Oh.
My.
You can stop looking, folks. I think I’ve found the best book of 2019.
And my heart is so sad.
Winter of the Witch is the final book of the Winternight trilogy – which started in 2017 with The Bear and the Nightingale. The series follows Vasya, the daughter of a Russian boyar and witch, who has the ability to see guardian spirits. Winter of the Witch primarily takes place in Moscow, where the city is under threat of invasion from the Tartars.
I’d argue that Winter of the Witch is the strongest of the three books – Arden has hit her stride with the characters, pacing, prose, and themes. And, boy are there themes: family, religion, feminism, morality, environmentalism, war, tradition vs. progress, love, heroism, acceptance, tolerance … But they’re beautifully woven in such a way to never seem forced, crass, cliché, or overly-simplistic.
The story itself is wonderfully unique: both in its style of prose and its treatment of Russian/Slavic folklore. There is a ton of action and political plotting in this book, but Arden makes time to linger on descriptors and give depth to the setting. It’s fitting, given that this book is fundamentally about the Russian landscape.
Besides the amazing storytelling, my favourite thing about this book is Vasya. She represents everything we need in a female lead: she’s flawed and (repeatedly) makes mistakes – but she takes responsibility and learns from it; she balances traditional masculine qualities (free spirited, independent, confident) alongside traditional feminine qualities (family-focused, cares for others, emotionally vulnerable); she shows her bravery through both physical force and intellect.
This has, without a doubt, become one of my favourite book series. I’m going to keep my fingers crossed that a studio picks it up for TV series / movie … and I’m going to keep my toes crossed that that studio is Studio Ghibli. The series has the perfect amount of whimsy, lore, and emotion to make a heart wrenching Ghibli trilogy!
For now: Re-reads.
Also: I may or may not have left out some bread for my domovoi.
PRO TIP: Arden plunges right into Winter of the Witch, and doesn’t provide too much context/background for naïve readers. The three books are similar to Lord of the Rings, in that they read as a continuous story … you can’t start at Return of the King and expect to know what’ s going on. SO, if you’re new to the series (or haven’t read the earlier books for a while), it’s definitely best to start with The Bear and the Nightingale.
The Details:
- The Book: The Winter of the Witch by Katherine Arden
- Published: 2019, Del Rey
- My Copy: Personal copy
- Read date: January 31 – February 2
- Rating: ★★★★★
- You should read this if you like … Magic! Russian folklore! Sassy horses! Plot twists!
- Avoid this if you dislike … Having your heart ripped out TWICE in 384 pages.
- Re-Readings:
The Geeky Jock 