Spinning Silver in Overdue Podcast

Sep 26, 2018 Kaylie rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: favourites, set-fantasy

I was expecting Spinning Silver to be a solid reworking of a fairy tale, which would be enjoyable enough, but nothing to blow me away. I am delighted to have underestimated Naomi Novik in this instance, because Spinning Silver was absolutely fantastic. The early chapters drew me in by giving my excellent women to care about; women who help each other in the face of useless and abusive men. The different perspectives were so well handled that I thought I was going to be reading a novel told entir I was expecting Spinning Silver to be a solid reworking of a fairy tale, which would be enjoyable enough, but nothing to blow me away. I am delighted to have underestimated Naomi Novik in this instance, because Spinning Silver was absolutely fantastic. The early chapters drew me in by giving my excellent women to care about; women who help each other in the face of useless and abusive men. The different perspectives were so well handled that I thought I was going to be reading a novel told entirely from the viewpoints of the women in society, which I now think Naomi Novik could handle masterfully. Its almost a shame that isn't what Spinning Silver ended up being — but not really a shame, because I did enjoy the glimpses she provided of the male characters thought processes.

While I wasn't blown away by Naomi Novik's previous novel, Uprooted, I did enjoy the writing style, and Spinning Silver goes one better than that. The early chapters are so atmospheric that they reminded me of Eowyn Ivey's The Snow Child, but what really impressed me was the use of metaphor throughout. The contrast between silver and gold is present in ways that are subtle at first, which build and build on each other as the story unfolds. Naomi Novik does some really clever things with world-building, too, using the tropes of 'fairy tale logic' to further both character development and the plot. That said, Spinning Silver isn't anything so simple as just a retelling of Rumplestiltskin, it's a story in its own right, which only takes elements from the original fairy tale, and most of those elements it twists in a clever way to make them more dramatic and more interesting. What I mean by fairy tale logic are the rules of magic in Naomi Novik's rule, the rules of bargaining and promising, which feel familiar, but have also been given new significance.

For an author I felt only lukewarm about before, Spinning Silver has absolutely made me into a fan, and I am excited to see what Naomi Novik's next project will be. I really hope she does more novels in this style — and I'd particularly love for her to tackle The Snow Queen. I should mention that she's funny, too, at least in little highlights here and there. I'd recommend Spinning Silver to anyone who enjoyed The Snow Child, or Stardust, or anything ever by Patricia C Wrede. ...more

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Sep 20, 2018 Stacey rated it liked it

Shelves: 2018-books-read

It took a long time to get into the story, and then once it started going I knew exactly where it was going to end. Also, the shifting point of views with no reference was hard to follow

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Jul 19, 2025 Liz rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2025-reads

I really enjoyed this fairy tale story, and just had a few critiques. Our cast of characters was fantastic. The book had an incredible opening hook and grew in context and stakes as it progressed. I very much liked the changing narrators, and especially liked how at times their sections overlapped just slightly. There were some interesting themes of duty and getting what you were owed. I liked all the characters and enjoyed seeing them make choices for themselves.

I think my main three complaint I really enjoyed this fairy tale story, and just had a few critiques. Our cast of characters was fantastic. The book had an incredible opening hook and grew in context and stakes as it progressed. I very much liked the changing narrators, and especially liked how at times their sections overlapped just slightly. There were some interesting themes of duty and getting what you were owed. I liked all the characters and enjoyed seeing them make choices for themselves.

I think my main three complaints are as follows. One, Irina's sections had too much politics. I didn't find int interesting and it didn't really seem necessary for the plot since I wasn't interested. Two, I didn't really understand the ending of why (view spoiler) And third, the narrative voices for the characters ended up blending by the end of the book. It was such a strong choice to introduce the other characters, and initially their monologues felt very separate and identifiable. But as the book went on, they began to mellow together and I think Novik lost sight of what made each character unique. I also felt that at times the perspective changes were written very smartly, adding details and creating tension. But at other times it felt like just something to do to shake things up.

Overall I really enjoyed the setting and the world in this fairy tale, and I'd recommend it to anyone who likes a fairy tale that really takes root and blooms.

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