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    The Bear and the Nightingale: A Novel
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    The Bear and the Nightingale: A Novel
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    The Bear and the Nightingale: A Novel
    Audiobook11 hours

    The Bear and the Nightingale: A Novel

    Written by Katherine Arden

    Narrated by Kathleen Gati

    4/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    Katherine Arden's bestselling debut novel spins an irresistible spell as it announces the arrival of a singular talent with a gorgeous voice.

    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.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateJan 10, 2017
    ISBN9780399567179
    Unavailable
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    Reviews for The Bear and the Nightingale

    4/5

    1,381 ratings140 reviews

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    • 4/5
      I started out liking, but not loving the book. I had a bit of difficulty with the Russian names, and the narrative was very dreamlike. However, about halfway through the book, it turned a corner and I really, really started to get into it. Arden is a good writer, there is absolutely no doubt about it. There's a ton to like here. The prose is brilliant; I found myself re-reading single sentences due to their creativity. The weather, landscape, and myth she portrays is detailed, clearly well researched (Arden lived in Moscow, studied foreign languages and you can tell) and impossible to not enjoy. I got major Uprooted vibes from The Bear and the Nightingale and that's high praise in my books!Vasya is a stellar protagonist. I also loved the harrowing mix of community and isolation. Arden weaves this all without any fat on the plot at all. I'm really impressed, highly recommended.
    • 5/5
      Wow! As someone who's always loved fairy tales for their dark truths, I adore this book. It's a bit Gaiman-esque in a good way. I can't wait to read Ms. Arden's next work.
    • 4/5
      Loved this dark, magical, adult fairy tale! The characters in this Russian folk tale are rich and the story is so well done. The character, Vasya is a brave, clever young woman. I'm waiting for no 2 in the series to come back to the library.
    • 5/5
      In a time long ago and a world far away, one girl dares to claim the right to make her own fate. Against her family's desires, the demands of society and church, she resists the life laid out for her. Even the pagan gods, whose power is slowly fading, tries to harness her for their good but she will not be chattel to anyone. Vasilisa, the wild child of the woods, who can talk to horses and the household spirits, only seeks one thing: the freedom of self determination.All my Goodreads friends had raved about The Bear and the Nightingale. I felt like I had badly missed out. I purchased a Kindle copy but had not read it...then I won a copy of the second volume in the Winternight Trilogy, The Girl in the Tower, through Bookish. I immediately started reading the first book before the ARC of the second volume arrived.I am not a huge fantasy fan. So take that into consideration when I say I loved this book. I loved the setting in old Rus', a time when paganism had not yet been driven out by Christianity. I loved the Russian fairy tales that inform the novel. Vasilisa, with her wide mouth and large green eyes, is a manifestation of a traditional Russian folk tale of a frog who turns into a princess.The story opens on a late winter night in Rus', with children demanding a story. And they hear about the frost-demon, the winter king Morozko, also known as the death-god who froze bad children in the night. In the fairy tale, a step-mother sends her step-daughter into the winter forest to marry Morozko. The girl was nonplussed by the demon and he sent her home with dowry gifts. The step-mother was jealous of her good fortune and sends her own daughter to the Frost-King, expecting her to return with riches. But her spoiled daughter was ungrateful and complained. Morozko did not save her.One of the children listening, Vasilisa, has inherited her mother's and grandmother's gift of recognizing the spirit world. Vasya is happier in the stable or the woods than she is in the house, and bristles against the limited life laid out for a girl child. She understands that the spirits are languishing, which means they cannot protect the hearth, home, or stable, and she befriends them in secret. Else, she would be called a witch or a mad woman.In an interview with Book Page, Arden describes these household spirits of protection:There is a guardian spirit for everything in Russian folklore. The domovoi guards the house; the dvorovoi guards the dooryard. The bannik guards the bathhouse, the ovinnik, the threshing-house. Their areas of influence are almost absurdly specific. And each creature has a certain appearance and personality, and people must do certain things to placate them.Vasya's father goes to Moscow to seek a bride, and a bridegroom for his eldest daughter. His son Sasha stays to study for the priesthood. The Rus' ruler takes advantage, offering his 'mad' daughter as wife-- Anna, a pious Christian who sees the spirits and, believing they are demons, shrieks in despair.Also sent back to the deep woods is the priest Konstantin, a man who seeks holy glory and preaches against the old ways. When voices talk to him he believes it is God who directs him to instill fear to drive the people to God. Vasya disturbs him, in more ways than one.Vasya strives to maintain the old ways, fighting the evil spirits that threaten her family, and finding protection from Morozko. When the spirit of Death in the form of a monstrous bear attacks their community, Vasya is blamed. Rather than being forced to marry or enter a convent, or be killed as a witch, Vasya dresses as a boy and goes out into the world with a horse from Morozko, the unworldly stead Solovey, or Nightingale.The novel is otherworldly and enchanting. It is a delight to read a female hero's journey.