Spinning Silver

I was extremely excited to grab an ARC of this at Denver Comic Con. Uprooted is one of the best modern fairy tales I have ever read, and while Spinning Silver is a completely different setting and set of characters, it upholds the fantastical tone and complexity of cast that have become Novik's hallmark.

The multiple POV's must have made this challenging, but each perspective gives us valuable insight into both the person and the time period. I want to slap period authors who don't write women with any agency because “that's just how it was.” The women in this book understand the limits society puts on them, and they work within or around those limits to make choices-Especially Miryem, who has to fight against people's attitudes towards women and Jews. Also, a European fantasy book that recognizes Jewish people and anti-Semitism openly? It's just great.

Like Uprooted, many of the male characters seek to take choices and control away from the female ones. Also, like Uprooted, they are unprepared for what they start. I'd argue that the antagonists here are more complex, often more sympathetic, but they are also held accountable for their actions, even if the reader comes to understand how they became monsters. Irina and Mirnatius' mirror narrative is particularly compelling and a lesson in how to keep from making more monsters.

I could gush about this book all day. It's clever, original, beautiful and everything I needed to read right now. You should read both this and a Uprooted, but they are only thematically a series and can be read in either order.