baronessekat | 2018 reading challenge: A BOOK SET IN A COUNTRY THAT FACINATES YOU

The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

An absolutely, wonderfully told fairy tale. I have been fascinated by Russian and Slavic tales and stories for some time and this had all the elements that made this perfect. The young girl, made motherless at an early age (in this case birth) who has always been seen as odd. The overly doting father who wants the best for his children who remarries to provide a good female influence in the house. The step mother who for some reason doesn't like the girl. Creatures/spirits/fairies/sprites of the house, farm and countryside that come to the girl's aid. The girl who overcomes all the challenges in the end and grows into herself and does what needs to be done.

The language of this book was very evocative of submersing me into 16th century Russia and the reader (I did the audiobook) had just a way that kept me wanting to her tell me more.

I highly recommend this book to any who are interested in fairy tales, supernatural stories, or Medieval Russia.

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