Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik

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Spinning Silver

August 28, 2018 / 256 pages / Fiction

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A fresh and imaginative retelling of the Rumpelstiltskin fairytale from the bestselling author of Uprooted, called "very enjoyable fantasy with the air of a modern classic" by The New York Times Book Review.

Miryem is the daughter and granddaughter of moneylenders... but her father isn't a very good one. Free to lend and reluctant to collect, he has loaned out most of his wife's dowry and left the family on the edge of poverty--until Miryem steps in. Hardening her heart against her fellow villagers' pleas, she sets out to collect what is owed--and finds herself more than up to the task. When her grandfather loans her a pouch of silver pennies, she brings it back full of gold.

But having the reputation of being able to change silver to gold can be more trouble than it's worth--especially when her fate becomes tangled with the cold creatures that haunt the wood, and whose king has learned of her reputation and wants to exploit it for reasons Miryem cannot understand.

Naomi Novik once again creates a wonderfully rich, multilayered fantasty world that readers will want to return to again and again.

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Fantasy world

Fairy tale retelling

Family

Female Protagonists

Winter

Strong Female Lead

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A fresh and imaginative retelling of the Rumpelstiltskin fairytale from the bestselling author of Uprooted, called "very enjoyable fantasy with the air of a modern classic" by The New York Times Book Review. Miryem is the daughter and granddaughter of moneylenders... but her father isn't a very good one. Free to lend and reluctant to collect, he has loaned out most of his wife's dowry and left the family on the edge of poverty--until Miryem steps in. Hardening her heart against her fellow villagers' pleas, she sets out to collect what is owed--and finds herself more than up to the task. When her grandfather loans her a pouch of silver pennies, she brings it back full of gold. But having the reputation of being able to change silver to gold can be more trouble than it's worth--especially when her fate becomes tangled with the cold creatures that haunt the wood, and whose king has learned of her reputation and wants to exploit it for reasons Miryem cannot understand. Naomi Novik once again creates a wonderfully rich, multilayered fantasty world that readers will want to return to again and again.

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This book was well-written, with complex female characters coming into their own and making the best out of bad situations. The middle of the book dragged quite a bit and the 1st person perspective switching was sometimes confusing, but the ending weaved everything together quite impressively, and managed to be both surprising and satisfying. Definitely worth a read, particularly if you like fantasy worlds and/or fairytale retellings.

Grade: A– / HeathersCorner

/ Dec 15, 2018

A phenomenal book of fairy tales written TRULY, with women & children making hard choices based on the need for survival & a pure strength of will, with cunning only resulting from desperation, & triumph only coming through just acts & the practice of radical kindness. A story about claiming yourself, & your people, & not apologizing for what you must do to protect what is yours. And it's a book worthy of its subjects, beautifully wrought in silver & gold, ice & fire, intellect & romance.

Grade: A+ / epaulettes

/ Aug 7, 2018

I really enjoyed this book. I liked the main characters, and the multiple POVs. It was sometimes a little confusing to try to figure out who was who, which did detract a little from the story. The echoes of fairytales was very strong and well used, and the different take on elves well done - the rules were difficult to understand for me (and Miryem, one of the main characters) but it did work out ultimately. I did find the middle of the book slow, but it was a strong finish. Worth a reread.

Grade: A+ / Bug

/ Nov 2, 2019

Hate the cover, love the book.

Grade: A / TheKeyLime / Sep 29, 2019

I really loved this. It's a loose retelling of Rumplestiltskin which interrogates antisemitism in a way that manages to illustrate both the banality of evil, and the strength and warmth to be found in the Jewish community, without ever coming of as preachy. If I have any complaint it's that there were perhaps a few too many POV's, and I would have preferred it if we just followed the female characters, perhaps adding Miryem's mother as a replacement for Stephon. But that's just a quibble, it's

Grade: A / evie / Jun 16, 2020

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