The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Book Riot Read Harder Challenge Category: A book set in or about one of the BRICS countries (Russia)
I put this book on my to-read shelf toward the end of last year. I may have had plans to read it sooner, but when I caught wind of Read Harder and saw the BRICS countries category, I put it off until this year.
In a few words—beautiful, lyrical, haunting. From page one, Arden swept me into Russian myth and folklore. So many fascinating things. So much going on. So expertly woven into history in a plausible way. The Goodreads blurb says this book is for fans of Erin Morgenstern’s THE NIGHT CURCUS. I didn’t fall head over heels for this quite like I did for NIGHT CIRCUS, but Arden’s lush descriptions, rich story, and real characters drew me in.
Vasya (Vasilisa) is the wild-child heroine I can’t help but cheer for. The lengths she goes to in order to protect her family tugged at my heartstrings. Watching her grow stronger through the story was a treat, and her ending left me satisfied. It was what I wanted before I realized I wanted it. And there are sequels, THE GIRL IN THE TOWER and WINTER OF THE WITCH, which continues Vasya’s story. I’ll have to read it at some point.
Other authors I’d recommend after reading Katherine Arden: Alice Hoffman (THE RULES OF MAGIC), David Mitchell (SLADE HOUSE)
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