Title: Spinning Silver
Series: None
Year: 2018
Author: Naomi Novik
Summary: Miryem is the daughter and granddaughter of moneylenders... but her father isn't a very good one. Free to lend and reluctant to collect, he has loaned out most of his wife's dowry and left the family on the edge of poverty--until Miryem steps in. Hardening her heart against her fellow villagers' pleas, she sets out to collect what is owed--and finds herself more than up to the task. When her grandfather loans her a pouch of silver pennies, she brings it back full of gold.
But having the reputation of being able to change silver to gold can be more trouble than it's worth--especially when her fate becomes tangled with the cold creatures that haunt the wood, and whose king has learned of her reputation and wants to exploit it for reasons Miryem cannot understand.
Review: I think, other than this book, I've only ever read one Rumpelstiltskin story. Just one. And it's kinda sad. Rumpelstiltskin is an awesome fairy tale, but because of its specifics and unique touches, it's actually pretty hard to retell with an original twist. I will say, I believe Naomi Novik nailed that original twist with a vengeance. This book really just blew me away.
Have you ever wondered what would have happened if Rumpelstiltskin had won the bet and taken the queen's firstborn child? This story answers that question.
Miryem's father is a money lender, and a downright awful one at that since he's never actually getting his loans (with subsequent interest) back. Faced with starvation and death, Miryem takes it upon herself to get the money back to support their family and further invest it for profit. Thus equipped with a cold heart and a firm will, she begins her quest to turn silver into gold.
Wanda is the daughter of a poor and often drunk man. Her brothers suffer with her day by day, but since their mother died, things really haven't been getting any better. That is, until the town's money lender needs a helping hand with daily chores since his daughter is out busy.
Irina should be the tsarina, if her father has anything to say about it. But she doesn't think that'll ever happen, since the tsar isn't keen on settling down with a wife and seems to prefer things of great beauty. And her mixed blood isn't exactly something that endears her to a good match. But her father isn't ready to surrender just yet, and some special jewelry made from fairy silver might be just the thing to finally catch the tsar's eye.
Rumpelstiltskin is a dark story, so don't expect this to be a light-hearted fairytale. Miryem soon finds herself the object of a strange man's eye -- a man of ice, one of the feared Staryk who yearn for gold more than anything else in the world. Her foolish boast of being able to turn silver into gold may have gone much further than she intended. And Irina discovers that being the chosen woman of the tsar really isn't everything she expected it to be.
Naomi Novik expertly ties in everything we loved about the original fairytale and twists it up into a perfect retelling. I couldn't help feeling more and more pleased the further I got into this book and kept finding those original fairytale elements popping up where I least expected them. I mean, you've got an infamous bargain, a boast of gold, an unknown name, everything. It was glorious.
Other than some of the darker spots of the novel, the only thing that really bothered me about this book was the point of view it was told from. Miryem, Wanda, and Irina are the three main characters, and they each tell their part of the story from their own first-person POV. And then there are like nine other secondary characters that chime in from time to time that also tell their part of the story in first-person POV. So, like a dozen people all popping in and out to tell a story, and since it's all in first-person with the word "I" beginning everything, you're never really quite sure at first which "I" you're currently following. *rant over*
Advisory: This book is on the darker side, but not overly dark. There is magic involved, but similar in style to that of Jessica Day George's Princess of the Midnight Ball. Also, some fantasy action and violence. An evil creature requires "drinking" of people to retain his strength. A mysterious race of people control ice and other winter elements.
Some romance as well, but I wouldn't consider that the focus of the book since the two focus couples are together because they must be, not because they want to be. There are a few comments suggesting of married life between a couple.
I've been wanting to read this one! I love a dark fairytale.
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