Shadow Spinner

The main character of this book is Marjan, a thirteen-year-old girl living in the Middle East. The entire land is under a spell of terror because of the rampages of the Sultan. His first wife was unfaithful to him, and the enraged king had her beheaded. Every night from then on, he married a new girl and killed her in the morning. (This background story is also the basic plot of "The Arabian Nights.") This ended when he married the lady Shahrazad who, on their wedding night, told him an interesting story and broke it off right in the middle. He let her live another night to continue her story, and this had been going on for nine hundred and eighty-nine nights. Shahrazad was desperate for new stories. Marjan is an orphaned girl living with an elderly Jewish couple, whom she calls Uncle Eli and Auntie Chava. She is actually a servant to them, but they treat her more like a niece or granddaughter. Uncle Eli used to be very rich, but he lost his fortune, and the family lives in poverty. Even so, Marjan is perfectly happy, despite the fact that she is crippled. Her foot is stuck turning downwards and twisted in, and she has to walk on the side of her big toe. Marjan's favorite pastime is telling and hearing stories. One day Auntie Chava has to go to the palace of the Sultan. To help pay the taxes, she is going to sell some of her own jewelry and treasures to the women who live in the Sultan's harem. Marjan is allowed to come with her. They enter the harem, and while Auntie Chava is busy selling her wares to the harem women, Marjan entertains some of the concubines' children with fairy tales. Midway through her story, Marjan discovers that a girl slightly older than her, a girl of noble birth, is listening to the story too. The girl, whose name is Dunyazad, asks Marjan to come with her. She leads Marjan through the twisting passageways of the harem to the chamber of her sister. Marjan receives a shock upon discovering that Dunyazad's sister is none other than Queen Shahrazad. Shahrazad has just given birth to a child and is trying to find a new story which she has not told the Sultan. It has been nine hundred and eighty-nine nights since she first started telling him stories on their wedding night. Marjan manages to tell Shahrazad half of a story which the Queen has not yet told the Sultan, and Shahrazad is delighted and rewards Marjan. Marjan goes home with Auntie Chava as usual. The next day, one of the harem eunuchs shows up at Uncle Eli's home and tells Eli and Chava that he has been ordered to take Marjan to the harem with him. Bidding farewell to her only family in the world, Marjan leaves for the harem, wondering what will happen to her next. This book is a wonderful historical read that will transport the reader back to Persia in the Middle Ages and portray accurately the fear-filled lives of the women shut away behind the harem doors.

In Arabian Nights, Shahrazad is background, and the implications of her condition are never considered. In Shadow Spinner, Fletcher has done a marvelous job of fleshing out the legendary storyteller and her situation.Shadow Spinner starts 989 days after Shahrazad stopped the Sultan's murder of wife after wife by volunteering to marry him, then telling him stories so gripping, with cliffhangers so huge, that each one buys her another day of life. At this point, Shahrazad has given the sultan three sons and is growing desperate - she's running out of tales to tell, for one thing. Enter Marjan, who comes to the harem with her Aunt Chava, to sell things to the women. Marjan worships Shahrazad, and has collected tales all her life; she knows one that Shahrazad doesn't know, and gets caught up in the intrigue of the sultan's harem as well as Shahrazad's own story. Marjan is a likeable character, and her experiences are great adventure. Still, the true center of the tale is Shahrazad, and the unexpected stength of the book is its villains. Unlike most YA and children's fantasy, the villains of this book are not all bad; Marjan in time comes to understand the reasons behind the actions of the sultan, his mother, and even her own mother, who hurt her badly years before. This is a fun story on the surface, with a lot of food for thought swimming just underneath. It's a good read especially for young girls, and it should also appeal to adult fans of fantasy or children's lit. A winner.

My daughter (age 9) wasn't much of a reader until Harry Potter came along. Although we'll be forever grateful to JKRowling for getting her hooked on reading, we've had a difficult time since then finding books that stood up to the comparison (at least in her mind). This is one of the few that have. It is absorbing and suspenseful--we read it aloud, and anyone in the family that is old enough to read was caught at least once sneaking a look ahead (strictly against the rules in our family!). And since I've always been interested in the story of Shahrazad, it was fascinating to see it fleshed out. It had never occurred to me what a heavy burden it would have been for her to save not only her own life but those of hundreds of other women by telling stories night after night. Anyway--this is a great book, especially for reading aloud. It doesn't have quite the pizzazz or made-for-the-movies aura that Harry Potter has, but in my opinion, that's a good thing. And it finally got my daughter out of re-reading Harry for the umpteenth time and trying some new books.

Susan Fletcher has provided beloved, believable characters, heart-pounding suspense, and a wonderful twist on an ancient heroine. She also treats the horrible violence of the sultan tastefully - providing the women's differing views of the man and his deeds.And I love a story with strong female protagonists. Ms. Fletcher delivers, and gives us believably sympathetic men, as well. No sappiness.The "lessons" provided at the start of each chapter are an excellent touch.As I read in a previous review, Ms. Fletcher's ending is "hopeful", as opposed to a cliche "happy ending". I have always wanted to know what happened to the incredible Sheherazade, and "Shadow Spinner" gave me the answer in an original, refreshing manner...

In a sentence...I am telling everyone I know that this book should win the Newbery for 1998!