katherine arden

June 3, 2021

Book 287: The Winter of the Witch

“But still she crawled out of the cage, put her hands, then her face, into the fire, got to her feet. An instant she stood there, wavering, beyond fear, untouched by the flames. She’d forgotten they could burn her.”

Dates read: January 6-10, 2019

Rating: 10/10

I took a creative writing class in college. I can’t remember why, it must have been mandatory for my degree somehow, because I haven’t ever had any real talent for the subject. It went about as well as anyone could expect given that my gifts lie elsewhere. We had to turn in a piece every week, and I got banned from haiku because I wrote so many. But I struggled hard any time I tried to write a short story, and always for the same reason: I never know how to end it, so it inevitably culminated in the tragic and unexpected death of the main character.

It’s hard enough to write an ending to a story, I can’t imagine trying to wrap up a whole series. How do you close the door on your characters and their world while making sure that you’ve done justice to your narrative arc? There have been plenty of authors who’ve stumbled trying to thread that needle. The first two entries in Katherine Arden’s Winternight series have been some of my most-enjoyed books of the past few years, so while I was looking forward to the third and final entry, The Winter of the Witch, I must admit that I was nervous, too. What if the way she wrapped up the story fell flat? Luckily, we as readers have been in good hands so far and Arden proves that the success of the first two entries was no fluke.

As in the previous installment, Arden picks up her narrative right where she’d left off: Moscow is burning and Vasya is a wanted woman. After a narrow, dearly bought escape, she ventures into the realm of Midnight to seek out Morozko, the frost demon with whom she has an increasingly complicated relationship, and free him from the captivity he’s been placed under. Meanwhile, her monk brother Sasha is trying to repair his relationship with the Grand Prince of Moscow, now on a seeming collision course for battle with the Mongols. Then there’s the influence of the chaos demon Medved, whose interests suddenly have some alignment with Vasya’s own. And Baba Yaga herself even shows up. As a decisive conflict draws ever-nearer, Vasya is fighting not just for Rus’, but the preservation of the world of sprites and spirits she loves.

Arden has built a beautiful, enchanting world over the course of this series, and this book is a fantastic conclusion to it. I’ve gotten so interested in Slavic folklore over the course of my reading this series, and this entry added even more shading to this rich background. I was really curious as to how Arden would handle the slow-burning romance between Vasya and Morozko…she’s never shied away from the wildly imbalanced power dynamics between them and I thought her resolution to their story hit exactly the right note. And the constant reference to political and religious power struggles within Rus’ over the course of the series turn out to be more than just window dressing, introducing me to historical events I’d had no knowledge of beforehand.

There are some little things that I wished had been done differently…I found myself wishing for just a little reorientation at the beginning of the book (unless you’ve literally read the first two within the past couple months, you’ll probably be a little bit lost, like I was). And I admit I’d hoped for a bigger role for Baba Yaga. She’s such a prominent figure in Russian mythology that everyone knows she’s got to make an appearance in this book, but I wish there’d been more of her. But honestly, this is one of the best series closers I’ve ever read, wrapping up the story in a way that felt natural rather than forced. This series is amazing and I recommend it to everyone! I can’t wait to see what Katherine Arden does next!

One year ago, I was reading: The Moor’s Account

Two years ago, I was reading: Good Riddance

Three years ago, I was reading: Boy, Snow, Bird

Four years ago, I was reading: Mrs. Dalloway

Five years ago, I was reading: Spinster

August 25, 2020

Top Ten Tuesday: Questions I Would Ask My Favorite Authors

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly linkup of book bloggers hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl! This week, we’re talking about questions we’d ask our favorite authors. Not all of these authors are my absolute favorites (for one, I only chose authors who are alive), but here are ten questions I’d ask authors I respect and admire!

Roxane Gay: What was your favorite thing about living in the Upper Peninsula during your Ph.D. program?

Margaret Atwood: You’ve written so many brilliant modern classics. What modern classic means the most to you?

Alison Weir: What person in British Tudor history would you like to write a biography about, but there just isn’t enough material there for a book?

Jeffrey Eugenides: What is your favorite place in Detroit?

Katherine Arden: What is your favorite Russian folk tale?

Donna Tartt: Your The Secret History is one of the most popular books not yet adapted for the the screen. Has there ever been an actor you thought would be perfect for one of the roles?

John U Bacon: Who is your favorite Michigan football player of all time?

