Is Spinning Silver Worth Reading?
by Naomi Novik
Ada’s Score
Naomi Novik reimagines Rumpelstiltskin through the story of Miryem, a moneylender's daughter in a fairy-tale Eastern European village who boasts she can turn silver into gold — a claim that draws the attention of the deadly Staryk king of winter. Novik weaves together three women's perspectives to create a richly layered story about power, survival, and unexpected alliances. The novel is attentive to the historical antisemitism its protagonist navigates without ever flinching. It is a sophisticated, feminist retelling that transcends its source material.
Episode 2“Novik writes fairy tales that feel genuinely dangerous. Miryem is resourceful and real in a way fantasy heroines rarely are.”
She Turned Debt Into a Kingdom
Naomi Novik takes the bones of Rumpelstiltskin and builds something so much richer — a story about a Jewish moneylender's daughter who uses her sharpest weapon, her mind, to survive a world that underestimates her at every turn. The magic here is cold and glittering, but the real power lies in watching Miryem refuse to be anyone's bargaining chip. This is the kind of fantasy that makes you feel genuinely triumphant by the final page.
Ada Brief
AI reading intelligence“Novik writes fairy tales that feel genuinely dangerous. Miryem is resourceful and real in a way fantasy heroines rarely are.”
She Turned Debt Into a Kingdom
Naomi Novik takes the bones of Rumpelstiltskin and builds something so much richer — a story about a Jewish moneylender's daughter who uses her sharpest weapon, her mind, to survive a world that underestimates her at every turn. The magic here is cold and glittering, but the real power lies in watching Miryem refuse to be anyone's bargaining chip. This is the kind of fantasy that makes you feel genuinely triumphant by the final page.
Book Details
- Publisher
- Macmillan
- Published
- January 1, 2018
- Pages
- 466
- Language
- ENG
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Affiliate linksISBN: 9780399180989
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Ada’s Score
4.4
Ada’s editorial score — not an aggregate of reader reviews.
Common Questions About Spinning Silver
- Is Spinning Silver worth reading?
- Novik writes fairy tales that feel genuinely dangerous. Miryem is resourceful and real in a way fantasy heroines rarely are. Ada rates it 4.4 out of 5.
- How many pages is Spinning Silver?
- Spinning Silver is 466 pages long — around 8–9 hours at an average reading pace.
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