Hello folks this is Sarah and welcome back to my channel.
So today I wanted to go ahead and do a review of one of my favorite books of 2018.
You might hear some ridiculous background noise including a snowplow, a fan,
and a barking dog that may sound in deep distress
We've been having trouble with some of our new neighbors and we're all trying to work it out
so that the dog can be happy and it can all feel- stop sounding so distressing
and resulting in scaring our animals and whatnot
Um, but...
Right now, it's still a work in progress and thus there may be some background noise
I've been trying to postpone filming this but it has been ongoing for hours
So...
I'm not postponing anymore
Anyway, I can't remember if I already told you this but
the book that I would like to review today is The Bear and the Nightingale
which is the first in the Winter Night series
by Katherine Arden
I'm also going to link, uh, a little interview video that I
found with the author that I thought was really picturesque and
kind of gave you a little bit about her process
It's not a very like, uh, widely viewed video because it's kind of new, but I thought it was really pretty.
um, so...
I wanted to link that since I stumbled across it recently.
Anyway, The Bear and the Nightingale follows a, a young girl, Vasilisa, or Vasya. She goes by many names
as is typical in a lot of Russian, um, literature.
But
Vasilisa lives in a more remote, rural part of Russia
, um, with her father who is kind of a high ranking member, kind of a mayor of sorts of that area
and
when Vasilisa was born her mother died.
Marina died.
Um, it's been known in their family that a lot of women in their family, including
Vasilisa grandmother and her mother have a kind of third sight where they are able
to see folklore creatures, magical creatures, um,
and a lot of this book is very much a fairytale, so, if that's not your thing then this may not work for you
However, there is a lot of literary-ness to it as well.
just because Katherine Arden, as someone who has studied Russian literature,
utilizes a lot of that kind of stylistic language.
Um, anyway, so
back to the main part of the story
Vasilisa has always been the spirits and she's always been someone who is very resilient
and who wants to live her own life.
She is very much a, kind of,
I don't want to say tomboy because I don't think that that's necessarily accurate
but she is a very free-spirited girl who, even though her father, uh,
whose first name is not coming to me, but,
Petronavan
um, even though he tells her Vasilisa the forest is dangerous, you should stay out of the forest
she...is obsessed with the forest so she goes in there
and she befriends a water spirit in the forest who, um, preys upon, before she meets Vasilisa,
young boys who, um, end up downing the water.
um
She befriends an entity that lives in the stables, who takes care of the horses
and that entity teaches her to speak with horses
and she also befriends the kind of
in more, um, Western European culture, like, a Brownie,
um, a folklore creature that takes care of the home.
um
And she befriends all the entities, which, you know,
her father sees her growing and when she hits the age of like 13
he's very much bothered by how free she is because this is kind of a world that is very much
, um, it's in the middle ages of, uh, Russian history
so women were supposed to be kind of mothering figures, and uh, basically vessels of reproduction
and thus, you know, her actions would not lead her to have a husband.
So he, after quite a few years of his first wife being dead,
goes to the city, to Moscow, and he speaks with Marina's bother who is, um, very very high ranking
, um, high ranking there, I think he's you know in line to be the Tsar, if I remember correctly.
And...
This
brother of Marina also has a problematic family member who is his daughter
from his first marriage, Anna.
And Anna is someone who also has the sight, but as she's been raised in a more, um,
city and religious setting, um, with a very strong, um,
priest presence.
She believes that she's just seeing demons, rather than folklore spirits and she
really shuns this and it kind of, doesn't drive her mad, but it- it causes her to have outbursts
where she yells at these spirits and tells them to like, to go away, but obviously they're everywhere
so it doesn't really work out for her.
Um, and, so Marina's brother ends up marrying Anna off to, um, Petronavan,
and she goes back to be Vasilisa's stepmother
And, as you can tell, like, this already is kind of creating a like, um, kind of a foil system
where Vasilisa is the folklore loving person and Anna is the, the symbol of religion and they clash
with one another, um, often in the text.
um
And then you also have another kind of foil to Vasilisa's free-spirited-ness
kind of old culture ways
and that is going to be in the priest figure in the story.
So, another side point of this story is that, um, as with all fantasies that have a political aspect,
there are conflicts of power and one priest, Konstantin, has a lot of power over people because he is very
traditionally beautiful and he has a way of speaking that really enraptures crowds and he, um,
makes these beautiful idol paintings.