George RR Martin: When are you going to finish The Winds of Winter?

Nick Hornby: Music was such an important part of High Fidelity. What is your favorite song?

Erik Larson: Is there a historical event or person that you find interesting, but you don’t think you’re the right person to write about?

August 22, 2019

Book 195: The Girl In The Tower

“A woman married. Or she became a nun. Or she died. That was what being a woman meant. What, then, was she?”

Dates read: December 11-15, 2017

Rating: 9/10

Sometimes I find myself longingly wondering what life would be like as a man, even just for a while. I’d be able to walk the dog when it’s dark without feeling apprehensive. No one would question my ambition. No one would assume that I’m my boss’s side piece (this was an actual thing that happened at my lawyer job, not this one thank goodness). I wouldn’t have to worry about crossing my legs at the ankle instead of the knee. No one would shout out commentary about my appearance at me. Must be nice!

And I live in a time that’s among the freest and safest for women there’s ever been! It’s no wonder that Vasya, heroine of Katherine Arden’s The Girl in the Tower, finds herself forced into disguise as a man in order to move freely and safely through her medieval Russian world. The book picks up more or less right where The Bear and the Nightingale left off…Vasya has fled the rural village she grew up in after her father was killed and she herself was labeled a witch. Knowing full well what that means for her life expectancy, she sets out to explore the world, ignoring the advice of frost demon Morozko who warns her that the world is not kind to young women alone. She discovers very quickly that he is correct, and presents herself thereafter as a boy…it helps that her nickname, Vasya, like many Russian nicknames, is gender neutral and could therefore stand for Vasily as well as Vasilisa.

In pursuit of a mysterious group of bandits that has been stealing children, Vasya finds herself unexpectedly reunited with her brother Sasha and the Crown Prince of Moscow to whom he is sworn in service, Dmitrii. When she gets back to Moscow with them, she’s also reconnected with her older sister Olga, now the wife of an important nobleman, and meets Olga’s daughter, Marya, who seems to share Vasya’s unusual ability of seeing things beyond the ordinary. Vasya’s trying to keep her masculine identity intact until she can get on her way while also enjoying the ability to express her naturally bold personality…and then, of course, disaster strikes and the family finds themselves fighting supernatural forces to stay alive.

The Bear and the Nightingale was one of my favorite reads of 2017, and this sequel (the second in a trilogy) did not disappoint. I will say that I’d recommend reading it shortly after the first book, or while it’s still relatively fresh in your mind…there’s very little of the kind of “catching the reader up” exposition that many sequels have, and I wish I’d known that going in because I’d read the first nearly a year prior so the details were a little fuzzy. But the magic is still there! Arden’s prose and storytelling remain deft, she expands further into the realm of Slavic folklore, and I love how she grows the seeds of romance she planted in The Bear and The Nightingale between Vasya and Morozko. I found myself rooting for them even though Arden never lets you forget the inherent power imbalance between an immortal creature and a teenage girl. It’s refreshing to see a romantic plotline with a young woman who won’t apologize for her desire to finish becoming herself.

While there are many books I read that I enjoy, it’s pretty rare that something really grabs me and keeps me up late at night and makes me want to buy extra copies to give to people and force them to read it (honestly, I have a really hard time recommending books to people in real life because so much about whether a person will enjoy a book depends on taste). This series makes it into that group, for me. They’re just flat-out great storytelling. I can’t wait to get my hands on the final book in the trilogy, and I’d highly recommend the Winternight books to all readers!

One year ago, I was reading: Life After Life (review to come)

Two years ago, I was reading: Stoner

Three years ago, I was reading: The Last One

October 2, 2018

Top Ten Tuesday: Authors I’d Love To Go To A Reading For

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly linkup of book bloggers hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl! This week’s topic is technically authors I’d like to meet, but honestly, I’m not sure what I would say to most authors besides “I love your work”. That’s what I said to Jeffrey Eugenides when I met him a reading/book signing in college! Since I’ve already met him, here are ten other authors I’d like to go to a reading for!

Charlaine Harris: I love her Southern Vampire Mysteries and she seems like someone who’d be super fun to hear talk about her work!

Chimamanda Ngozie Adichie: She’s amazing and having seen her TED talk makes me feel like she’d be amazing to see do a reading!

Neil Gaiman: I always pick up his own readings of his works when I’m buying audiobooks, because he’s got a fantastic voice. Seeing him in person doing it would be incredible!

