They didn’t wait for someone to save them. I loved that they thought their way through whatever situations they faced. And they’re all incredibly smart or canny in their own ways.

All three women are well fleshed out, and their motivations are believable. Irina is the daughter of a duke whose political machinations matter more than his daughter’s wellbeing, but Irina isn’t beautiful enough to be useful without the aid of outside forces. Wanda is the oldest child of an abusive drunk who is in debt to Miryem’s father, and Wanda finds herself working off that debt in Miryem’s home.

Miryem is the daughter of a Jewish moneylender who is a doormat of a man, leading to his family slowly starving to death until Miryem steps into the role. The story follows three young women, Miryem, Wanda, and Irina, who are all incredibly compelling characters. I’m incredibly glad that we gave Novik another try. Spinning Silver is a thoughtful, intricate, powerful novel that is one of the most atmospheric books I’ve ever read. He, Eon, TS, Haifa and myself all started it together, and the consensus has been overwhelmingly positive. So when Petrik suggested we do a buddy-read as soon as the new year started, I jumped at it. But, as I own both a physical and digital copy, I knew I was going to have to pick it up eventually. There were a lot of things I really didn’t like about that book and, because of that dislike, I was skittish about picking up Spinning Silver. That’s not my general reading experience. While I didn’t loathe it with every fiber of my being like Petrik did, it took me a couple of months to trudge through 435 pages. I read another of Novik’s high fantasy novels, Uprooted, in 2016 and…I was not a fan. I could not have started the year off with a more pleasant surprise.

Spinning silver novel