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 Heartfelt Scary Feel-Good Russia

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All stars
Most relevant
good story. well read and you feel as though you get to know the characters

good story

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A good retelling of a Russian fairy tale that would be a great book for younger readers or those that simple love fairy tales but it was a little too tame on action for me

A good fairy tale but a little tame

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I did find the book a bit slow at the start, but stuck with it and was richly rewarded. It's a cracking story with a terrific heroine. I enjoyed it a bit like I enjoy a good James Bond film - but here we have a young female standing her ground against men and unbending christianity.
I liked the narrator. I have a Russian friend and was often reminded of how she talks- the Russians are fiercer than we are!

A ripping yarn.

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One of the most enjoyable stories I've read. Russian folk tales woven into an original text. Wonderful!

Magical!

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Perfect listening for a cold dark winter night. Fantastic narration brings the story to life.

Wonderful wintery fairy tale delight

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