title: Spinning Silver: A Novel
author:  Naomi Novik 
description: A perfect tale . . . This book is about the determination and quiet competence of women doing remarkable things without knowing first that they can do them. . . . A big and meaty novel, rich in both ideas and people, with the vastness of Tolkien and the empathy and joy in daily life of Le Guin.<b><i>The New York Times Book Review</i></b><br /><br />Gorgeous, complex, and magical . . . This is the kind of book that one might wish to inhabit forever.<b><i>Publishers Weekly</i>(starred review)</b><br /><br />A book as cool and mysterious as a winters night, with two marvelous heroines at its heart,<i>Spinning Silver</i>pits the cold of endless winter against the fires of duty, love, and sacrifice. I couldnt put it down.<b>Katherine Arden,<i>New York Times</i>bestselling author of<i>The Bear and the Nightingale</i></b><br /><br />Masterly . . . Novik addresses weighty questions of power, choice, prejudice, beauty, and identity with aplomb.<b><i>Library Journal</i>(starred review)</b><br /><br />Naomi Novik knows how to weave words into magic, and<i>Spinning Silver</i>enchants the reader from the first page. This magnificent tale of three courageous young women who find the power to change their fates will catch you in its spell and linger long after the last chapter is read.<b>Christina Henry, nationally bestselling author of<i>The Mermaid</i></b><br /><br />A brilliant reclamation of Rumpelstiltskin, digging deep into that storys anti-Semitism and pulling up something nourishing from the roots . . . One of the years strongest fantasy novels . . . Im in awe of how Novik spins moldy, hateful straw into warm and glimmering gold.<b>Amal El-Mohtar, NPR</b><br /><br />A thoughtful, emotionally complex, absorbing drama.<b><i>Kirkus Reviews</i></b><br /><br /> Novik has a knack for creating richly layered fantasy worlds with complex social dynamics, ruthless rulers and epic plot twists; her poetic narratives often recast magical motifs in unexpected ways. . . . This one, a stand-alone retelling of the Brothers Grimms Rumpelstiltskin, includes a feminist exploration of the politics of money.<b><i>Newsweek<br /><br /></i></b>The Rumpelstiltskin fairy tale has never been as captivating. . . . <i>Spinning Silver </i>further cements [Noviks] place as one of the genre greats.<b><i>Paste</i></b><br /><br /> Deftly woven and highly immersive.<b><i>Tordotcom</i></b><br /><br /> An inventive retelling.<b><i>Bustle</i></b><br /><br /> A stroke of genius . . . Noviks characters are compelling, and the moral choices they are faced with are genuinely difficult. . . . Her tone can move from gently humorous, to sweepingly epic, to piercingly sad easily, and back again. . . . Even better than <i>Uprooted</i>.<b><i>Locus</i></b><br /><br /> <i>Spinning Silver</i> follows in the tradition set by Robin McKinley of fairy-tale worlds populated by fairy-tale characters who feel like real people, and of princesses with strength and agency. But it moves the tradition forward.<b><i>Vox</i></b><br /><br /> This fairy land is all too human, riven by misogyny and bigotry, poverty and oppression. . . . [Novik] has constructed a social whole whose contradictions feel lived in.<b><i>Chicago Tribune</i></b><br /><br /> Dauntless women, cruel lords, and wayward fairies come together in a beautifully realized world. Brimming over with fairy tale magic, <i>Spinning Silver</i> proves Naomi Novik to be a master fantasist at the top of her game.<b>Zen Cho, award-winning author of <i>Sorcerer to the Crown</i></b>
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  SPINNING
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  SILVER
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  NAOMI NOVIK
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  MACMILLAN
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  CONTENTS
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [CHAPTER 1](../Text/part0003.xhtml)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [CHAPTER 2](../Text/part0004.xhtml)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [CHAPTER 3](../Text/part0005.xhtml)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [CHAPTER 4](../Text/part0006.xhtml)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [CHAPTER 5](../Text/part0007.xhtml)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [CHAPTER 6](../Text/part0008.xhtml)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [CHAPTER 7](../Text/part0009.xhtml)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [CHAPTER 8](../Text/part0010.xhtml)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [CHAPTER 9](../Text/part0011.xhtml)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [CHAPTER 10](../Text/part0012.xhtml)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [CHAPTER 11](../Text/part0013.xhtml)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [CHAPTER 12](../Text/part0014.xhtml)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [CHAPTER 13](../Text/part0015.xhtml)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [CHAPTER 14](../Text/part0016.xhtml)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [CHAPTER 15](../Text/part0017.xhtml)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [CHAPTER 16](../Text/part0018.xhtml)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [CHAPTER 17](../Text/part0019.xhtml)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [CHAPTER 18](../Text/part0020.xhtml)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [CHAPTER 19](../Text/part002