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The Bear and the Nightingale (The Winternight Trilogy, #1)

Katherine Arden

Start date: March 12, 2017

Finish date: March 31, 2017

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What Members Thought

Jan 06, 2021 Andria rated it really liked it

Oh wow, this one was definitely in my wheelhouse. I love folk tales and folklore, harsh historical realities sprinkled with magic and demons. Spiritual and magical realism is my jam, and I loved that fairy tale glow set against the brutality of rough Russian winters in the north. I loved the blending of Russian history and stories, and the weaving together of the old gods with the new. So many memorable characters and beautiful images. Vasilia is a wonderful protagonist - such a free spirit, car ...more

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Apr 30, 2020 Avigail rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: physical-book, audiobook, audible, 2020, own

"The Bear and the Nightingale" is a book from the Russian folklore that the truth I have another book that I wasn't fond of the way the story made me despise the book, and I didn't pick up another with the same subject. But Katherine Arden does a remarkable job with the ambiance and the magical realism of the story.
I am also sure that even I read and listened to both books, I believe "The Bear and the Nightingale" story and narrator, Kathleen Gati, did an outstanding job, and it is the reason I "The Bear and the Nightingale" is a book from the Russian folklore that the truth I have another book that I wasn't fond of the way the story made me despise the book, and I didn't pick up another with the same subject. But Katherine Arden does a remarkable job with the ambiance and the magical realism of the story.
I am also sure that even I read and listened to both books, I believe "The Bear and the Nightingale" story and narrator, Kathleen Gati, did an outstanding job, and it is the reason I couldn't put down the book.
Winternight Trilogy is another series I have heard so many good reviews. I knew that I need to pick the first part of the trilogy to read it. The truth is I need to buy the other two books of the series so I can continue and find out what will happen to the whole Vladimirovich characters and their family and friends.
Our characters are lovely, well-rounded, complex.
The protagonists experience a great deal of personal growth during the book.
Due to, the use of nicknames rather than their given name, there is the potential for some confusion with the characters,
Although the story moves forward at an awkward pace, I felt every scene and could easily imagine the environment of each character. Even though the plot is about good and evil, but it is more a story about living in the grey. When a girl is born different, she opens the eyes of everyone she encounters with the supernatural all around them.
The overall storyline of the book is very subtle, and the story feels more like historical fiction than fantasy in places. But there comes the point about halfway through the book where things start to pick up, and the subtle plot that leads in the first part comes to light, and the conflict becomes noticeable. IT WAS SO WELL DONE! I'm amazed at how everything came together. The Bear and the Nightingale is one of those books that I'll be able to reread over and over again and pick up new details every time. Also, the number of Russian fairy tales referenced in this book was surprising, and I'm pretty sure I missed a bunch. I need more books that revolve around Russian folklore in my life! ...more

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Feb 04, 2019 Ketutar Jensen rated it it was amazing

I liked it a lot.

There were certain parts I would have done differently... for example, it would have been better if the household had taught Anna what the house spirits were and how to honor them... but then the book would not have been the same.

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Dec 23, 2019 Amanda rated it really liked it

Shelves: format-kindle, magical-creatures, 4-stars, fantasy, retelling, fiction, format-audible, young-adult, recs-from-friends, spirituality

The second of the three books my best friend advised me to read this year, this book was so amazingly delightful, and right off the bat I could absolutely tell why people were comparing it to

and

Deathless (Leningrad Diptych, #1) by Catherynne M. Valente

.

Coming into this book, right off finishing

Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

, I did not have any of the problems where multiple people complained about the novel starting slow. It has the pace of most of the Russian literature I've read, and it fit perfectly into the niche left as I'd finished Fyodor's world-renown novel ...more

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Feb 01, 2020 Michelle rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2020, favorites

I saved this book to read during winter and I'm glad I did. It was the perfect January reading. I loved how beautifully written the book is and how it is overlaid with Russian folk tales. Well worth reading and I look forward to reading the other books in the trilogy. ...more

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