Spinning Silver

By: Naomi Novik

Narrated by: Lisa Flanagan

Length: 17 hrs and 56 mins

Publisher's summary

New York Times best seller

“One of the year’s strongest fantasy novels” (NPR), an imaginative retelling of the Rumpelstiltskin fairy tale from the best-selling author of Uprooted.

Nebula and Hugo Award Finalist

Named one of Paste's Best Fantasy Books of the Decade

Named one of the top 10 books of the year by The New York Public Library and one of the best books of the year by: The New York Times Book Review; NPR; Time; Tor.com; 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 listeners 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)

“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)

©2018 Naomi Novik (P)2018 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

"A perfect tale... This book is about the determination and quiet competence of women doing remarkable things without knowing first that they can do them.... 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)

“A book as cool and mysterious as a winter’s night, with two marvelous heroines at its heart, Spinning Silver pits the cold of endless winter against the fires of duty, love, and sacrifice. I couldn’t put it down.” (Katherine Arden, New York Times best-selling author of The Bear and the Nightingale)

Great Listen. Was there romance?

I found out about a week before it's release that this book was coming out, and I was incredibly excited that there was going to be a Rumple spin. That being said, it was more of a nod than a spin, which did not bother me at all. It took me about a week to finish this book. It is well worth it's value in both story and length. I did find myself comparing it to Uprooted, and just as in Uprooted I found parts reminded me of Beauty and the Beast as well as Howl's Moving Castle. What surprised me also was that I found that one of the heavier plot points reminded me of a particular greek myth (I don't want to specify and unintentionally spoil). Personally, I love all of the nods to other stories, myths, and folklore. While I don't think this book was AS inspired by magic as Uprooted, it really brought into question what is magic? There was a lot of fantasy influence, and despite it to me not being as magical, it was still pretty darned magical.

Was there romance? Nearly every book I read or listen to is from the romance genre, so as I was listening to this I of course I wanted there to be romance. So much so that after a couple hours of listening I nearly skipped to the end to find out (but I didn't!). I know this book isn't considered a romance, which is why I don't fault it for not having the romance that I want. In Uprooted, I considered even that a very small slice of romance. In this book, although there is a very, very subtle hint at romance, just based on the amount of that subtleness I would say that if you are hoping for romance in this book...then stop hoping. However, if you are an imaginative hopeless romantic, I would say that this book leaves roots for romance. Imagine away.

The other part of this book which I found interesting was the antisemitism. All I really know about what Jewish life was like was what I learned in high school. I actually found this plot point to be rather educational. It really goes into the segregation and hostility of people that are different, or maybe more accurately in this story towards the minority.

Finally, the narrator. This book was read in a "Jewish accent." Lisa Flanagan's voice is incredibly soothing from some of the POV's. She was a great reader for this book. The strong characters sounded strong, the older characters sounded tired, the maternal characters sound...maternal, etc. Which leads to my only very small grievance with this book: the POV's. It had nothing to do with the reader. There were simply a lot of different POV's in this book, and many of them were female, so sometimes when it went from one POV right to another, I wasn't sure which character was speaking until I listened to what they were saying. I caught on pretty quickly. I was the most confused in the beginning because I didn't realize that it was going to be that way, but once I knew there was going to be more than one POV it was easier to follow. I have read that in the book the POV's are separated by symbols before each one, but of course listening to it we don't get the symbols, so my advice would be to pay attention. I found I couldn't listen to this book when I kept getting interrupted because I would often miss something and have to go back.

In conclusion to this unintentionally long review, this book had it all (according to it's genre) for me. It kept me captivated, had me wanting to know what happened next, and had me emotionally invested in characters. I can't wait to see what comes next.

A letdown.

A beautifully written lazy and mediocre book.

This book was an absolute disappointment after how much I loved Uprooted, but I have to call it out for what it is. It constantly adds new perspectives for no reason I can tell other than to fill page space. Furthermore, there are uncountable holes in logic and/or following the own rules of the story. For instance, I cannot imagine how the king of an entire race wouldn’t be able to comprehend that someone from a different culture has different rules, understandings, and culture. Then there is the third sin of just how much nothing happens. I’d rather not compare it other books, but I was thinking about how much happened in Uprooted, and the numerous settings within it. When compared to this book, it’s like a quarter as much happened but with the same length. And bad things kept happening just because. And love development just kind of happened. Like one moment there was nothing but hate, then the next, for no reason, there is love.

That’s the bad but there is good. I was able to finish it after all. As I said in the beginning, this is an absolutely beautifully written book. The prose is splendid, the descriptions are vivid, and the protagonists are all wonderful people that I strongly rooted for.

So I don’t know, I don’t regret this book, but I am so happy to have finally finished it. It’s unlikely that it is as bad as I make it out to be since I might have set my standards too high after my beloved Uprooted. So take this review with a grain of salt.

I recommend this book to anyone that loves what a strong female protagonist should be and for fans of fairy tales, foibles, or ancient magic.

Just wow!

I'm a sucker for a well-told fairy story. When you throw in Russian mythology, three strong female lead characters with quite different agendas, and a brilliant authorial voice for each viewpoint character, I'm utterly sold. Add in a narration that accentuates all these characteristics, and you've got an audible classic that I recommend unreservedly. People who should read this: EVERYONE!

The Fairy Tale You Always Wanted

This story takes several fairy tales and winds them together, to form a coherent, enchanting story of promises, magic, demons, and people of winter. The Eastern European flavor of the setting and characters is familiar enough, and foreign enough to keep a reader engaged and on their toes. The character development, history, relationships, and environment always missed in traditional fairy tales is woven into an incredible, beautiful tale. It is a story of the strength of women, and the value of standing by your values.

Awesome

Awesome. Apparently a review requires fifteen words. So. Awesome, awesome awesome awesome awesome awesome awesome.

Great story, but frustrating to follow

This may be a better story in text than in this audio recording. The narrator changes from various characters without any notification so it is hard to understand at times who is supposed to be speaking. The story itself is very enjoyable, but frustrating to follow at times.

This book is worth your time!

The subtle voice shifts to represent other different characters were masterful. Ms. Novik's story lives up to her high standard as well!

Incredible

What an incredible book. Everything was absolutely perfect, the story telling, the twist and turns, the meaning, the magic, and the world building. Lisa Flanagan did an incredible job of bringing it all to life. I have been this happy with a new novel in a long time.

Excellent however....

I really enjoyed this book but be forewarned, it is a little confusing to know who is talking. There are several different people telling the story and while chapter breaks would make this clear in a written text, you have to wait for context clues to know when the perspective switches in the audiobook.

Magical!

So creative. This story follows the rules of a fairytale, yet manages to weave a deep tale around the main characters. The surprising turns and clever solutions help develop the characters and lead you through an absolutely magical story. The narration is superb in bringing this story to life.