TEST
Spinning Silver is a lush, richly imagined, gloriously magical fantasy novel that takes its inspiration from Russian and Jewish folklore. A story full of adventure, wit, dangerous fey and clever queens, it is everything, EVERYTHING that a fairy tale for adults should be.
Irina is the plain daughter of the first wife of an upstart duke. Her father earned his title rather than being born into it and while men deeply respect him and his accomplishments, theirs is not the noblest blood. She expects a simple marriage, to a man of moderate importance. She gets far more than she bargained for. When her grand marriage to the most important man in the land turns into a fight for survival, she meets a most unexpected ally.
When Miryem Mandelstam’s mother becomes ill, Miryem’s patience with her father’s sloth comes to an end. As the daughter and granddaughter of moneylenders, she should be living in modest wealth but instead, the money her father lends out never makes it back. While they go hungry, other men dower their daughters with Mandelstam coin. But no more. She goes door to door, collecting what is due. Before much time has passed there is food on the table, they have a floor made of wood rather than straw, her mother has a warm fur to sleep under and they have Wanda whose father, unable to pay, has the girl working off his debt as their maid.
When Miryem’s grandfather congratulates her on her ability to “turn silver to gold”, he is referring to her hard work reaping profits. When her mother, on the sleigh ride home, whines about the fact that Miryem has had to be tenacious in order to change the family fortunes, Miryem justifies herself by repeating the compliment. When Miryem’s next deal involves selling two dresses for gold coins that she had bought for silver, her father says, “My daughter really can turn silver to gold.” And thus, her fate is sealed.
“A power claimed and challenged and thrice carried out is true; the proving makes it so.”
So Staryk magic believes. These men of ice, the lords of winter, love gold and have long raided and killed in the mortal realm to claim it. Their king, who caught the compliments made to Miryem on the wind, issues her an ultimatum:
“Thrice you shall turn silver to gold for me or be changed to ice yourself. And then, if you manage it, I will make you my queen.”
To fulfill his demands, Miryem launches a quest that pulls her into the darkest realms of magic, where she will battle a demon of fire, a king made of ice, and fight for the survival of humanity.
The characters in this novel are amazingly, vibrantly drawn. I loved the way the author is able to capture the reality of an era in which women could be expected to be treated as little more than chattel, and yet create three clever, talented young ladies who work within and around the confines of their environment to excel. Miryem does not resign herself to slow death through starvation and cold but develops an icy resolve that enables her to change her family’s lot in life. She utilizes that same resolve to survive when she is taken to the Staryk kingdom, a an unwilling ‘bride’. Quiet, calm Irina becomes a force to be reckoned with when she finds that Tsar Mirnatius is a far worse monster than she could ever have expected. Wanda slowly, painstakingly builds a new life for herself and her brothers against incredible odds. These ladies are so smart and resilient; I loved that the author has them use their nimble minds to outwit their assailants. They are good, kind people as fables tell us to be, but their goodness and kindness has an ingenuity and farsightedness to it that makes it more than just passively accepting one’s lot with good cheer. When they see evil, they act against it. When they see need, they allocate resources to deal with it. When they are in danger, they fight for survival. They don’t wait on luck or fairy godmothers but twist that concept so that they become their own source of salvation. Their moral purity is their ability to think beyond themselves and their own need and deal with the bigger picture.
I also loved the author’s exploration of the bigotry of the times. Miryem, as a young Jewish woman, knows that plenty of people despise her for no reason other than her birth and latch on to any excuse for their hatred. The story shows repeatedly how it was, in fact, their neighbors who stole and cheated, not the money lenders. I spent a great deal of time in fear for Miryem and her family and friends; they lived in such danger, between the horrible anti-Semitism and the heartless, fey Staryk, their lives seemed endlessly in mortal peril.
The Staryk are another element handled absolutely brilliantly. In many fairy tale retellings, the monsters are defanged, changing them from dangerous, cruel enemies into misunderstood victims. Not so here. While wrong has been dealt on both sides, the fey are not shown as misunderstood. They treat humans with contempt, having no respect for mortal lives which end so quickly when theirs last so long. They take what they want or need and give no thought to those who suffer as a consequence. They snatch women from their homes and families, and those are the lucky ones. They rape others. Yet the author also does a fabulous job of turning them into individuals for whom we can have some empathy as she shows, that like us, they can be redeemed, can learn to care and can have good in them along with the bad. Miryem is instrumental in showing them how being open hearted makes us better neighbors to those around us.
I loved the HEA storylines here. Both women come to be appreciated for their worth; not looks – both are rather plain – but their actual value as clever, caring people. Fantastically done is the depiction of married life. Neither Irina nor Miryem nor their partners looked for romance, but they did seek love. They wanted people who placed worth in them, who saw beyond the surface and were interested in building genuine partnerships. Sex is a right and privilege of marriage, but desire comes in far behind other attributes. Very true to the times.
The writing is beautiful, lyrical, incandescent. It reads like a fairy story and but one with real depth, carefully crafted and heartrendingly poignant and lovely.
