The Bear and the Nightingale A Novel

I absolutely loved this! Especially Vasya. I'm a big fan of the writing style and the russian feel to it, how the beasts are called and words are spelled.. I really enjoyed this a lot! Can't wait to read the other books in the series :)

The Bear and the Nightingale was a pleasantly surprising read. I went into it with no expectations; all I knew was that it was russian-inspired, and I'd never read anything about russian-inspired fantasy/historical fiction before. So I gave it a try and fell in love with it. My only criticism is that the plot moves extremely slowly. Especially at the start. I expected to get to the main story in a couple of chapters, but it took a long time, and I mean a long time. I was skeptical at first, but after a while, I really enjoyed it because you get to understand why things are the way they are. The lyrical writing style was lovely, and we got to learn about Russian mythology and fairy tales, which I thoroughly enjoyed, but I recommend reading the glossary first. It leads to faster understanding. The setting is wintery, whimsical, dark, and magical. It also discusses the family dynamics of the time and has an intriguing sibling relationship. Overall, I enjoyed it far more than I expected to, and I can't wait to read the sequel.

ich habe das Buch so gerne gelesen, habe direkt die anderen zwei Bände gekauft. Ich weiß zwar nicht wie korrekt die Folklore wiedergegeben wurde, aber es war ein sehr schönes und spannendes Buch für Laien und jene, die das erste Mal mit slavischer/russischer Mythologie in Verbindung kommen.

... that has the power to draw you in and let you forget everything around you! Lushly written and imbued with the feel of centuries-old fairy tales, this should be a must-read for all fans of myths and fairy tales!

Innerhalb einer Woche verschlungen (zunächst auf Zugfahrten beschränkt). Dieses Buch hatte die seltene Fähigkeit, mich innerhalb weniger Absätze absolut in die winterliche und märchenhafte Welt des mittelalterlichen "Russland" hineinzuziehen und alles andere auszublenden. Kann zu Verwirrungen in Bahnhöfen führen! Besonders schön gelungen fand ich die Kritik an Religion, die unweigerlich miteinschwingt. Der Kampf des alten Glauben gegen den neuen mit allen Problematiken und auch schönen Seiten.