Spinning Silver
A Novel
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4.5 • 887 Ratings
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- $8.99
Publisher Description
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “One of the year’s strongest fantasy novels” (NPR), an imaginative retelling of the Rumpelstiltskin fairy tale from the bestselling author of Uprooted.
NEBULA AND HUGO AWARD FINALIST • NAMED ONE OF PASTE’S BEST FANTASY BOOKS OF THE DECADE • ONE OF THE TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: The New York Public Library
With the Nebula Award–winning Uprooted, Naomi Novik opened a brilliant new chapter in an already acclaimed career, delving into the magic of fairy tales to craft a love story that was both timeless and utterly of the now. Spinning Silver draws readers deeper into this glittering realm of fantasy, where the boundary between wonder and terror is thinner than a breath, and safety can be stolen as quickly as a kiss.
Miryem is the daughter and granddaughter of moneylenders, but her father’s inability to collect his debts has left his family on the edge of poverty—until Miryem takes matters into her own hands. Hardening her heart, the young woman sets out to claim what is owed and soon gains a reputation for being able to turn silver into gold. When an ill-advised boast draws the attention of the king of the Staryk—grim fey creatures who seem more ice than flesh—Miryem’s fate, and that of two kingdoms, will be forever altered. She will face an impossible challenge and, along with two unlikely allies, uncover a secret that threatens to consume the lands of humans and Staryk alike.
ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: The New York Times Book Review, NPR, Time, Tordotcom, Popsugar, Vox, Vulture, Paste, Bustle, Library Journal
“A perfect tale . . . A big and meaty novel, rich in both ideas and people, with the vastness of Tolkien and the empathy and joy in daily life of Le Guin.”—The New York Times Book Review
“Gorgeous, complex, and magical . . . This is the kind of book that one might wish to inhabit forever.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“Cool and clever and . . . dire and wonderful.”—Laini Taylor, author of Strange the Dreamer
“The Rumpelstiltskin fairy tale has never been as captivating. . . . Spinning Silver further cements [Novik’s] place as one of the genre greats.”—Paste
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Expanding on the richly imagined world she created for Uprooted, Naomi Novik pulls us into a story of foreboding forests, wintery magic, and tenacious female characters. The novel centers on Miryem, a moneylender who can transform silver into gold, and explores themes of ethnic prejudice, family legacies, and secret agendas. A dark fairy tale that's both relatable and mythic, Spinning Silver draws inspiration from Eastern European folklore. Like the best storytellers, Novik spins unexpected consequences from seemingly simple choices and builds toward a satisfying ending—and the perfect final sentence.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
This gorgeous, complex, and magical novel, grounded in Germanic, Russian, and Jewish folklore but richly overlaid with a cohesive, creative story of its own, rises well above a mere modern re-imagining of classic tales. Novik (Uprooted) begins the story through the eyes of Miryem, a Jewish moneylender's daughter, whose pride in her ability to wring payments from borrowers draws the demanding attention of the terrifying, otherworldly, and rules-bound Staryk, who are ruled by a wintry, gold-loving king. Secondary characters a peasant boy, a duke's daughter, a tsar eventually become narrators, weaving interconnections that feel simultaneously intimate and mythic. Novik probes the edges between the everyday and the extraordinary, balancing moods of wonder and of inevitability. Her work inspires deep musings about love, wealth, and commitment, and embodies the best of the timeless fairy-tale aesthetic. Readers will be impressed by the way Novik ties the myriad threads of her story together by the end, and, despite the book's length, they will be sad to walk away from its deeply immersive setting. This is the kind of book that one might wish to inhabit forever.
Customer Reviews
Excellent book!
The first time reading was a bit confusing with the all different perspectives, but it was such an enjoyable read. I’ve actually read it multiple times now and am enjoying it again. I’ve recommended it to multiple people!
Very slow, half the POVs are boring
I stuck with this book all the way through, but I was frustrated until the very end. Half of the POVs in the book seemed unnecessary and didn’t add a lot to the plot. Honestly, Wanda, Stepon and Stefans whole plot line was unimportant. They also have no life experience or education so they were very one dimensional. The stream of thought consciousness that resulted in run on sentences was grating. I wanted to scream when it was the height of the plot at page 1,100 and we are then hearing from a teenage boy with super low IQ about details that could be said not at all or in one sentence from the main character, instead of 15 pages. I did love the main FMCs though! Overall the book felt very surface level, and I wouldn’t recommend.
Great Fantasy
Loved it! Very original. Up there with Lord of the Rings