Tamora Pierce: Her Wild Magic series was something I absolutely loved growing up, and I’ve love to hear her talk about the amazing female heroines she created.

Phillip Pullman: I love His Dark Materials so much, and having listened to him narrate the stories on audio makes me think listening to him read his work in person would be fantastic.

Garth Nix: The Old Kingdom series is one of my favorites, and knowing that Nix has an Australian accent to make the reading even more fun!

Katherine Arden: The Winternight books are some of my favorites I’ve read in the past few years, and I would just about explode with excitement if she came anywhere near where I am to support the last one coming out in a couple months.

John U. Bacon: This is a pretty specific “me” pick, but Bacon writes a lot about Michigan football and I love Michigan football.

Jeffrey Toobin: His non-fiction work around the judicial system is so well-done and interesting and I think a reading from him would be just fascinating.

Joan Didion: She’s not young anymore, but the documentary that came out about her last year shows she’s still very sharp and it would be amazing to see her actually read her own words.

May 10, 2018

Book 128: The Bear and the Nightingale

“On and on she went, and then paused, frowning. Left at the gray alder, round the wicked old elm, and then she would see her father’s fields. She had walked that path a thousand times. But now there was no alder and no elm, only a cluster of black-needled spruces and a little snowy meadow. Vasya swung round, tried a new direction. No, here were slender beeches, standing white as maidens, naked with winter and trembling. Vasya was suddenly uneasy. She would not be lost; she was never lost. Might as well be lost in her own house as lost in the woods. A wind picked up that set all the trees to shaking, but now they were trees she did not know.”

Dates read: February 21-26, 2017

Rating: 9/10

Although my parents split up before I was born, I’ve never known my father to have a serious girlfriend. Or maybe he’s had them but never introduced them to me. In any case, I never had a stepmother. My sister has. Although her father never remarried, he’s been with the same woman for a long, long time. She’s a lovely person and cares very much about my sister. Honestly, despite the stereotype of the “wicked stepmother”, I’ve never personally heard about more than one or two really bad stepparents.

But it’s a storytelling trope that has roots in reality. In times and places where resources were scarce and women often died (usually of childbirth-related complaints) by early middle adulthood, a new wife who had children of her own looked out for the best interests of her offspring above any others. The most famous literary example of a wicked stepmother? Probably Cinderella. It’s a story that’s remarkably common around the world: China has a version. Iran has a version. And of course, there’s the European takes on the tale that inspired the brothers Grimm. It’s this familiar territory that Katherine Arden mines for her debut novel, The Bear and the Nightingale.

Arden gives us as our heroine Vasilisa, the youngest child of Pyotr and Marina. Vasya grows up with her four older siblings in a small village in Russia, bordering the kind of large and dark wood that a good fairy tale needs. After Marina dies in childbirth, the girl grows up half-wild, listening to old Slavic folk tales at the feet of her elderly nurse. But to Vasya, they’re not just folk tales. She can see them, the spirits that populate Slavic mythology, and talk to them too. It’s a trait she shares with her stepmother-to-be, Anna. But while rural-dwelling Vasya accepts this about herself, Anna, as a member of the urban nobility, is a devout Christian and thinks herself tormented by devils. Once she moves to the countryside after her marriage to Pyotr, the only place she can find peace is the church. She becomes obsessed with the handsome and vain priest, Father Konstantin, who is just as obsessed in turn with rooting out the local superstitions. There’s a tinge of American Gods here, because the fading belief saps the strength of the spirits just when they’re most needed in a battle brewing between the larger and more powerful forces of evil and of justice.

The characters that populate The Bear and the Nightingale are wonderful. Vasya is a delightfully high-spirited heroine, but what I enjoyed even more was that Arden didn’t make Anna a simple bad stepmom. Instead, she’s presented as scared, and her behavior towards Vasya is obviously rooted more in this fear than spitefulness. And even though the father in Cinderella stories often comes off as neglectful, Pyotr is a loving parent who has a hard time dealing with his first wife’s death, his second wife’s obvious mental health issues, and a daughter he doesn’t know how to raise. And the world that Arden creates is rich and vivid. It’s the first first-in-a-series that I’ve read in quite a while that’s made me actually Google when the next entry is coming out because I want to continue along in the story Arden is beginning to unfold. I really enjoyed this book and highly recommend it!

One year ago, I was reading: Friday Night Lights

Two years ago, I was reading: The Witches of Eastwick

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