Spinning Silver Reviewed by Zhaoxin Sun

           I read “Spinning Silver” by Naomi Novik. The novel follows the stories of three women: Miryem, daughter of an overly lenient moneylender who learns to return gold out of investments of silver, Wanda, daughter of a physically abusive drunkard, and Irina, daughter of a duke who weds her to a handsome tsar. Through complications involving demons, magic, and parallel kingdoms, the group finds themselves trapped in a dangerous situation between magical and moral paths.

            The book is narrated by six people, primarily by the three female characters. The narration itself is remarkable because of the rich metaphors and imagery, but this book stands out to me because of its creative use of folk tales. It incorporates elements of different tales like the giving tree next to Cinderella’s mother’s grave, a golden dress, turning a material into gold in big storerooms, and a witch’s house for shelter of brother and sister, among many other elements. Most reimagined fairy tales have a forced feel to them, like the author is determined to be unexpected and write a drastic twist. In “Spinning Silver,” however, the tales are woven together seamlessly and make complete logical sense in respect to the situations of the characters.

            Another parallel between this novel and fairy tales is the satisfying happy ending, but Novik avoided the clear cut good and evil that is often in other tales. This book does an excellent job pointing out the nuances of moral code in these stories. There were somewhat good, bad, and truly terrible moral classifications, but almost everything is a gray area. For example, Miryem’s father was a generous and undemanding money lender. This kind of behavior would usually be portrayed as altruistic and ultimately rewarded, but this novel gives much harder realism when their only reward is scorn, sickness, and starvation until Miryem decides she will do what her father refuses to. This novel still has strong moral messages, though. Empathetic love transcends greed, pride, and even a more selfish kind of love. Major decisions are made in the spirit of sacrifice and empathy, and the true happy ending is only earned through them.

            Something that struck me was the depiction of contrasting moral codes and customs in the kingdoms. The values and personalities of characters and their settings were clearly well thought out. The entire world was well considered, including the characters’ living conditions and settings, how that affected their thinking patterns and moral codes, and how those, in turn, affected decision making. This is one of the most deliberately planned books I have ever read.

            I highly recommend “Spinning Silver.” The plot is relatively predictable at some points, but the thoughtfulness that has gone into the story is plenty to appreciate by itself. For those who have been amused by Grimm’s fairy tales, I think this book is a fresh and well written mash-up that you may enjoy!