what I’m reading: spinning silver by naomi novik.

There is something simply delightful about Naomi Novik’s fairy tales. The imagery she creates – the villagers, the haunted woods, the magic – makes me feel like the Brothers Grimm will come around the corner at any moment in a horse-drawn carriage. I loved Uprooted and Spinning Silver did not disappoint.

Miryem is the daughter of a moneylender, however her father is not great at his profession. Tired of the villagers taking advantage of her father and not paying back the money they have borrowed, Miryem takes it upon herself to start collecting what debts are owed. She flourishes at her job and soon, her family prospers. When a boast of hers is overheard, that she can turn silver into gold, she is approached by the king of the Staryk, creatures that haunt the forest, and is given an impossible task.

I liked this inspired retelling of the Rumpelstiltskin fairy tale (although not as much as I enjoyed Uprooted). I kept trying to imagine the Staryk king and kept picturing him as a cross between the Night King from Game of Thrones and Jack Frost. I still don’t have a real picture of him in my head…

But that doesn’t matter. What does matter is that this book hooked me from beginning to end. The world-building was fantastic and I loved every twist and turn that made me re-evaluate how I felt about each character.

There are a lot of characters in this book and what seems to be almost three different storylines, although they all intertwine at some point in the novel. The book is told from a number of points of view and unfortunately, it is often not clear who is talking until you’ve read a few lines or paragraphs. While the conclusion was satisfactory, I thought the triumph over a bad guy (trying not to be too spoilery here) ended just a little too quickly and easily.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I had been waiting patiently for Naomi Novik to write another fairy tale novel and I was not disappointed. I hope she continues to write more books in this genre because I will be a faithful reader.