Hello
Readers,
Thank
you, Jamie for sending me a copy of Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik for free in exchange for an honest review
Some spoilers I’m afraid
This is the first standalone book I’ve read by Naomi since reading the Temeraire series. Naomi
Novik has the ability to write a wonderfully original fantasy that reads
like a long lost Grimm or Folklore fairy-tale. Spinning silver has the Eastern European feel of Uprooted and I know people
have read both together. I will admit that it took me a little while to get
into Spinning Silver but once the book had me it gave me such a feeling of
wonder and discovery. The reason I wanted to read Spinning Silver because as
you guys know I love a good retelling and this is loosely based on the
Rumpelstiltskin fairy-tale.
If
you strip Spinning Silver down to its core it is a story about women who refuse
to accept the brutality of the men who seek to overpower them, the power of
family bonds and the conscious choices made to protect the ones you love.
Spinning
Silver is a brilliant take on the fairy tale of Rumpelstiltskin set in a
charming Russian inspired fantasy world that uniquely entwines magic, myth and
mystery making the plot of Spinning Silver wonderfully intricate. This is not a
tale about love; it is one about survival in a cut-throat world where the rich
and powerful exploit the poor and helpless. The peasants starve in the winter
as their lands are raided by the mystical Staryk whilst their Tsar basks in his
own splendour and wealth. The characters must face otherworldly challenges such
as demonic possession and the threat of a never-ending winter, as well as the real
dangers such as poverty, prejudice and domestic abuse. Spinning Silver’s
heroine Miryem is a moneylender’s daughter and in all honesty her father isn’t
a very good moneylender so now the family is on the brink of starvation. When
Miryem mother becomes ill, Miryem’s patience with her father’s lack of concern
finally comes to an end. As the daughter and granddaughter of moneylenders, she
should be living in modest wealth. Instead, the money her father lends out
never makes it back leaving them poor. While they go hungry, other men dower
their daughters with their loaned coin. So Miryem takes it upon herself to get
the money back, going from door to door, demanding payment from all those who
owe debts to her father. Soon there is food on the table, they have a floor
made of wood and they have Wanda whose father, was unable to pay, so his
daughter is working off his debt as their maid. (An attempt at a spoiler-free
plot)
The
number three is a prominent theme throughout this book which helps reinforces
the magic within the book. These three girls, with their mothers, forced into
their three marriages, all come together to create a beautiful story that is
both whimsical and feminist. The characters in this novel are amazing, vibrant
and believably flawed. I loved the way Naomi is able to capture the reality of
an era in which women could be expected to be treated as little more than
chattel, and yet create three clever, talented young ladies who work within and
around the confines of their environment to excel.
The
story is told from the perspective of multiple characters, I counted six
different perspectives. The only little hiccup I have with the book is that all
of the Narrators speak in the first person without any signposting of who they
are to help the reader distinguish between them. I’m sure I read somewhere that
in the ARCs that each individual Narrator had a different symbol, this might be
hear-say but I think it would have helped. I wasn’t aware there was going to be
multiple perspectives so when it first switched I was a little confused and has
to reread the last page again. Having said that, the emotional atmosphere of
the book stays clear and compelling, even as they form and betray one alliance
after another.
Even
though there are multiple perspectives the story is told mainly by Miryem,
Wanda and Irina.
Miryem
- is strong, and relentless and cares for her family and their safety and
health
Irina
- has been born into royalty but has never known love from her blood family.
Irina is still determined to save her people, by any means necessary
Wanda
- is a girl who has had to be strong, because it’s the only life she has ever
known. taking care of her brothers and trying to please a father who is
impossible to please.
I
respect Naomi’s exploration of the bigotry of the times. Miryem, as a young
Jewish woman, knows that plenty of people despise her for no reason other than
her birth and latch on to any excuse for their hatred. Naomi is of
Lithuanian-Jewish descent, used this to challenge the Jewish moneylender
stereotype and explore the antisemitism surrounding it. It's clever, and I
loved it.
L
x
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