Why a Booktrail?
Step inside a magical Russian folk story deep in the northern forests….
The Bear and The Nightingale
What you need to know before your trail
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…
Travel Guide
The story behind the story:
“A very old tale of a young woman who does not rebel against the limits of her role in her culture so much as transcend them.” The main character Vasilisa (Vasya), was ahead of her time and very unique. She lived in a conformist and very traditional society and but she was non-conformist in a society which expected to control her. She like other women had to simply bear children and keep house. Vasa on the other hand saw the beauty in nature and the wild of the wildnerness and felt her real place was here
The fairytale setting
The story is set in medieval Lesnaya Zemlya, a quaint little village in northern Rus’, as it is written in the book. The villagers there are traditional people – they are religious but they also believe in folklore and more pagan practices. Believing in Christianity gave them something to look forward to in the afterlife where as pagan values were for the here and now. How their crops turned out, how their children grew big and strong, how life turned out in general.
There are many characters, no creatures which populate this Russian forest – all mythological elements of Slavic folklore such as the dvornik (guardian of the yard), , leshy (woodland spirit), and domovoi (household-sprite). There is also Morozko – Jack Frost who makes an appearance and who controls the weather and the fortunes of those who respect him.
The landscape
The landscape is fairytale like and compelling:
The first screaming winds of November rattled the bare trees…..the snow hurried down like tears…the years slipped by like leaves….”
The fairytale language is lyrical and enchanting and the real and mythical beings merge into one ethereal world.
Booktrail Boarding Pass: The Bear and The Nightingale
Author/Guide: Katherine Arden Destination: Russia
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