*****In the early 1970s I audited a course in which I read Carl Jung, Joseph Campbell, and Morphology of the Folktale by V. Propp. Reading Arden's story brought back things I had learned at that time.The Hero's Journey as set out in Campbell's Hero with a Thousand Faces is found universally in folk lore, fairy tales, religions, and in literature. The journey includes separation, or leaving home and childhood; initiation and trials; symbolic death, a journey to the underworld or being 'in the belly of a whale'; meeting with a god; apotheosis; return, rescue, and freedom. There are magical agents or helpers along the way to ad the hero.Propp breaks down the structure of folk tales. The villain threatening harm to the family, an object is sought to solve a problem, the hero is pursued and rescued, the hero is given difficult task, the false hero or villain is exposed,the villain is punished, and the hero is married.The journey of a female hero is slightly different. First, the female hero must escape domestic imprisonment as a child. She is called to adventure, refusing supernatural aid. She may have to chose between a light and a dark man, searches for a father, and encounters an alternative mother figure.The female hero rejects her inferiority as a woman, and after trials and tests, succeeds in her quest.Vasya is truly a female hero on a journey, born of the traditional Russian folk tale.
    • 5/5
      While the story is quite slow, and a little confusing at times, it seems to be a translated mixture of Russian fairy tale, and Russian history. As such, I think it was quite interesting overall, and the story was intriguing and compelling at many points as well. If you are interested in the forest spirits of the cold, dark Russian winters, and how people survived them, this may be for you. It's also quite pleasing for those who simply enjoy adventure, and particularly headstrong girls, and a Russian flavor to a story.
    • 3/5
      I slogged through this heavy and involved Russian folk tale and liked the gist of it. However, too many hard to pronounce names and characters to keep straight. It was all over the place.
    • 3/5
      Trigger warning – rapeThe Bear and the Nightingale is one of those books that everyone seems to love… except me.Vasya’s grandmother was a wild woman with strange powers, and Vasya has inherited some of her ability. She can see and speak to the spirits of the hearth and home, even as the rest of the village begins to turn against the old ways at the urging of a new priest. But a battle is coming as an ancient force within the woods awakens… and Vasya may be all that stands between her village and destruction.One of my biggest problems with The Bear and the Nightingale is how little happens relative to page length. Do you see my synopsis above? I usually try to avoid spoilers, but with this book I literally couldn’t give a plot synopsis without delving into the second half of the book. Because practically nothing plot significant happens in the first half! Seriously, this book opens with Vasya’s mother being pregnant.I honestly don’t know what the point of most of this was. The “main” plot didn’t seem to get any attention at all until the last third, maybe even the last fourth. What was the rest of the book supposed to be doing? Why did we spend so much time on Vasya’s brother who becomes a monk when he disappears halfway through the story? The back blurb mentions the necklace, and I’ll admit that it was said to be important. But what did this necklace actually do? Why was it relevant? Honestly, that’s a question that can describe so much of this book.My other problem with the book was the character of Anna and her treatment – there’s some spoilers for this topic. Vasya’s mother dies in childbirth, and her father Pytor decides to remarry to provide a mother figure for her. The Prince sees this as an oppurtunity to rid himself of his daughter Anna, a sixteen year old girl who sees all the same spirits Vasya does and is considered mad for it. Anna thinks the spirits are demons, and she wants nothing more than to go to a convent and escape the fear that rules her life. Instead she is married off to a much older man (Pytor) without her consent. Anna doesn’t consent to anything that happens to her, including the consummation of the marriage. That’s described through Pytor’s POV, and he mentions that he finds her silent tears off putting. What really gets me is how there’s absolutely no narrative recognition of this as rape. Marital rape exists! But this is never once discussed. My best guess is that Anna’s character was an attempt to look at the psychology of how someone becomes an “evil stepmother,” maybe through the cycle of abuse. But the result is a female character who’s victimized and coded as mentally ill who is (SPOILER) unceremoniously killed off at the end of the book (END SPOILER). None of this sits right with me.The last issue I have with The Bear and the Nightingale is that it feels like Vasya was sidelined during the climax of the story. I won’t go any more into that for sake of spoilers.Probably the best thing about The Bear and the Nightingale is how well Arden communicates her setting of historical Russia. A chill practically seeps off of the pages.I’ve heard that there’s plans for sequels, and maybe some of my frustrations with this book will be dealt with there. However, I am not planning on reading the sequels to find out.Review originally posted on The Illustrated Page.I received a free copy of The Bear and the Nightingale from the publisher through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
    • 4/5
      This is not the genre I normally read, but after reading a review on a blog I follow I picked it up. It is a fantasy/fairytale/historical story all rolled together. Medieval Russia, Rus, in the fourteenth century is the setting. The people living in the villages are Christian with a healthy belief in protective spirits or demons. There is also a belief in some of the more powerful spirits like Morozko, the Russian Jack Frost, a winter demon who can be kind or cruel, and his brother, the Bear, who feeds on fear to become more powerful.

