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A review by mondayn
Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
I was hooked. I've read most of the books this author has written, and I found this brought me back over and over again with the same magnetic pull. I enjoyed an atmosphere of less horror-esque tension than the other books I've read of Novik's. I continued to love how she draws on Eastern European myth and culture, and was pleasantly surprised to find myself following a Jewish protagonist, and even more pleased to see it become reflective, pivotally relevant, and thematic to the story on a number of levels. This book keeps with what I perceive as Novik's strengths in the arena of theme.
However...there was a magic in this book whose workings I could not make exact heads or tails of, and this made it impossible to predict plot twists and bumps and the ending. Key character motives went unexplained. Sometimes it felt like Novik thought she'd covered something that had, in fact, slipped through the cracks and never been mentioned, or was included but was phrased so poorly as to be inconclusive. I also wouldn't have minded if we'd relished in the victories at the end of the book. (I won't say more; I don't want to spoil anything for anyone!) The start of the book was slow, if helpfully insightful for the character of Wanda for her arc.
Nonetheless, I would read it again. It was a fun time and I took great pleasure in the protagonists.
However...there was a magic in this book whose workings I could not make exact heads or tails of, and this made it impossible to predict plot twists and bumps and the ending. Key character motives went unexplained. Sometimes it felt like Novik thought she'd covered something that had, in fact, slipped through the cracks and never been mentioned, or was included but was phrased so poorly as to be inconclusive. I also wouldn't have minded if we'd relished in the victories at the end of the book. (I won't say more; I don't want to spoil anything for anyone!) The start of the book was slow, if helpfully insightful for the character of Wanda for her arc.
Nonetheless, I would read it again. It was a fun time and I took great pleasure in the protagonists.