The Bear and the Nightingale

A Novel

By: Katherine Arden

Narrated by: Kathleen Gati

Length: 11 hrs and 48 mins

Publisher's summary

Katherine Arden’s best-selling debut novel spins an irresistible spell as it announces the arrival of a singular talent with a gorgeous voice.

“A beautiful deep-winter story, full of magic and monsters and the sharp edges of growing up.” (Naomi Novik, best-selling author of Uprooted)

Winter lasts most of the year at the edge of the Russian wilderness, and in the long nights, Vasilisa and her siblings love to gather by the fire to listen to their nurse’s fairy tales. Above all, Vasya loves the story of Frost, the blue-eyed winter demon. Wise Russians fear him, for he claims unwary souls, and they honor the spirits that protect their homes from evil.

Then Vasya’s widowed father brings home a new wife from Moscow. Fiercely devout, Vasya’s stepmother forbids her family from honoring their household spirits, but Vasya fears what this may bring. And indeed, misfortune begins to stalk the village.

But Vasya’s stepmother only grows harsher, determined to remake the village to her liking and to groom her rebellious stepdaughter for marriage or a convent. As the village’s defenses weaken and evil from the forest creeps nearer, Vasilisa must call upon dangerous gifts she has long concealed - to protect her family from a threat sprung to life from her nurse’s most frightening tales.

Praise for The Bear and the Nightingale

“Arden’s debut novel has the cadence of a beautiful fairy tale but is darker and more lyrical.” (The Washington Post)

“Vasya [is] a clever, stalwart girl determined to forge her own path in a time when women had few choices.” (The Christian Science Monitor)

“Stunning...will enchant readers from the first page....with an irresistible heroine who wants only to be free of the bonds placed on her gender and claim her own fate.” (Publishers Weekly [starred review])

“Utterly bewitching...a lush narrative...an immersive, earthy story of folk magic, faith, and hubris, peopled with vivid, dynamic characters, particularly clever, brave Vasya, who outsmarts men and demons alike to save her family.” (Booklist [starred review])

“An extraordinary retelling of a very old tale... The Bear and the Nightingale is a wonderfully layered novel of family and the harsh wonders of deep winter magic.” (Robin Hobb)

©2017 Katherine Arden (P)2017 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

"Arden's supple, sumptuous first novel transports the reader to a version of medieval Russia where history and myth coexist." (Kirkus Reviews)

I have missed reading enough book reviews.

How ELSE can I explain having missed this author & this title until now? I am certain that reviewers have been as favorable (or moreso!) about her perfect accent - American OR Russian - as well as her ability to add more than a soupçon of interest to narration .

Absolutely fresh and refreshing, learning about Russian fables....made all the more delightful by the narrator, Kathleen Gati. She injects a certain Eastern focus by explaining, for example, the lore surrounding "Frost", which is most interestingly and definitely different the "Jack Frost" tales we have here in the USA.

Last, but far and away from "least" for the author, Katherine Arden, a huge "BRAVA" for her ability to bring Russian tales to light and sprinkling them them throughout to honestly picture the difference between East and West -- even to the "tales" we honor by passing them on the next generation. AND to presenting us with memorable insight to what makes our fairy tales so very entertaining, in this case, the "Eastern" focus and it's impact on both the story, the characters and the reader. Again, "BRAVA!" -- and "Thank You!"

lovely story but Russian accents get annoying

Who made this choice, I don't know, but every character was voiced with a Russian accent. despite this affectation, it was a compelling fairy tale. Good for adults who like to read YA fantasy stories. Kind of like Mulan or Whale Rider, a heroic female champion with animal powers struggles to save her people and escape a restrictive patriarchy, only this time in old Russia.

Absolutely loved this trilogy!

I am a picky reader. If I can tell where a story is going I get bored and put it down and never pick it up again. While I won't say I could predict much of it, the telling of V's story was so beautifully done (both writing and narrating) and her personality so strong that I was taken with it completely and found a new interest in Russian history and mythology. If you are an adult who loves fairy tales, you will love these books. If you love Neil Gaiman's books based on gods and mythology, you will love these books. If you love a strong female antagonist, you will love these books. Just get them and find out for yourself. You are welcome. :)

Charming setting, annoyingly stubborn characters

Any additional comments?

Coincidentally, the second book I've read lately that includes oupyr, the Russian version of a vampire. This is a fairy-tale-like fantasy story set in the home of Pyotr, a local lord. His wife Marina dies after bearing him Vasilisa, a final daughter who will be like her mother - possessed of "the sight", able to see the domovoi, those creatures of Russian folklore who help around the house and lands. As Vasilisa gets older, she gets to know all the domovoi and learns from them. But when her father remarries, his new wife Anna also has enough of the sight to see the domovoi, but has been raised as such a fundamental Christian that she believes they are evil demons and is terrified by them. When a priest who is exiled from Moscow comes to work in Pyotr's village, he decides a way to gain respect in the eyes of the villagers is by making them fear the domovoi. As the village turns away from the domovoi, they begin to starve and leave, leaving the villagers' homes unprotected from the true evil beings. Only Vasilisa sees the value of the domovoi and tries to save them, and protect the village.

That's a very simplistic summary of the book, mostly it's charming because it feels like reading a fairy tale and the Russian folklore spirits are so charming you wish they were real. I didn't rank it higher than "liked it" however because the stubborn blindness of the Christian characters (mainly the wife and the priest, but also all those who go along with them in contradiction to all their old beliefs and traditions) is just so infuriating that I found it a bit hard to swallow.

Better than alcohol!

there's something about the narrators voice that puts me to sleep like nothing else. what I do is put it to sleep timer 1 chapter, lie down in bed and before the 15 minute chapter is up in fast asleep! in the morning I don't recall what happened in the cheaper. weeks later and I'm still on ch 2, but god have I slept well ever since buying this book!

⭐️⭐️⭐️

The hype was so big that I guess I expected more. Beautifully written but I found myself bored often.

Surprisingly enjoyable

I don’t normale read of like books with fantasy elements in them, like talking horses, but I really loved this Russian story. The narrator is amazing.

Very good book

Excellent storytelling, well developed characters, magical atmosphere. I am happy that such a great writer appeared.

Amazing Read

This was the best book and narrator I have read in years! The story, the characters will stay with me for a very long time. Characters are so well developed and the story has a deep intrigue and mystery is not often matched. The narrators accent makes the story come alive with the pronunciations and inflections of her voice. I would highly recommend this book from young teenagers to all the adults

Worth the slow beginning

story was slow in the beginning, worth hanging in there for thr rest of it