*snorts awake* What? What'd I miss? Oh. Two Monday reviews, that's what!
Ahem.
The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden
Publisher: Del Ray
Publication Date: January 10, 2017
Source: Kindle book
After Vasilisa’s mother dies, her father goes to Moscow and brings home a new wife. Fiercely devout, city-bred, Vasilisa’s new stepmother forbids her family from honoring the household spirits. The family acquiesces, but Vasilisa is frightened, sensing that more hinges upon their rituals than anyone knows.
And indeed, crops begin to fail, evil creatures of the forest creep nearer, and misfortune stalks the village. All the while, Vasilisa’s stepmother grows ever harsher in her determination to groom her rebellious stepdaughter for either marriage or confinement in a convent.
As danger circles, Vasilisa must defy even the people she loves and call on dangerous gifts she has long concealed—this, in order to protect her family from a threat that seems to have stepped from her nurse’s most frightening tales"
Ahem.
The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden
Publisher: Del Ray
Publication Date: January 10, 2017
Source: Kindle book
Summary from Goodreads:
"At the edge of the
Russian wilderness, winter lasts most of the year and the snowdrifts
grow taller than houses. But Vasilisa doesn’t mind—she spends the winter
nights huddled around the embers of a fire with her beloved siblings,
listening to her nurse’s fairy tales. Above all, she loves the chilling
story of Frost, the blue-eyed winter demon, who appears in the frigid
night to claim unwary souls. Wise Russians fear him, her nurse says, and
honor the spirits of house and yard and forest that protect their homes
from evil.
After Vasilisa’s mother dies, her father goes to Moscow and brings home a new wife. Fiercely devout, city-bred, Vasilisa’s new stepmother forbids her family from honoring the household spirits. The family acquiesces, but Vasilisa is frightened, sensing that more hinges upon their rituals than anyone knows.
And indeed, crops begin to fail, evil creatures of the forest creep nearer, and misfortune stalks the village. All the while, Vasilisa’s stepmother grows ever harsher in her determination to groom her rebellious stepdaughter for either marriage or confinement in a convent.
As danger circles, Vasilisa must defy even the people she loves and call on dangerous gifts she has long concealed—this, in order to protect her family from a threat that seems to have stepped from her nurse’s most frightening tales"
What I think it's about:
A lady who really doesn't like Christianity, frankly. And loves weird, twisted plots and not bothering to tell us what the heck is going on.
The Good: BEAUTIFUL language and description. Hands down. Can't be beat.
The Bad: Somebody doesn't like Jesus, folks. Christianity and its followers are depicted as hypocrites and self-seeking Pharisees. What else is new? Give me a more rounded villain, at least! One who follows Christianity, but has veered off the path, and then finds redemption. Like Eustace Scrubb, sort of. I dunno, I guess I like C.S. Lewis too dang much. It's the writing, people!
The Ugly: Err, references to unwarranted sexy time, virginity being a bad thing, and the whole fuzziness about demon worship. The author kind of blends the lines of pure mythology and Christian belief about demons, and leaves the reader confused as to what's good and what's not. God's (Highlight for SPOILER) a bad guy and another demon.
Summary: ⭑⭑
