The Bear and the Nightingale - Katherine Arden

‘Beware the evil in the woods…’

The premise of The Bear and the Nightingale didn’t immediately strike me as something I’d be particularly interested in, however upon seeing it in a local charity shop I thought it would be a lovely light winter read and couldn’t pass it up.

The atmosphere in this book is gorgeous, which was one of my favourite components when reading it. It’s definitely one to escape the elements with and read in front of the fire! I loved the characterisation of Winter, the Winter King himself and the landscape were so invasive within the text that it was genuinely chilling. The bleak atmospheric setting, combined with a slow pace, made for an enchanting read which provided wonderful escapism. The book was nowhere near as lighthearted as I’d expected, though, and was rife with grief and fear-mongering, as well as a few unexpectedly scary scenes.

Based on the descriptions I’d previously read, I was expecting the book to feel too young adult-y for my tastes. I was also apprehensive as I often don’t enjoy novels with younger protagonists, but I liked our heroine Vasya’s independence, stubbornness and beliefs, and I felt nostalgic, rather than frustrated, when experiencing her adventures.

I really enjoyed the nuance of the genres at play within the text, and thought that the historical and fantastical elements were really well interwoven to create a dramatic backdrop for the plot. The steady pacing, I found, made for a greater atmospheric feeling to the text overall, which felt important due to the lack of “action” within this novel. The tension created between the mythical and Religion within the community of the village felt heavy, and the questions of loyalty, morality and sin became as prevalent as the questions between right and wrong in Vasya’s magical adventures.

From being skeptical initially, I found that the magical context worked to enhance the domestic setting, and both mixed created a truly enjoyable story of adventure and folklore, but also of religion, the power of fear, and family. Whilst The Bear and the Nightingale itself seemed more focussed upon the discussion of themes than fast plot progression, Katherine Arden has definitely laid out great groundwork to be built upon throughout this trilogy! I for one will definitely be picking up the sequels.