A review by itsnotalakeitsanocean
The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

I remember seeing a lot of hype surrounding this book. While I'm not the type to fall for hype after reading the blurb, I came to the conclusion this book wouldn't have the same tired old problems as books that tend to get hyped (glorification of abusive relationships, gender bioessentialism, characters that act like walking tropes) and should give it a go. I was mostly right.

I think if you read books purely for vibes and you enjoy richly described dark fairy tales you'll probably enjoy this boom greatly.

What I liked:
  • Vasya was a realistic protagonist who was easy to empathise with. Though set mostly in the Russian countryside, I think anyone growing up on the fringes of society in some capacity can relate to Vasya's struggles as our world seems to be heading in a darker direction and we're expected to keep our heads down and not question anything.
  • I also enjoyed Vasya's family's dynamics with each other.
    It really paid off when Dunya died and eventually came back as a thrall of The Bear, and Pyotr chose to sacrifice himself to bind The Bear. Dunya's ghastly resurrection was especially hard to read.
  • Vasya did not end up in any last minute unnecessary romantic relationships or forced by the plot to "find the right man". I don't know if she is explicitly aromantic, asexual or aromantic asexual but it was depressingly refreshing to have a female lead whose freedom from romantic or sexual relationships was seen as a good thing. It would have been so easy to have her hook up with the Frost King at the end and major kudos to Arden for not going there. More MCs like this please! The bar is subterranean!

What I didn't like:
  • I feel like the bulk of the plot was backended towards the last third of the book. While it was necessary to build up
    the village's conversion to Christianity through fear and the consequences of ignoring the demons that used to help them
    the same things kept happening and got very repetitive to the point of it being accidentally comedic. Seeing how this is Arden's debut novel, I'm sure she can improve her pacing in later novels.
  • Some of the characters do end up feeling kind of tropey. While this is to be expected in fairy tales, said characters feel more like a means to progress the plot rather than be organic characters or twists on the trope they were embodying.
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