The Bear and the Nightingale

Author: Katherine Arden
Series: Winternight Trilogy #1
Reviewer: Inopinion

Summary

This book is the first in a series centered around a girl in a Russian family. This book starts just prior to her birth and continues to her later adolescence. During this time perior, there is a shift in the village away from traditional beliefs that include sprites and demons to the orthodox teachings of the Russian church. Vasya and her step-mother both possess the abliity to see the old spirits. To one, it’s a comfort, to the other a sign of madness. Vasya is brought into conflict with her step-mother, the priest, and the spirit world as the old ways are abandoned and the natural balance is upset. Throw in a supernatural sibling rivalry, and you have a collision of worlds centered in the rural Russian forest.

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Review

Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars

I want to start with a recognition: many people like this book and go on to love the series. Every reader has at least one type of book that just falls short of their preferences and becomes a chore to read. This is one of those books for me. So, I will focus on the areas that made this a difficult read for me in hopes that others that feel the same may make a more informed choice.

Issue one: What’s the point?

I cannot stress how much detail is stuffed in this book. From the scenery, to the characters, the court, and the folklore, there is so much to get through. Unfortunately, most of that detail seems to be setup for book two because a lot of it has no bearing on anything in book one. The further I read, the more it became apparent that I was storing away details like a squirrel for a winter many months away.

Issue two: So much talk, but where’s the action?

Aside from a couple scenes in the later part of the book, there isn’t a lot of actual physical action that takes place. This book is mostly about making character connections whether that’s between the human characters or the humans and the spirit world. This requires a lot of conversation and observations, but not much action. I think there were opportunities where the same goal could have been achieved but in less of a stagnant, shut-in sort of way.

Issue three: What’s her name again?

Russian is a supremely confusing language, at least if I use this book as my guide. Every character has several variations of their names used by varying members of their families. It does make it difficult to understand if they’re being patronizing, kind, or formal without an explanation. And, it’s just not easy to keep track of all the characters, at least it wasn’t for me.

But what about the story?

Removed from the chore of actually reading the book, I can see the story for what it is and even appreciate the layers and nuance that the author provides. I will give the story it’s due: the ending finally pushed the pace from crawl to sprint. The ground covered in the last few chapters was immensely entertaining and engaging. And I greatly appreciated the ending of this portion of the story as a great set up for a far-reaching and epic adventure. I just don’t think I’ll be following along, at least not any time soon.

Appeal: This book would appeal to YA readers who are fans of darker themes and intricate character relationships. If you liked other fairytale retellings like the Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyers, or Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater, then you may also like this series for the incorporation of folklore. For adult fantasy readers, think more along the lines of The Night Circus than The Way of Kings. These comparisons are not made to say this book is similar, just that it may carry some of the same appealing qualities.

Books in this series