There is a special kind of magic that happens sometimes, when you are enjoying a new book at exactly the right moment for it. So even though the book I want to share with you today is not technically available yet, I absolutely have to tell you all about it. Think of it as a teaser, and you will have the beautiful anticipation of looking forward to reading this one in less than two short weeks!
Katherine Arden is a prolific writer. Her first novel came out in January of 2017 and in less than 10 years she has published four novels for adults, four more for young readers, and a children’s picture book. There’s the Winternight trilogy focused on Russian history and folklore, a World War I historical fiction piece, her quartet of creepy books for kids (think RL Stein’s Goosebumps series but set in Vermont), and an enchanting story about a girl and her prize goldfish. While I have enjoyed every one of her books, nothing has quite hit me the same way as that very first Winternight book, The Bear and the Nightingale, did nine years ago. This was not surprising to me, as I tend to love debut novels most. By default, the debut is the story that the writer has the most pure interaction with—they can take their time and hone the story without the pressure of deadlines and contracts and everything else that (hopefully) comes after you have “made it” in the publishing world. So imagine my surprise when I started to read her upcoming novel, The Unicorn Hunters, and was once again sucked into a story so magical I kept finding excuses to get back to reading each day.
For this book, Arden delves into the historical figure Anne of Brittany in the late 15th century. She was the last duchess of Brittany, who did everything in her power to try to keep her realm separate from the powers of France, but ultimately failed because of the patriarchal rules of the age. Katherine submerged herself in research on her new obsession and then asked, But what if Anne had magic? Would that have tipped the scales enough for her to retain autonomy for her lands and her people?
Arden writes my favorite kind of fantasy novel: a story rooted in deeply researched history, with the magic so deftly woven in that you can hardly tell where reality begins and ends. Over the years I have loved handing The Bear and the Nightingale to readers who love historical fiction but who also tell me that they are not interested in fantasy, and then see them promptly come back for the rest of the series. She writes with such honor, respect, and understanding for what actually happened, and shows that same care to the folklore or myth or magic that she brings into the story. It’s a perfect marriage of the two, and leaves you thinking that maybe—just maybe—the magic might have been real.
Where the Winternight trilogy takes place in Russia and evokes the deep cold, blinding brightness, and cozy hearthfires of winter, The Unicorn Hunters has threads of a gorgeous spring green running through it from start to finish. You can’t help but think of growth and new life breaking through and finding a way as you make your way through the story. Getting to read it as the seasons shifted here in Vermont, with our own special shade of green coming through as the trees burst forth, was an absolute treat. It felt like the words on the page were affecting the landscape around me as I turned each page. By the time the book was finished, a heat wave had arrived and we were officially in garden mode. While I know it wasn’t the book’s doing, it sure felt like pure magic to close the cover and look up to find spring here in full force. I cannot wait for you to experience The Unicorn Hunters as we usher in summer any moment now.
Kari Meutsch and Kristian Preylowski co-own and run the Yankee Bookshop in Woodstock.