      Vasilisa, (Vasya) is the fifth and last child of Pyotr Petrovich, a wealthy landowner, and his wife, Marina, She dies in childbirth, but not until she gets a promise from her husband to take care of her daughter who is her likeness and has her skills. From the beginning the girl is different, running wild and free, to the frustration of her nursemaid and surrogate mother, Dunya. Pyotr eventually remarries Anna, the daughter of a Rus prince. She sends a message to Moscow that they need a priest as the old one had died. When a priest Konstantine, comes unwillingly to the village, he decides the people and their old ways and beliefs are an affront to God. He makes them stop leaving food for the spirits and he stirs up things that should have been left alone. She is a young woman who can see what most cannot and who can speak to those most do not. When she begins to ride the wildest horses and seems to see demons and spirits, she is thought a witch by the villagers. Her father believes that she needs to marry or go to a convent to protect her. Vasya will eventually have to save her village and put her own life in danger.

      This was a story that was so beautifully written. The imagery and descriptions of the characters allowed you to see the places and the creatures. The Russian folklore and mythology was easy to understand even if not exact. I loved watching the interactions of Vasya and her siblings as well as her father. The priest was easy to hate and it was hard to see why Vasya kept saving him. I could feel the cold, the misery and the confusion of the villagers and family as the story progressed. The description of the home where Vasya and her family lived with the stove they slept on and the chapel they could sneak in and out of made me feel like I was there. The author never loses sight of the main narrative despite all the strange happenings and I found that amazing. The creatures and characters just added to the story. I recommend this story to anyone as it was not something I would have picked up and as I said earlier, I really enjoyed it.
    • 5/5
      Russian fairy tale for grownups! Beautiful, wintry narrative which first introduces several folklore tales as they are recollected to the family's children. Then has the tales mirrored in the family's history full of Russian folklore deities, daemons, witches and vampires.
    • 4/5
      Another fun, comfortable fairy tale fantasy like Uprooted. This one moves a little slowly at times, but it's still very good.
    • 4/5
      I loved this slow, lush story. Beautifully written fairy tale retting, with strongly drawn characters and rich imagery. There is a lot of build up, but it’s so worth it. Looking forward to continuing this series!
    • 4/5
      The Bear and the Nightingale gets off to a great start. Right away, Katherine Arden transports the reader to the frigid Russian landscape. The setting is breathtaking, to think back on any moment of this novel brings forth a recollection of seeing my own breath. That's how wonderfully the author draws the setting. And nowhere in these three hundred pages does she relent. This is a story that will have you reaching for an extra blanket.Arden also excels in creating characters with as much color and character as the setting. Vasya, Pyotr, and Sasha are all endearing and intriguing in their own ways. Even the characters that could easily fall into stereotypes are given some depth, characters like Konstantin, the village priest, and Anna, the stepmother who is perceived as being insane. These are not the clichés you often find in the genre. Arden builds upon the fairy tales and magical realism she establishes early in the story until it begins to steer the story. And this is where perhaps my own particular biases kept me from fully enjoying this story. I like a little magic in any story, but I only go so far with it. Fantasy is not, nor has ever been, my thing. When the plot began to be driven by more fantastic elements, I became a bit bored. Mythical creatures fighting in a forest—yawn—haven't I seen this all before?Certainly, The Bear and the Nightingale brought to mind The Chronicles of Narnia series. While C.S. Lewis's series was intended for a younger audience and was based on a Christian perspective, Arden's novel is much more mature and is focused on mythic traditions and an affinity for nature. The beauty of Arden’s framework and of her prose is unparalleled, however. I look forward to reading the next book in the series.
    • 4/5
      I received a free galley of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

