Nothing changes, Vasya. Things are, or they are not. Magic is forgetting that something ever was other than as you willed it.
The Bear and the Nightingale (The Winternight Trilogy # 1)
Katherine Arden
Summary: 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 night to claim unwary souls. Wise Russians fear him, her nurse says, and honor the spirits of house and yard and forest that protect their homes from evil.
After Vasilisa's mother dies, her father goes to Moscow and brings home a new wife. Fiercely devout, city-bred, Vasilisa's new stepmother forbids her family from honoring the household spirits. The family acquiesces, but Vasilisa is frightened, sensing that more hinges upon their rituals than anyone knows.
And indeed, crops begin to fail, evil creatures of the forest creep nearer, and misfortune stalks the village. All the while, Vasilisa's stepmother grows ever harsher in her determination to groom her rebellious stepdaughter for either marriage or confinement in a convent.
As danger circles, Vasilisa must defy even the people she loves and call on dangerous gifts she has long concealed—this, in order to protect her family from a threat that seems to have stepped from her nurse's most frightening tales.
My Review: The Bear and the Nightingale is an atmospheric, and at times slow moving Russian folktale retold. One of my favorite things in the book is the incredible characters. Arden does such a great job at making well rounded characters whose choices and motivations I always understood (though I didn’t always agree with them). I also loved the story, I could feel the bitter chill of those Russian winters and see the beauty of the woods outside Vasya’s home as I was reading. I cannot wait to continue with this series in February! I highly recommend it for anyone looking for an atmospheric, wonderful fantasy steeped heavy in folklore and folktales and religion.
Recommended age: Adult (some mild thematic elements, this book isn't inappropriate for about 15/16+, but the writing style feels very adult)
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