Spinning Silver
by Naomi Novik
4/5 stars
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Spinning Silver is the tale of Miryem, who lives in Lithvas, a land that has descended into an unending winter because of the Staryk, ice people who live in an alternate universe.
The granddaughter of a famous and canny moneylender, on a sleigh ride home, Miryem boasts she can turn silver to gold and is overheard by the Staryk king. He sets her the same task, with the promise of reward upon completion, and the adventures are off.
This is an excellent story, well-written and well-told. The characters are described in-depth, and the reader can see their rough brown home-spun clothes, in contrast to the fine clothes of the nobility, and can feel the biting cold they travel through.
The pervasive anti-semitism is woven throughout the book, and the fact that it is mentioned so casually makes it all the more insidious.
I loved the strength of all the women characters in this story, even if there were parts where it was obvious that they needed the support of the male establishment.
The resolution of the story was a little unclear to me, why things worked the way they did.
I also have read Naomi Novik's other book, Uprooted. I liked this story MUCH MUCH more than Uprooted. It was way more woman-powered, and there was kind of a creepy older man-younger girl sexual vibe in Uprooted for me.
I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys fantasy adventure with strong women characters.
No comments:
Post a Comment