Spinning Silver

I heard this book had strong fairytale vibes and was a Rumpelstiltskin retelling. I definitely felt the fairytale vibes and saw the hints to the classic fable, but I admit this book was a little too slow for my personal taste. Still, I can see why people love it.

I read Novik’s previous book, Uprooted, and enjoyed it but felt it wasn’t quite cohesive. I was willing to give her another go with Spinning Silver. I read the entire book in a day. She masterfully blends Jewish and Polish folk tales in a beautiful, detailed world. The characters are mainly women with a variety of attitudes, beliefs, and motives; and oh are they well rounded. I look forward to more by Novik. The other complaint I have, and this is a mild spoiler; there is a romance that just doesn’t make sense. It’s kind of been there but so subtle that the final chapter seems out of nowhere. It didn’t fit with how the characters had been interacting up to that point, like it jumped 3 or 4 steps. It was not as drastic as the sudden romance in Uprooted, which I will maintain was entirely unnecessary and illfitting. It didn’t ruin Spinning Silver but I would have appreciated more development of the romance or leaving it out/at a lesser level. I am giving it 5 stars because I think it was wonderful even with this small bump, and any fantasy lover would be better for reading it.

This book is a mixture of fantasy, history, mythology and folk tales all spun together in three different storylines. The women are brave, strong, and intelligent, but absolutely not paragons by any means, and yes, the same is true of many of the men. I found it so difficult to put this book down, I resented having to work or cook or do anything but read. In fact, l love this book so much--it was a gift from a friend who thought l would love it--that I have bought it for several friends l thought would like it too. In fact, I came here today to buy a copy for my daughter-in-law.