REVIEW: The Bear and the Nightingale (Katherine Arden)

Book: The Bear and the Nightingale

Author: Katherine Arden

My rating: 3/5.

Premise: In a village at the edge of the wilderness of northern Russia, an elderly servant tells stories of sorcery, folklore and the Winter King. But for the Vasya, these are far more than stories. She alone can see the house spirits that guard her home, and sense the growing forces of dark magic in the woods.

I was looking forward to reading this as I was in the mood for a fairytale/folktale retelling. The story follows Vasya from conception, through her birth, childhood and early teens. She alone can see the magical creatures and spirits of old. But the zealous village priest sparks fear into the villages and makes them cast off their old ways, allowing evil to creep back in.

Personally, I found the story slow. There's a lot of watching Vasya grow and learn about the creatures of old. I liked how strong willed she was, defying expectations and refusing to accept the lot of women. In fact, you get to know the characters really well in the book. But the plot is just slow, with all the action at the end. An easy page turner but I was just waiting for something to happen.