stunning, shimmering tapestry of Russian folklore and myth
let me say that I have honestly never read a book so fast. the girl in the tower whirled by in a magical, wonderful blur and I adored every moment. I checked it out from the library and renewed it TWO times before finally cracking the spine. it’s thematically different from the bear and the nightingale, more focused on vasya coming into herself and reaffirming her identity, whereas the first book was about discovering the world of chyerti and vasya’s childhood. I absolutely loved our introduction to court politics and the various players that made up 14th century moscow. I also loved the reintroduction to sasha and olga, as well as olya’s darling daughter marya, who also has the power of sight like vasya.
we meet konstantin again, saved by sasha (!!) on the road. he’s as golden and magnetic as ever, and just as infatuated yet also repulsed by vasya. our heroine herself is first adrift, unable to return home as she’s been spurned as a which. she wanders aimlessly until she first herself amongst the forest and morozko once again. she beseeches him and he gifts her with the tools necessary to make her journey to moscow, saving peasant girls from tatar raiders along the way. she comes across sasha and the prince of moscow, investigating attacks by the tatars, alongside an enigmatic red-haired boyar. disguised as a boy, vasya charms the prince and makes allies and friends amongst the men. she’s invited into the prince’s favour in moscow, making wagers and racing her beautiful stallion, solovey. there was much less of konstantin than I’d expected, but at the same time that was I good thing because I wouldn’t have been able to divide my attention between all of those point of view chapters!
I loved reading more about sasha, vasya’s pious monk brother, who we encountered only briefly in the bear and the nightingale. here we see him struggle with his love for his sister and societal conventions, which would dictate vasya confined with olga in seclusion with the other noble women. yet he also can’t deny her free spirit and her taste for adventure, so much like himself. sasha can’t deny those parts of himself, and in turn, deny vasya. he protects her by keeping silent on matters such as her true gender and the strange things that happen to her. vasya’s path is not one of marriage and cloister, but a more dangerous third path that she forges with strength of will and skill: an adventurer and fighter on her own merits (yet those merits also rely on people, the men around her, viewing her as also male). when those limits are crossed, when those truths are revealed, vasya lands herself in a truly difficult situation.
‘Witch. The word drifted across his mind. We call such women so, because we have no other name.’
what I absolutely loved about the girl in the tower was the maturation of vasya. she’s no longer just a girl but also a young woman, coming into her own powers and learning more about her heritage. she’s owning her power and demanding truths from morozko. also, I have possibly read the hottest kiss scene in fiction between morozko and vasya oh my god. I yelled about it so loudly on twitter. it’s fraught with so much wanting and yearning, as well as morozko’s desire to remain immortal and not turn human by accepting vasya’s love for him. there’s conflict between vasya, a mortal who will age and die, and morozko, the immortal king of winter and death. the forbidden nature of it all made my heart pound. their relationship and the power balance between the two of them developed so much!
‘Every time you take one path, you must live with the memory of the other: of a life left unchosen. Decide as seems best, one course or the other; each way will have its bitter with its sweet.’
katherine arden is absolutely artful in her synthesis of russian folklore and myth. she picks vibrant threads here and there and weaves them into a stunning, shimmering tapestry. it felt like an easter egg hunt, with a sky reference here and there that left me gasping. there’s so much to unpack! references to vasilissa the beautiful, koschei the deathless, marya morevna, snegurochka. I loved the reappearance of the chyerti and the portrayal of how they survived in the christian-dominated moscow, far removed from far-flung country towns where peasant superstition thrived.
also, I got the biggest shock of my LIFE when certain truths were revealed; if you’ve read it, then you know (ivan! the ghost in the tower!). it left me absolutely shook by all the foreshadowing the author has been throwing at us since day one. everything had been building up to that moment, that grand reveal. the girl in the tower stands on its own without any of the second book fatigue that trilogies can suffer from. everything is standout: the character development, the overarching plot, the character interactions and dialogue. katherine arden has lovingly and loyally reconstructed 14th century moscow for me, the sights and sounds and social and cultural customs. I was charmed by the decision to keep in the bits of russian that essentially don’t easily translate into english. opening the book felt like plunging into a whole new world, unfamiliar to me yet as comfortable as a warm blanket and a pair of well-worn boots.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this (relatively) spoiler-free review! if you enjoyed the girl in the tower like me, then leave a comment! if you haven’t already started the winternight trilogy then I highly encourage you to pick up a copy of the bear and the nightingale from your local library/bookseller and add it on goodreads now!!