      I have read many folk tales from around the world, and Katherine Arden does an excellent job of retelling a Russian tale. The elements are all in place and the story is captivating with great characterization. I recommend this read.
    • 3/5
      The Bear and the Nightingale is the first book in the Winternight trilogy by Katherine Arden. This book contains fantasy elements mixed with a Russian folktale influence. The reader follows Vasya, a young Russian girl, who was predestined before her birth for something great and who possesses the old magic. Vasya has the Sight and can see and communicate with the household spirits (chyerti). Her peculiar gifts aren't necessarily seen as a problem (beyond her possible difficulties securing a husband) until her father gets married to the daughter of the Grand Prince of Moscow. Her stepmother is deeply religious and in conjunction with the village's new priest, Konstantin, begins to sway Vasya's father into marrying her off as soon as possible. Konstantin preys on the fears of his congregants and Vasya finds herself a pariah among the very people she wishes to help. [A/N: Konstantin is a creep and anyone who says otherwise is crazy.] There comes a winter which is particularly harsh and the Bear becomes active from the people's fears (which just so happens to be his source of nourishment). It turns out that the tales that Vasya's nurse have told for years upon years seem to be true as she becomes mixed up with the lifelong feud between The Winter King and his brother Morozko (the Bear). The end is rather fuzzily done up but that's to be expected from a book which was created as part of a trilogy. Heavy on religious and mystical elements, this book took me quite a long while to get through even though once I picked it back up I found it deeply interesting. I will most likely read the next in the series (or give it a good attempt) next year. This is a book that would be ideal during the cold winter nights when you have nothing pressing to do and can curl up with a book for hours on end. 6/10
    • 5/5
      This is a lovely fantasy novel with an enchanting, strong, wild, magical main character that I just adored. I also enjoyed being introduced to Russian folklore - new to me, so a fun discovery (although also a bit of horror in there)! I’m so excited there are two more books planned.
    • 5/5
      The start of a beautiful, engaging, fast-paced and fascinating trilogy.
    • 5/5
      ..........SPOILERS..........The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden is the first book in the Winternight Trilogy. This story is based on a Russian fairy tale called Father Frost. This version of the tale is about a frost king who is after a girl named Vasilisa.Plot 5/5: I have never heard any Russian fairy tales, so this was quite the treat.Characters 5/5: The characters are interesting. I loved learning some of the ways of the Russian people and their folklore and beliefs. World building 5/5: The descriptions of the village had me feeling the harsh winters and the expectations of spring in this wonderfully created village world. Pacing 4/5 The pacing was steady and a bit slow, but Arden kept me rapt in the story. Writing 5/5: The writing is beautiful and lyrical. Overall 4.8Favorite Quote:"I would walk into the jaws of hell itself, if it were a path of my own choosing. I would rather die tomorrow in the forest than live a hundred years of the life appointed me." - VasilisaFavorite characters: Vasilisa and MorozkoThis was a fabulous story and I cannot wait to read the next installment.
    • 5/5
      Make sure you pre-order a copy of this book!
    • 4/5
      Really enjoyed this book. Great world building, fantastic play with folklore, powerful characters. Definitely reading the next one.
    • 4/5
      Katherine Arden has created a classic fairy tale. The character development is slow and thoughtful, and the season of Winter is as much a character as any human in the story. Many different methods are used to build suspense. A promise made is delayed, character flaws slowly emerge, and the weather is a menacing presence. I will definitely be reading this again soon.
    • 4/5
      This fantasy novel resembles a medieval Russian fairy tale. There's even a wicked stepmother! It is the story of Vasya whose mother Marina, regarded by many to be a witch, died during childbirth. Before she dies, Marina predicts the child inside her will be the one like her. Vasya's father Pyotr remarries. Vasya in indeed a "magic child" who is more comfortable with nature and horses than a traditional female role. Although I'm not a fan of the fantasy genre, this tale is beautifully written. I doubt I'll read others in the series because I only venture into the genre upon occasion, but this story caught my attention when I read a pre-publication blurb. I am not sorry I finally took the time to read it.
    • 4/5
      Although this book took me quite some time to get into due to all the Russian names and vocab, it ended up being one heck of a story. Vasya’s journey was one of strength and courage and I can’t wait to continue on and see where she goes from here. First book of 2018 done and I for sure started it off with a good one. 4🌟
    • 4/5
      Vasya is the younger daughter, and youngest child, of Pyotr, a Russian boyar, and his wife Marina, daughter of the Grand Prince. Her mother dies at her birth, and Vasya is growing up wild and willful--and the beloved image of her mother. She'd rather roam the forest than learn to cook, and learn to understand the magical creatures of forest and hearth than learn needlework.

