“You are mad, Vasya.”
“Entirely,” she said. “But I will have my freedom”…
The Bear and the Nightingale, by Katherine Arden – a book review.
I finished this wonderful fairy tale this week, and sat back to think about what I’d just read. On the surface, it was a sweet story about a young girl’s coming of age and coming into who she was. That alone is powerful enough, but the layers that came through are what makes this a must read.
Sure, there were times as I read that other fairy tales came to mind. Naturally, Disney’s Frozen, because of the winter-based theme. Don’t get me wrong. Frozen is a magical work of art. But the fact that I had the passing association caused me a bit of irritation with myself, having fallen into the pop culture prejudice. Winter, in theme, is so powerful. It represents a time before rebirth and renewal. It can be harsh but beautiful. It is something to endure, to survive, to fear, but also something that gives us time as humans to connect and prepare for the coming of the spring. There are so many reasons that Winter features in literature, and it’s unfortunate to me that the tendency is to use Frozen as the immediate measuring stick.
What made me happier with myself was the ability to overcome that predisposition, to look beyond the similarities, and to see the merits this work has on its own. If I had to compare it to one tale, I do not think I could choose. There have the evil (or at least misguided) stepmother. Should we say it resembles Cinderella? There is an element of Vasya needing to find herself. Should we say it resembles Merida in Brave? I think not. It stands on its own. In fact, I’d love to see it brought to the big screen, and to me, a Tim Burton rendition would be my first choice.
Anyway, on to the finer points…
Something so powerful about this novel is the ties between family. This was revealed in Vasya’s mother’s sense of who Vasya would be even before her daughter was born.
“I wanted her.” … “I want her still.”
And the connection between Marina and her own mother:
… “I want a daughter like my mother was.”
Pyotr’s endless patience with his daughter, despite his new wife’s obvious displeasure and insistence that she be sent away. Dunya’s having become family just by how she had cared for them for so long. So many other examples, but it was an apparent and heartwarming theme.
The demons, a world riddled with them… My favorite: the rusalka, and the use of the rusalka’s character to turn up the tension and foreshadow the unfolding of the story.
“You must heed me, Vasya, for I will not come again. Not as myself. He will call me, and I will answer; he will have my allegiance and I will turn against you.”
Morozko – sigh. So much I would say about this character if it would not spoil the read. This line, ripped my heart out:
“I?” said Morozko. “I am only a story, Vasya.”
Characters aside, we also see a comparison, contrast, and straight up collision of the old ways and Christianity. The message that both may coexist is one that carried a wonderful strength for me. In the end, peace and the very safety of the people mean coexistence, harmony, and toleration of things one faces in ignorance.
Well worth the read, Ms. Arden!
