws of hell itself, if it were a path of my own choosing. I would rather die tomorrow in the forest than live a hundred years of the life appointed me.”
Utterly enchanting- I loved my reread of ...more
Wild birds die in cages.
”All my life,” she said, “I have been told ‘go’ and ‘come.’ I am told how I will live, and I am told how I must die. I must be a man’s servant and a mare for his pleasure, or I must hide myself behind walls and surrender my flesh to a cold, silent god. I would walk into the jaws of hell itself, if it were a path of my own choosing. I would rather die tomorrow in the forest than live a hundred years of the life appointed me.”
Utterly enchanting- I loved my reread of ...more
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A note to everyone who trips and falls upon my Goodreads page. First, welcome. Let us read and discuss all the books together. I review books I've read, everything gets five stars, if I didn't like it I don't put it up.
Second, Goodreads is wondrous, but contacting me through my Goodreads DMs is a good way to ensure a long wait for a reply. Your best bet is Twitter or Instagram (arden_katherine) on ...more
Second, Goodreads is wondrous, but contacting me through my Goodreads DMs is a good way to ensure a long wait for a reply. Your best bet is Twitter or Instagram (arden_katherine) on ...more
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“All my life,” she said, “I have been told ‘go’ and ‘come.’ I am told how I will live, and I am told how I must die. I must be a man’s servant and a mare for his pleasure, or I must hide myself behind walls and surrender my flesh to a cold, silent god. I would walk into the jaws of hell itself, if it were a path of my own choosing. I would rather die tomorrow in the forest than live a hundred years of the life appointed me. Please. Please let me help you.”
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“Nothing changes, Vasya. Things are, or they are not. Magic is forgetting that something ever was other than as you willed it.”
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