I’ve re-read portions of this tale a dozen times already, it was that good. I finished it, restarted it, visited various parts over and over. Spinning Silver is that rarest of all things, a brilliant, creative idea perfectly executed. Filled with enchantment, thrillingly, chillingly scary and ultimately, having good triumph over evil, this book is wonderful, and not to be missed.
Buy it at: Amazon/Barnes & Noble/iBooks/Kobo
Grade: A+
Book Type: Fantasy|Fantasy Romance
Sensuality: N/A
Review Date: 07/07/18
Publication Date: 07/2018
Recent Comments …
Yep
This sounds delightful! I’m grabbing it, thanks
excellent book: interesting, funny dialogs, deep understanding of each character, interesting secondary characters, and also sexy.
I don’t think anyone expects you to post UK prices – it’s just a shame that such a great sale…
I’m sorry about that. We don’t have any way to post British prices as an American based site.
I have several of her books on my TBR and after reading this am moving them up the pile.
I've been an avid reader since 2nd grade and discovered romance when my cousin lent me Lord of La Pampa by Kay Thorpe in 7th grade. I currently read approximately 150 books a year, comprised of a mix of Young Adult, romance, mystery, women's fiction, and science fiction/fantasy.
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This is on sale today. It’s everything Maggie says!
I have just begun listening to this. I love fairy tales when they are told with power and darkness. I’m looking forward to seeing where the story goes.
I have just begun listening to this. I love fairy tales when they are told with power and darkness. I’m looking forward to seeing where the story goes.
Hi Maggie, I came upon your comments after I read Spinning Silver. I agree with Mel, I so disliked what Irina did that afected so much the Staryk and his people but I understand she actually did not know what she was doing in a way, she did not know how bad her actions would turn out nor what Chernobog would do. I couldn’t understand why the Staryk wanted to kill Miryem with the poisoned wine in that goblet … if he killed her she cannot make more gold for him so what’s the point of bringing her? Unless it was not him but his people who ploted the poison….
So I will gladly read again the book to come up with more clear understanding, I overall enjoyed very much the story !
Maggie, I just finished reading Spinning Silver and I think I have to read it again before I commit to an opinion. I loved the first half, but I didn’t enjoy the second half as much as I expected, especially in regards to the Staryk. I felt confused and I didn’t understand their obsession with gold. So I’m going to give it a second look. I have two quibbles with your beautifully written review: I think your use of sloth was incorrect, the father was weak and soft hearted but not sloth like and I believe Irina and Miryem’s beauty was real, but unseen because of prejudice, at least that was my take. I laughed at Irina’s husband’s confusion “was she a beauty or was she plain” and his antics to get an equivocal answer. But that is the great thing about fiction we see what we see.
My favorite storyline was Wanda and her brothers, I loved them very much, especially their relationship and how it grew with Miryem’s parents. Step on was a good narrator.
I was disgusted with Irina when she did what she did at the expense of the Staryk. It didn’t sit well, I didn’t like her as much as Miryem and Wanda. I’ll check back with you soon.
I was really concerned by the phrase “their Russian neighbors who stole and cheated…” in your review. I’ve read this book and I coudn’t find any indication of the “Russian” origin of any character mentioned in the book. Everything points in the opposite direction. The action takes place in Lithvas (actually that is endonym for Lithuania, an independent European country near the Baltic sea). And the characters use “panov” as a polite way of addressing. That is not indigenous to Russia. Such adressing is common in Poland or Czechia, but never in Russia.
You critisize anti-Semitism in your review, but use anti-Russian sentence unreasonably…
I apologize for the error. I will ask my editor to change the term so that it more accurately conveys what the book was trying to communicate.
I thought Russian too, until Chernabog showed up and Stepon used Panov.
Is this a sequel to Uprooted or are they both fairytales? Is this book a standalone?
This is not a sequel to Uprooted. They are both fairy tales but they are different ones. Uprooted is a Beauty and the Beast variant, Spinning Silver is Rumpelstiltskin. Each book is a standalone.
I have been looking forward to this one after reading Uprooted. I was hoping there would be a sequel to Uprooted because I wanted to read more about the lead characters and their HEA but it sounds like there will not be a sequel. Your review for Spinning Silver sounds like the book is intense and I’m intrigued by the A+ review. I’m wondering how big a part the romance plays in the story?
I felt the romance here was stronger than it was in Uprooted but not by much. There are HEA endings but they are fairy tale style endings: it’s all battling evil, doing derring deeds together and then boom! love. I think, though, that the story is so good it supports that sort of approach. Hope that helps.
Maggie, I loved your review! A+ to you on it.
Thanks but the book is so, so, so much better than my review I hope you get a chance to read it.
I enjoyed her first book but wanted a bit more romance in with the fantasy. I will definitely read this and hope I enjoy it as much as you did!
I hope you like it too!
Maggie I didn’t read your review {yet} because I want to read the book first, but so happy to see the A+!
I adored this book. I’ve re-read it multiple times this past month, and have had to force myself to read other books. Please do read it!