On one hand, if Vasya wasn’t such a self-inflicted outcast, she might have had more influence when Konstantin came to town and swayed everyone’s beliefs. You can easily find positives and negatives to both sides of this answer.
Should she have tried harder to assimilate into her community? Would that have made her life any easier? Supposedly this is the first in a trilogy, so I’m hoping for the same qualities in the next two books!ġ. A constant theme throughout this book are Vasya’s clashes with her family and villagers. There’s also underlying judgement on religious zeal, superstition, and societal pressures to fit in that could easily apply to modern times.
The characters in this novel are well developed and the descriptive writing sets the scenes beautifully. (Side note – if you’re looking for something similar I highly recommend similar trying out The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey). Part of the appeal is that I just haven’t found many novels like this. It’s reminiscent of a classic fairy tale, but written with modern pacing and language.
My Thoughts – Every time I picked up this book, I felt whisked away from reality into this magical Russian wilderness. A threat only spoken of in the family’s fairy tales begins to take form and the local spirits and Vasya must attempt to protect their village. When a priest (and a new stepmother) eventually come to stay, they turn the community away from their traditional offerings to the spirits, causing them to weaken. Her unique connection with the wilderness baffles her family and they try in turn to punish her, leave her be, and protect her. Vasilisa (Vasya), a young girl who lives in Northern Russian has the ability to communicate with the spirits that inhabit her home and land. I love that – her serious case of wanderlust and the fact that this truly seems to be a labor of love.Ībout the Book – This novel reads like a classic Russian fairy tale. The Bear and the Nightingale is her first novel, one that’s been written and revised all over the world. The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine ArdenĪbout the Author – Honestly I could try to recap Katherine’s bio, but her own telling is fascinating so just go to her website and read it!.
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