rating: 5 stars for sheer enjoyment!!
we meet konstantin again, saved by sasha (!!) on the road. he’s as golden and magnetic as ever, and just as infatuated yet also repulsed by vasya. our heroine herself is first adrift, unable to return home as she’s been spurned as a which. she wanders aimlessly until she first herself amongst the forest and morozko once again. she beseeches him and he gifts her with the tools necessary to make her journey to moscow, saving peasant girls from tatar raiders along the way. she comes across sasha and the prince of moscow, investigating attacks by the tatars, alongside an enigmatic red-haired boyar. disguised as a boy, vasya charms the prince and makes allies and friends amongst the men. she’s invited into the prince’s favour in moscow, making wagers and racing her beautiful stallion, solovey. there was much less of konstantin than I’d expected, but at the same time that was I good thing because I wouldn’t have been able to divide my attention between all of those point of view chapters!
I loved reading more about sasha, vasya’s pious monk brother, who we encountered only briefly in the bear and the nightingale. here we see him struggle with his love for his sister and societal conventions, which would dictate vasya confined with olga in seclusion with the other noble women. yet he also can’t deny her free spirit and her taste for adventure, so much like himself. sasha can’t deny those parts of himself, and in turn, deny vasya. he protects her by keeping silent on matters such as her true gender and the strange things that happen to her. vasya’s path is not one of marriage and cloister, but a more dangerous third path that she forges with strength of will and skill: an adventurer and fighter on her own merits (yet those merits also rely on people, the men around her, viewing her as also male). when those limits are crossed, when those truths are revealed, vasya lands herself in a truly difficult situation.
‘Witch. The word drifted across his mind. We call such women so, because we have no other name.’
what I absolutely loved about the girl in the tower was the maturation of vasya. she’s no longer just a girl but also a young woman, coming into her own powers and learning more about her heritage. she’s owning her power and demanding truths from morozko. also, I have possibly read the hottest kiss scene in fiction between morozko and vasya oh my god. I yelled about it so loudly on twitter. it’s fraught with so much wanting and yearning, as well as morozko’s desire to remain immortal and not turn human by accepting vasya’s love for him. there’s conflict between vasya, a mortal who will age and die, and morozko, the immortal king of winter and death. the forbidden nature of it all made my heart pound. their relationship and the power balance between the two of them developed so much!
‘Every time you take one path, you must live with the memory of the other: of a life left unchosen. Decide as seems best, one course or the other; each way will have its bitter with its sweet.’
katherine arden is absolutely artful in her synthesis of russian folklore and myth. she picks vibrant threads here and there and weaves them into a stunning, shimmering tapestry. it felt like an easter egg hunt, with a sky reference here and there that left me gasping. there’s so much to unpack! references to vasilissa the beautiful, koschei the deathless, marya morevna, snegurochka. I loved the reappearance of the chyerti and the portrayal of how they survived in the christian-dominated moscow, far removed from far-flung country towns where peasant superstition thrived.
also, I got the biggest shock of my LIFE when certain truths were revealed; if you’ve read it, then you know (ivan! the ghost in the tower!). it left me absolutely shook by all the foreshadowing the author has been throwing at us since day one. everything had been building up to that moment, that grand reveal. the girl in the tower stands on its own without any of the second book fatigue that trilogies can suffer from. everything is standout: the character development, the overarching plot, the character interactions and dialogue. katherine arden has lovingly and loyally reconstructed 14th century moscow for me, the sights and sounds and social and cultural customs. I was charmed by the decision to keep in the bits of russian that essentially don’t easily translate into english. opening the book felt like plunging into a whole new world, unfamiliar to me yet as comfortable as a warm blanket and a pair of well-worn boots.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this (relatively) spoiler-free review! if you enjoyed the girl in the tower like me, then leave a comment! if you haven’t already started the winternight trilogy then I highly encourage you to pick up a copy of the bear and the nightingale from your local library/bookseller and add it on goodreads now!!
rating: 5 stars for sheer enjoyment!!