And so...
One of the competing priests sees him, um, gain this power and sees what he is able to do with people
and he decides that he needs to get him out of Moscow so that he doesn't threaten his position
within the priesthood.
Konstantin is sent off to Vasilisa's, um, town to become the priest there.
The priest in Moscow lies and says they have a problem where they need a pious priest
and send him off to that.
Another one of this novel's thematic is that it explores, um, Konstantin's feelings towards Vasya
as someone who is so spirited, someone who is kind of his antithesis.
Um...
And there is a feeling there from the very start for me that is bad.
I want his far away from Vasilisa. He has- He's going to do something terrible. I can tell.
He hasn't done anything yet. I finished the first book, but, he's going to do terrible her directly.
Not even just to the plotline.
Um...
And so, that's another aspect of it and the novel also explores how sometimes when you have these ideas
you can be easily manipulated because you're following dogmatically something rather than questioning
and that leads you vulnerable to exterior forces.
And so
with Konstantin's arrival the novel then explores, too, how his piousness and his kind of trying to shun the
old ways of giving offerings to these spirits of the forest, these spirits of the home,
can effect the magic system therein. If this indeed a magical area,
not giving the offering would have a negative impact on the people
and it explores that and then it explores Vasilisa as someone who cares so deeply deeply for her family.
For her brothers, and even for, um, step-sister because Anna does end up having a child. Um.
It shows her sacrificing in hopes of making everything ok.
um...
and it does create such a really complex portrait of Vasilisa.
Um, she's a character that I came to really, really love. Moreso than I've loved a lot of characters lately.
Yeah, this is a very atmospheric book. It's great to read in the winter. I felt like I could feel it a little bit,
just because Montanan winter are so very long and cold. We've had less snow this year, but you know our our snow
our winters are like 10 months out of the 12, basically. If we're feeling generous we'll say 9.
Um
And so *swallows and debates what she's doing here*
That atmosphere felt very kin to me. As did Vasilisa, or Vasya's, um, story.
And...
I'm really excited to get to the next two in this, um...
You also have a- When Vasilisa was a child she was a, a very into the story of this kind of, um, frost winter king
that would come and take away, uh, people who weren't, um, grateful and kind.
um
And that plays a role in this whole story and I'm interested in seeing how that will, you know, continue to
to unroll as the trilogy continues.
I do have the next two books, let me show them to you.
Which is The Girl in the Tower and then, um, The Winter of the Witch so I'm going to carry on with these
Um, I thought I would get to them this month, and even though I really love the story, I haven't gotten to them
this month. I think that might be good just because when I really love something I like to pace myself
as silly as that might be, and so I am kind of pacing myself with this.
I want to let Vasya's story kind of sit with me.
I like to imagine what she is doing myself first, and then carry on with the trilogy,
So, um, yeah, I know that a lot of people love love love trilogy.
I know that Joceclyn from Yogi with a Book loves it.
My dear friend Karen really loves it.
And I know Sam from Sam's Nonsense also really loves this series.
I know that she hasn't read the 3rd one yet- I don't think, but.
Um, but Karen did tell me that the 2nd one can be more of a slog but, um,
But I've heard some people like the second one more so we'll, we'll see. I don't know, I love all the folklore
backstories and all the characters. Um, I like Vasilisa's interactions with her brother, Lexi,
for Alexei. And yeah, I even liked the the interactions of Anna and her, even though obviously Anna wasn't a
super likable character. So, this is a very beloved series for me right now, um. If you haven't picked it up,
I know it's very hyped, but it is really worth the hype. I recommend you check it out,
especially if you love folklore and it will take you back to the childhood, I think.
And what I would like to do now really quickly is read to you a quote that I really enjoyed that I had put on my
bookstagram at one point.
The bannik drifted up to the bench beside her. His beard was curling steam.
"Because you have your great grandmother's eyes. Now, hear me. Before the end, you will pluck snowdrops at midwinter, die by your own choosing, and weep for a nightingale."
Vasya felt cold despite the steam.
"Why would I choose to die?"
"It is easy to die," replied the bannik. "Harder to live. Do not forget me, Vasilisa Petrovna."
And then there was only vapor where he had been.
Holy Mother, Vasya thought. I've had enough of their mad warnings.
So...
I liked that.
Anyway, I hope that everyone is doing well and I will talk to you all in another video soon.
Bye folks.
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