Rus’ is in a state of flux: the demons, spirits, nymphs and guardians of folklore are losing their hold on people as orthodox religion widens its reach. And winters here are of the harshest kind: where the bitter cold and hunger test even Vasya’s family, despite her father being the boyar, or local lord. So much so that I felt as if I lived through the seasons with Vasilisa (aka Vasya) Petrovna, whether she was running wild through the forest and discovering mysterious creatures alongside new talents of her own, or listening to the old family nurse telling them folktales around the oven in winter. Katherine Arden brings medieval Northern Rus’ alive in this, the first book in her Winternight trilogy. The Bear and the Nightingale is a coming of age tale with a difference and a gorgeous retelling of a Russian fairytale. She alone can see the house spirits that guard her home, and sense the growing forces of dark magic in the woods. In a village at the edge of the wilderness of northern Russia, where the winds blow cold and the snow falls many months of the year, an elderly servant tells stories of sorcery, folklore and the Winter King to the children of the family, tales of old magic frowned upon by the church.īut for the young, wild Vasya these are far more than just stories. The Bear and the Nightingale had been on my TBR shelf for far too long but with the final book in the Winternight Trilogy out last month, I decided to spend some of my winter nights reading all three books.
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