Once upon a time, I read a book called UPROOTED and I found
it to be a fabulous novel. So, I was thrilled to get the
chance to read SPINNING SILVER, a new novel by Naomi Novik.
Now this novel is a stand-alone fantasy novel that in some
ways feels like a retelling of Rumpelstiltskin.
Miryem is the daughter and granddaughter of Jewish
moneylenders. While Miryem's grandfather has built up a
fortune Miryem's father is too kind-hearted to demand money
back. Hence, Miryem and her parents are always on the brink
of starvation. So, Miryem takes it upon herself to collect
money and she is really good, too good as it will turn out.
She gets a reputation of turning silver into gold. Miryem
catches the attention of the fairy king of winter who
challenges her three times and if she fails she will die. If
she wins, he takes her as his bride. Miryem strives to
complete the challenges and through her efforts more lives
than hers are affected.
Irina is an unhappy young daughter of a lord and her father
wants her to wed the tsar. And unwittingly Miryem is helping
him achieve this. The tsar, however, is not all that he seems.
There is also Wanda, whose father couldn't pay the debt he
owned Miryem's father. So instead, Miryem decides Wanda
should leave her father's place and work off the debt for
Miryem. Wanda sees this as a chance to get away from her
brutal father. These three women's fate will intertwine,
and together they might even save the kingdom.
Have you ever read a book and thought, help, this one will
be hard to review? I got that feeling reading this book
because there is so much going on. So many characters' lives
intertwine and in my opinion too many POV. It would have
been enough with just Miryem and Irina. Instead, we also get
Wanda and several minor characters. And, to tell everyone
apart there are images before a new chapter starts, so you
will know who is who. At first, it was no problem keeping
the characters apart, but then more and more characters were
added which was a bit of a hassle. As for the story, I felt
the pacing was a bit slow; some parts were great while there
were other parts that dragged a bit. And, I found myself
more interested in Miryem's fate than the rest of the
characters although Irina's story grew on me. Especially
when one learns the truth about the tsar.
I found SPINNING SILVER to be not as captivating as
UPROOTED, but there are some good parts in the book,
especially towards the end. The ending of the book is really
great! The big drawback was that I sometimes just felt that
the story went on and on and I just wanted to get to the
point. Especially when some of the minor characters took
over the storytelling. I liked the book, but there were just
too many ups and downs for me to love it truly.
A fresh and imaginative retelling of the Rumpelstiltskin
fairytale from the bestselling author of Uprooted,
called "a 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 is not a very good one. Free to lend and
reluctant to collect, he has left his family on the edge of
poverty--until Miryem intercedes. Hardening her heart, she
sets out to retrieve what is owed, and soon gains a
reputation for being able to turn silver into gold. But when
an ill-advised boast brings her to the attention of the cold
creatures who haunt the wood, nothing will be the same
again. For words have power, and the fate of a kingdom will
be forever altered by the challenge she is issued.
Channeling the heart of the classic fairy tale, Novik deftly
interweaves six distinct narrative voices--each learning
valuable lessons about sacrifice, power and love--into a
rich, multilayered fantasy that readers will want to return
to again and again.
Sad to hear an author so excited about the story that he/she overstuffed the story. Where was the editor? Thanks for the review. (Kathleen Bylsma 4:23pm July 26, 2018)
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