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 • NAMED ONE OF THE TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY AND ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY The New York … LIBRARY AND ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY The New York Times Book Review • NPR • Time • Tordotcom • Popsugar • Vox • Vulture • Paste • Bustle • Library Journal
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.
Praise for Spinning Silver
“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
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A rich world filled with different stories that linked together.
Naomi Novik has done it again with this book.
Have read the series. Enjoyed very much.
Hard to say enough good about this book. The lush, immersive writing and worldbuilding drew me in, but this spin on Rumpelstiltskin is all about debts–the protagonist is a moneylender who falls in love with a fairy for whom all debts are anathema. The book is brilliant and thoughtful and will keep you thinking long after you turn the last page.
What a story! Only two pages in and I was rooting for Miryem, a young woman who takes over her father’s money-lending business in order to put food on her family’s table. Only she’s a little too successful and ends up attracting the attention of a gold-loving winter king. Winter kings, spoiled princes, a cast of very smart women-I loved them all. Naomi Novik has a gift for making readers care about her characters, however imperfect they may be.
Strong, believable (even when utterly fantastic), engaging characters.
People to love. People to dislike. “People” you can’t quite figure out as they develop.
That’s part of the appeal–the characters grow and develop as you read.
She reminds the reader what true folklore and fantasy really looks like as she did with Uprooted.
Thank you, Naomi Novic!
Is there anyone who loves fairy tale retellings with amazingly original female protagonists, unexpected but realistically believable worlds, and richly intricate plots, who isn’t already reading Spinning Silver? I mean, really, it has been out for three whole days now.
What? You aren’t?
This is an amazing tale of three original [yes, I said that already but it bears repeating] 16-year-old heroines in a medieval-ish Russian-ish world where their worth is determined by how much a man or his family [if he is young, too] is willing give to her father as dowry. But don’t worry, Naomi Novik doesn’t write female characters who put up with that.
No, she writes characters like Miryem, our main character, whose father and grandfather are both Jewsih moneylenders, a tale where her Jewish faith is intricately wound into its magic, both literary and supernatural. This spin on Rumplestiltskin is as fresh as it is bold, and I can’t recommend it highly enough.
Fantastic, imaginative twist on Rumpelstilskin. Also brings up social ills like prejudice , anti semitism, child abuse, and social classes. Story takes place in a mythical Eastern European, medieval kingdom. The three main female characters are unique, strong women. Family loyalty and empathy are powerful motivators for these women.