BOOK REVIEW: The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden

Beware the evil in the woods...
In a village at the edge of the wilderness of northern Russia, where the winds blow cold and the snow falls many months of the year, an elderly servant tells stories of sorcery, folklore and the Winter King to the children of the family, tales of old magic frowned upon by the church.
But for the young, wild Vasya these are far more than just stories, she alone can see the house spirits that guard her home, and sense the growing forces of dark magic in the woods...

Publisher: Penguin

Pages: 456

The Bear and the Nightingale was recommended to me and I'll be honest that it was not a book that I would have naturally picked up. I'm so glad of the recommendation though as I loved it. It is the first in the Winternight trilogy by Katherine Arden and I will definitely read the next two.
Set in northern Russia, the story is centred around Vasya, a young girl who it would seem has the ability to see spirits. She is fierce and independent and the local villagers fear her and talk of her as a witch.
Father Konstantine arrives in the village, he is determined to turn the villagers away from their folklore and traditions and to make them fearful and obedient servants to God. Vasya does not fit into his plan and she is soon doing all she can to protect her people and appease the spirits, a thankless task that places her in great danger. Vasya attracts the attention of the feared Winter King and she has a huge dilemma. How can she protect those she loves whilst remaining true to herself whilst pursuing the life she would like
There is so much packed into this beautiful  story, power, religion, superstition, folklore, politics, feminism, I really was pleasantly surprised by how much Katherine Arden included.
I loved how she layered all of these aspects of the story, her story telling is captivating and left me with so much to consider.
The Bear and the Nightingale is focused on Russian folklore, I very much enjoyed learning about this culture and how their beliefs could often be challenged by emerging Christian ideology.
Vasya is such a fantastic character, I was totally in awe of her by the end of the book. She is a particularly strong female character; even when it seems that everything and everyone is against her, she does not buckle.
The Bear and the Nightingale was far out of my comfort zone but I can't wait to read the next two in the series plus try others from this fantastic genre.