      Pyotr worries about his youngest child, and even more so when a visit to Moscow to find a new wife to be her stepmother. His new wife is Marina's cousin, but very different, frightened of the things she sees in the corners of the house. In addition to a new wife, Pyotr has a frightening encounter with a frightening man of magic, who gives him a pendant for Vasya. He gives it to her nurse to give to her later, and she puts it aside to give it to Vasya when she is grown.

      What neither of them knows is that the Frost King will be watching, and so will his brother, the Bear.

      Their old priest dies, and a new priest comes from the capital, a young man burning with fire to stamp out the "sinful" old ways of tending to the creatures of the hearth and the woods that are older than Christianity. As he preaches against them, Vasya is learning to know and understand them better than anyone has, perhaps ever. The magic creatures start to wither and fade, and Vasya supports them as well as one girl can, keeping them alive and working for her family and the village.

      But strange things are happening in the village, and Vasya is getting a reputation for being a witch. And Vasya's frightened stepmother is easy prey for preaching of the new priest.

      The new priest isn't getting his guidance and inspiration where he thinks he's getting it.

      This has the rich and layered feel of a an old folk tale told by a good storyteller. Vasya is smart and tough and likable and kind. It's a very rewarding read.

      Recommended.

      I received a free electronic galley of this book from the publisher via NetGalley.
    • 4/5
      This is the first book in the Winternight trilogy. The second book in the series is already released and is titled “The Girl in the Tower”. This was a well done novel. I struggled a bit at the beginning but as the story went on I started to really enjoy the book.I liked the winter Russian setting and the fairy tale feel to the novel. I struggled a bit with the book early on because of all of the Russian names and politics that are thrown at the reader. However, as the book continued this decreased and we got to spend more time with our main characters in a rural forest setting, which was much more engaging and magical to me.The story has a very traditional sort of fairy tale feel to it. This would be a great “winter” book to read because of the winter setting. The writing style is beautiful and the book ties up at a good spot.Overall I ended up enjoying this book and plan on continuing with the series. I would recommend to those who enjoy magical fairy tale or folklore types of stories
    • 4/5
      This is an excellent read for lovers of historical fantasy and fairy tale retellings. It's also a great choice if you seek an atmospheric winter read. While following a traditional plot, the common tropes of folk stories are examined more thoroughly here. The evil stepmother has reasons for her behavior beyond jealousy. The constant equation of beauty to goodness is subtly picked apart. The Bear and the Nightingale is a light but intelligent read. It has the charm of a casual story but enough substance to not be entirely fluff. It's a perfect story for a cold, snowy day.I received a complimentary copy of this book via a Goodreads giveaway. Many thanks to all involved in providing me with this opportunity.
    • 3/5
       A historical fantasy/fairytale retelling set in medieval Russian. I have mixed feelings about it.It has a rich sense of place and it vividly captures the changes -- and dangers -- brought by the different seasons. I liked Vasya, the youngest child of her father’s first marriage, who has a tendency to run wild. I liked her relationships with her siblings, with the horses, and with the creatures few but she can see. I liked the more magical, overtly-fairytale, parts of the story.But the story isn’t just about Vasya or about magic. It’s about the difficulties of harsh winters and of having little say in who you marry, and of a community turning away from old traditions and superstitious at the insistence of a charismatic monk. At times it made me uncomfortable -- with its treatment of religion, and its treatment of Vasya’s stepmother, who is young when she’s unwillingly married and who is distressed by the seeing creatures she believes to be demons… yet who is also unkind and whose actions obviously (to the reader) are Making Things Worse.And the story unfolds slowly, bleakly. Sometimes I like that in stories... but not in this one.I don’t know if I will read the sequels.
    • 4/5
      This is a wonderful story set in Russia a long long time ago, in a world filled with magical spirits, both good and evil, where little girls can grow up to be powerful heroines. It reads like a fairy tale, but one for adults with enough character development and suspense to please fantasy buffs and literary fiction fans. Looking forward to the next in this series!
    • 5/5
      A lyrical story that seamlessly weaves together history and fiction, religion and folklore, Christian faith and pagan practices to create an epic fantasy adventure. One reviewer compared her to Neil Gaiman and I would certainly agree that it is an apt comparison. Set in the northernmost regions of what is now modern Russia and placed in the turbulen 14th century, Arden writes with such beautiful imagery that one longs to experience life in this world where winter is the dominant season and experience the fierce beauty of it. At the same time the plot is exquisitely intricate and the characters complex and engaging to make this story compelling. Vasya Petronova can 'see' where others cannot and this makes her either a savior, a witch or a demon. Those who call her witch unknowingly help the evil that lurks in the forest, the sleeping bear that will devour the world, and it is Vasya's sight and her courage that can save them. But everything has a price and love requires sacrifice and courage is knowing the price and being willing to pay it. Vasya has courage, but in the end it may not be enough. Do yourself a favor and read this book!
    • 1/5
      I really thought I would love this - it has so many elements that are right up my alley: medieval, a little fantasy, set deep in the woods in Russia. I only got 10% of the way in, but I have no desire to go any further. So many things wrong.

