S3E4: A Russian Fairy Tale
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Technical Problems Update
Hey book friends! We have heard that the recent quality of our episodes is not up to par. It seems a setting got changed on our microphone without us noticing. Our bad! So listen hard, even though it sounds like Kyrie is in the other room. With our ambitious winter recording schedule, there will be two more episodes like this. However now that we know, we are fixing in all our upcoming recordings. So sorry and thanks for your understanding and patience.
On To the Show
Welcome back to episode 4 where we continue our mythical magical journey into mythology, fairy tales and folklore! This week, Cori’s picked The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden. But before we dive into the book, let’s talk about what we’re drinking and eating!
What We’re Drinking and Snacking On
This week we’re drinking Kyrie’s new favourite: Harney and Sons Victorian London Fog, which is a delicious Earl Grey with lavender and hints of vanilla. It’s pretty black, so black even that Cori needed to add cream to her tea as well! To go along with the tea, Kyrie did some research on Russian sweet treats and came up with an Apple Shalotka recipe from the trusted Smitten Kitchen food blog. This cake is mostly made up of apples, sugar, and eggs. It’s gooey on the inside and has a meringue like crust on the outside. Not overly sweet, it’s the perfect little Russian cake to go along with our book!
What We’re Reading and Talking About
Alright, enough about the deliciousness we’re torturing you with, and onto the book itself! The Bear and the Nightingale follows Vasilisa, a young girl with her family on the edge of the 14th century Russian wilderness where she enjoys curling up around a fire with her family and listening to her nurse’s fairy tales about little creatures. One fairytale, in particular, is of interest to Vasilisa, and that’s the tale about Frost,the blue-eyed winter demon who appears in the frigid night to claim unwary souls. As the story progresses, Vasilisa’s mom dies, and when her dad comes back with a very religious new wife who is not the biggest fan of her new stepdaughter, Vasilisa. As the new priest in town and her evil stepmother force the villagers to shun the little creature, things start to go bad–crops are failing, people are getting sick, and misfortune is taking over her entire village. Listen along to hear our opinions on the book and learn more about this fairy tale.
What We Are Reading Next
We are moving onto our next genre: foodie fiction! Cori picked this genre because she loves books that involve food and/or restaurants as a character. The real question is…. What does Kyrie think? Tune in next time to find out. We will discuss Kyrie’s pick next time, which is The Recipe Box by Viola Shipman.