The Bear and the Nightingale cover art

The Bear and the Nightingale

Winternight, Book 1

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The Bear and the Nightingale

By: Katherine Arden
Narrated by: Kathleen Gati
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About this listen

Random House presents the unabridged downloadable audiobook edition of The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden, read by Kathleen Gati.

A young woman's family is threatened by forces both real and fantastical in this debut novel inspired by Russian fairy tales.

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, a stranger with piercing blue eyes presents a new father with a gift - a precious jewel on a delicate chain, intended for his young daughter. Uncertain of its meaning, the father hides the gift away, and his daughter, Vasya, grows up a wild, willful girl, to the chagrin of her family. But when mysterious forces threaten the happiness of their village, Vasya discovers that, armed only with the necklace, she may be the only one who can keep the darkness at bay.

Atmospheric and enchanting, with an engrossing adventure at its core, The Bear and the Nightingale is perfect for fans of Naomi Novik's Uprooted, Erin Morgenstern's The Night Circus and Neil Gaiman.

©2017 Katherine Arden (P)2017 Random House AudioBooks Classics Fantasy Fiction Genre Fiction Magic Magical Realism Feel-Good Heartfelt Russia
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This was fantastic!
I loved the world, it was so incredibly rich, and the narrator did an outstanding job of emoting this richness. When listening to this story, you could feel the cold, feel the wind rattle your bones and the sting of wet on warm skin.
Highly, highly recommend, it was excellent!!

A magical Russian world

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This story is beautiful! A folk lore tale with a little feminist spice in the mix. I HATE THAT PRIEST. Vasilisa has my heart.

MY HEART!

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For me the story really got interesting around chapter 20. Loved how beautiful the horse characters are in this story & skilful imagery by the writer. Am definitely going to listen to the next book. Narrator does a fantastic job of pronouncing the difficult Russian names in this story!

Strong female character, fairy-tale feel

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Enjoyed the story but found the reader's accent a bit difficult to follow at first.

Enjoyable fantasy tale

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Draws you in like a warm fireplace from the cold wind outside. Compelling story with lots of stories within, want to start again. Thanks Katherine the author and Kathleen the narrator, great job

Stories to remember

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What A Journey of a Story!
One of growth, hard won out of facing fear -
And the heroine's connection to the deeper more animistic layers of all life and her self. Turning sacrifice and love into the freedom to remember and find other ways- Such a beautiful adventure!
A delicious book to travel through winter with!
Thankyou!

A deep and entrancing fairy tale

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I didn't realise this was the first book of a trilogy. But you could read it as a standalone if you wanted. I enjoyed it very much - something a little different to most modern novels. It was like revisiting childhood, listening to a fairy tale, albeit one written for adults. Would recommend.

A modern fairytale

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I spent much of the book thinking, do I like it or not. The story was confusing at times as the names are so unfamiliar to me and all sound alike, so often I was not sure who they were talking about. Very much like how I think other cultures would be reading a book with characters named John, Jim and Jack, they would also be easily confused. I persevered and in the end think I enjoyed it but need a second listen. A Russian Fairytale with a very different ending, all be it a good one.

Difficult to review

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I love audiobooks because when narrator and book mesh well it's entrancing to a point a book alone would not match.

This was wonderful. I didn't know much about the book. I read one or two lines in the blurb and garnered I'd like it from expereince.

Wonderful

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I'm new to Russian folklore so this was interesting for me. The concepts and characters were not terribly original or that captivating to be honest, but it was an easy listen and kept me interested enough to go onto the second book. It's a bit basic if you're a seasoned fantasy novel reader, but enjoyable all the same.

Interesting and entertaining. Easy listen.

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