      To start with - I really have no idea what time period this is set in. There has been a zsar mentioned a couple of times, and I suppose I could stop and look him up on Wikipedia, but I don't think I should have to do that. The way this is written it could be taking place anytime between 800-1800 A.D.

      But what really pushed me to just put myself out of my misery, is that it's really lacking details on such basic things. Like what they eat - only bread and cake have been mentioned, though no real details of what they're made of. Their clothing - it was mentioned in one scene that the daughters were wearing embroidered sarafans. That's it. No further description of what a sarafan is, or what is embroidered upon it. The buildings? I first pictured, based on what little description there was, the house as a small wood shanty. Then find out pages later that the father is actually a lord and is quite wealthy, so I'm thinking his dwelling is probably considerably better than that, but again, I have no description, so I have nothing whatsoever to picture. A village is mentioned (apparently the house/stables are at the edge of the village), but there is nothing offered to describe what it is like. I read up until Pyotr's entry into Moscow, and still, couldn't really picture what that city was like, in whatever time period this is supposed to be. Here's all that we're given:

      "...Pyotr and his sons passed the outer rings of Moscow, that seething, jumped-up trading post on a hill beside the Moskva River. They smelled the city long before they saw it, hazed as it was with the smoke of ten thousand fires, and then the brilliant domes - green and scarlet and cobalt - showed dimly through the vapor. At last the saw the city itself, lusty and squalid, like a fair woman with feet caked in filth. The high golden towers rose proudly above the desperate poor, and the gold-fretted icons watched, inscrutable, while princes and farmers' wives came to kiss their stiff faces and pray. The streets were all snowy mud, churned by innumerable feet."

      There is also the annoying bit that each character is referred to by at least three different names - the little girl is referred to Vasya, Vasochka, Vasilisa - the second eldest son, Alyosha, Lyoshka, Sasha - the father so far is Pyotr and also Lesnaya - the older sister, Olga, Olya, Oleg? or is Oleg another sibling? Anyway, with 4 children, the mother, the father, the nanny - it starts to stack up fast!

      There are also anglicized Russian words and terms and dropped around, without any definition or description offered. For example, in one scene a brother "sprang again to the back of his brown Mysh." Is Mysh the name of the horse, or is that what they call a horse? I'm assuming it's a horse, and not a donkey or something.

      Oh well, I knew my 5-star streak had to end sometime, but I didn't think it would be with this one.
    • 4/5
      I ended up quite liking this novel. It was very atmospheric, and I loved the setting and the folklore. The characters were well done and I really enjoyed the descriptions of the places and things. I did find the plot meandering though and for a bit, it felt like nothing was happening - slow paced.

      I did find the religious portion of this to be a bit of a hindrance though. I find this plot device to be derivative and I don't like vilifying one religion over another. However, the character of the priest was done well, even if his whole plot was not to my taste.

      The narrator was also amazeballs. She did such a great job really capturing the essence and feel of this novel. I will definitely be looking out for other narrations she does.