Spinning Silver

So the fairy silver brought you a monster of fire for a husband, and me a monster of ice. We should put them in a room together and let them make us both widows.

I really, really loved the first 20% of the book or so, while the narrative was largely focused on the small Polish village, the two young women surviving in it in the best ways they knew how, and their families. The characters all had very clear arcs and well-rounded personalities from the get go, and it was easy to get where they were coming from and to what end, even when the specific actions they took didn’t sit very well with me. I was fascinated by the cold, sharp edges Miryem had to develop to ensure her family’s survival and admired Wanda’s quiet, relentless strength as she worked toward a future that would hopefully one day set her free of her abusive father. I also really liked how the presence of mysticism and the Staryk (fairy-like mystical creatures) was handled in this early part. It felt more like magical realism than fantasy. And the vibes all around were immaculate: kind of the inversion of cozy fantasy. The same focus on a community getting by amidst a wintry landscape, except it’s all about the darkness lurking behind the apparent quaintness.

I would have very much loved it if the whole book stayed like that: smaller-scale, comparatively low-stakes, character-driven, showing the horrors and the magic in the mundane and exploring this historical setting with a touch of magic. I feel like it went on in that vein long enough, to be honest, to turn into a promise—but then that promise wasn’t upheld. Because the Staryk became far more present, and a deal with them turned into a marriage contract, and then we got a brand-new narrator, Irina, and her storyline about getting married to the tsar, and the number of characters just kept growing from there. And the newer ones didn’t get the same slow, thoughtful introduction as the first batch did, so everything felt vaguely unbalanced.

Overall, I’d call structure this book’s biggest weakness. While all the different storylines were undeniably connected from the start, in terms of both plotting and theme, and they did eventually coalesce, there were big chunks of book that were just… all over the place. Just moving from one part of the narrative to the next with some really strange structural decisions, like the story wasn’t able to decide which subgenre/mood it wants to stick to. Each plot thread individually contains lots of goodness, great characters, interesting magic, strong themes. The prose is beautiful and immersive. But alas, past the beginning and before the last several chapters, none of it quite comes together.

What I unequivocally adored were the characters’ voices. The book is written in first person and frequently switches POV characters, often introducing new ones literally mid-chapter. I thought I’d be confused at least once because of this, but no, every time there was a switch, I either very clearly knew whos head I was in, if it was someone I’ve already met, or just as clearly realized this was someone new even before any names and such were mentioned. I’m honestly stunned by how distinct the voices are.

I also must say that, despite the structural laxity, I really appreciated the thematic cohesiveness. The way all the girls’ relationships with their mothers were explored in ways that played off each other, or the contrasts and comparisons between Miryem’s and Irina’s marriages, and more. I also just generally loved what the author did with the Slavic/Eastern European mythology and history. Overall, I’ve had a really good tiime with the book, I just wish the story was more consistently told.

A fairy-tale fantasy story, about deals made without understanding all the consequences of them, of ice and fire demons. It starts so strong I was sure this was going to be a 5-star for me, but it's narrated in first-person and we switch between (at least) half a dozen different people and frankly some of the characters aren't helping anything much, e.g. when we're following the youngest boy in the story, Stepon, the writing style takes a sharp turn from the preceding narrator to how a relatively-noncommunicative youth would think of what's happening around him. We are left to figure out who the narrator is from context - I read in some other review saying that different people had a different symbol at the start of their sections and if you remembered which symbol corresponded to which person you could keep up more easily. Not a big fan of this mechanism!

But the story, especially the first half and the wrapup, were so much fun I'd still recommend this one no problem. I had a great time with this story!

I was lucky enough to get an ARC at the Nebula Conference. I loved "Uprooted", and I feel like this book, while not in any way a sequel, has all the virtues of "Uprooted". I couldn't put it down -- I started it late Saturday evening, and finished it before supper on Sunday. Yes, I did sleep for 8 hours.

It's initially told from the point of view of one young girl, but gradually more and more characters' voices join the tale. A girl hired to work for the family, that girl's little brother, the ignored, plain daughter of a duke. Their stories draw together as their world is threatened by a two malign forces.

As in "Uprooted", the day-to-day and personal interactions are just as important as the sweeping clash. There are echoes of fairy tales, from Rumplestiltskin, the Snow Queen, Hansel and Gretel, and probably others that I missed as I read head-long to see how things would come out. The characters are never one-dimensional. They keep unfolding layers, just like real people, only more interesting. ;-)