Spinning Silver in Into the Forest

Sep 24, 2023 Danielle The Book Huntress rated it it was amazing

Shelves: faerie, 2021-action-heroine-fans-yearly-cha, winter-cold-setting, favorites, 2021-dhasg-yearly-challenge, fairy-tale-theme, audiobook, historical-fantasy, library-checkout, slavic-folklore

For a fan of all things winter, this book was tailor made for me. Also, it's such a clever retelling of "Rumpelstiltskin", but so much more. It's a story about the difficult situations and the impactful decisions that women face for survival of themselves and those they love. The points of view of three different young women are explored: Miryem, the daughter of a Jewish moneylender, Irina, a duke's daughter, and Wanda, a local (the term peasant would be used) girl who becomes the servant for Mi For a fan of all things winter, this book was tailor made for me. Also, it's such a clever retelling of "Rumpelstiltskin", but so much more. It's a story about the difficult situations and the impactful decisions that women face for survival of themselves and those they love. The points of view of three different young women are explored: Miryem, the daughter of a Jewish moneylender, Irina, a duke's daughter, and Wanda, a local (the term peasant would be used) girl who becomes the servant for Miryem's family. Each character is a woman who has to make tough decisions due as a result of how her status in a man's world is viewed. They are placed into situations that are restrictive, if not outright harrowing because of their parents and how society deems them incapable of having autonomy or authority. This is the heart of the narrative, but it's intertwined into a familiar fairy tale mixed with folklore.

Everyone knows "Rumplestiltskin", but this novel takes this story to another level by weaving in Faerie and Slavic folklore into a historical fiction narrative, making for a spellbinding read.

The imagery is so gorgeous as a fan of winter. I felt like I was there in the deep cold of winter, and the artist in me was spellbound by the visuals of sparkling ice and shining silver. I see so many shades of blue here, from ice, almost white to deepest blue in my mind as I remember the imagery from this book. Novik develops the atmosphere so flawlessly, and makes winter its own character. Along with the distinctive character of winter, there are other creatures of myth and folklore, such as a dark creature who lives in the skin of a powerful man, and a Faerie king. The three women have to use their intellect and determination to navigate through nearly impossible situations, facing patriarchal societies and traditions, but discovering their own strengths and saving themselves and their people.

Well-plotted and engrossing, I absolutely fell deep into this world and didn't want to emerge. While this is fantasy, it feels as much like historical fiction (Russian setting when the Tsars still ruled, although not explicitly stated), but also has some lovely gothic fairy tale aesthetics. There are also moments that are quite scary. Yes, there is some romance here, and I ate it up. I loved how all the pieces come together for a very satisfying ending.

If you want to read a book with some very luxurious (is that the right word?) winter vibes, pick this one up.

*Writing this review now where we are having a very dry winter in Minnesota, I feel very jealous. I want my snow! ...more

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Sep 27, 2019 JS rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fairy-tales, fantasy, romance, top-picks, loved-it

Holy crud, so good. An awesome, complex tale based loosely on Rumpelstiltskin, with nods to a number of other fairy tales (I caught Cinderella, Hansel and Gretel, a couple others that seemed like maybes). This story was exactly my cup of tea.

Plus, no spoiler here, but I thought the very ending (we're talking about the last couple paragraphs) were spot-on perfect. Love love love.

Okay, enough gushing. I just really enjoyed it. Though truly the ending may have given it the fifth star. :)

Rating: PG ...more

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