It’s one of the things I really dislike about the Kindle - most of the time I never even see the full screen of the art and it’s not in color anyway. I agree, I like the way she looks so fierce and determined. I particularly like that she’s not looking even a tiny bit sexy. And they’ve managed to make Mr. No Name look just not quite human. And as a part time artist, I like the way it looks vaguely medieval woodcut-ish. They used the same artist and layout for Uprooted which I wasn’t even sure was in the same universe, though both stories are clearly channeling Slavic folktales.
So sorry to hijack this thread, but it seemed the perfect place for my request.
DW and I have a dear friend who recently lost her husband. She loves to read. She’s an educator. Her children are grown. We want to give her a book that might help bring a little light to her life. I’m not looking for a book on bereavement, but rather a book that left you feeling great.
** If you have a thought, PLEASE DM me so not to clog this thread. **
Again, my most sincere apology for hijacking. Thank you all very much.
^Hi @STEM2017. I suspect there are folks in this group who will have some good ideas. Also, if anyone wants to share, DM-ing is not necessary. I bet there are others out there who could use an uplifting read.
@mathmom, that’s my issue with the Kindle, too. I want them to make one where just the covers are in color, but the non-lit, eye-strain-free text remains exactly as it is now. Re Miryem, that fierce and determined look may not be traditionally “sexy,” but it’s definitely alluring, if that’s the right word. Makes you see why the Staryk King (fierce and determined himself) found himself attracted to her against his will (very Darcy-like, by the way).
Who mentioned upthread that none of the main female characters were portrayed as classic beauties?
I missed noticing that on my own — despite mention in the book about Irina being “plain” and ditto Miryem. I don’t recall how Wanda was described.
How nice to have a tale where a women’s physical beauty isn’t front & center?
I finally finished! @Midwest67 wasn’t Wanda mostly described as big and strong? That really implies not a classic beauty. I am still kind of digesting the ending. Starting from the capture and through to the end it did not seem as if all of the actions were consistent with how I saw the characters up to that point, although Miryem going back did seem to bring her back in line. It was the idea of destroying the Staryk that seemed inconsistent. Irina on the other hand seemed to stay on her path to destruction of the monster. I may have to go back and read some again. I don’t read fantasy very often.
Miryem respected 4 of the Starks, including her “godchild”. As in the Bible, if there are ten righteous people, then the nation should not be destroyed. She made the assumption that there were other honorable Stark. I believe her ultimate goal was to have peace between the two worlds.
Irina is a pragmatist. While I didn’t like a lot of her thinking and actions , I respected that she stayed true to character.
I was a little perturbed that Jewish rituals were brought into the story at opportune times, not consistently. Stereotypes of Jews as moneylenders and jewelers bothered me. Still, I sensed the author is knowledgeable about Judiasm .
Some comments from Naomi Novik:
Apparently, starting with the stereotype was a deliberate choice:
I was unbothered by the Jews being money lenders because I thought it fit right into the folk tale and an ancient period of time with religious-based usury laws.
In addition, the money lending family (Miryem’s immediate family and extended family) are some of the best, characters in the book!
Agree that the book did a very good job developing the characters of Miryam and her family & extended family—how they were kind but taken advantage of because dad was soft-hearted. It really didn’t make one feel sorry for the neighbors who wouldn’t readily relay their debts and allow Miryam’s family to suffer in poverty.
Irina’s family wasn’t nearly as well developed in the story—it would have taken another book or more to develop more characters anyway.
@STEM2017 I have a suggestion for you—- “The Magnolia Story” - the Chip and Joanna Gaines story, I read this in two days, free “prime reading “ e book, it’s light. Breezy. Filled with hope and uplifting. Their journey has some surprising drama Chip hauled off to jail, and being on the brink of bankruptcy, of course. I’ve been a fan for years, so there is that, too. If your friend has watched “ Fixer Upper” this would be a safe choice.
Ok, carry on, with discussion. It’s great that those who didn’t get to the book can still discuss !
I recently, watched for the umpteeth time, Netflix, “The Power Of Myth” Bill Moyer’s classic PBS interviews with the astounding Joseph Campbell. As Campbell talked about the Heroes journey, the archetypical elements found around the world, throughout history, I kept being reminded of “ Spinning Silver”
Happy Winter Solstice to all ??
@STEM2017, I like to return to the classics, or an old favorite, when I need a “comfort read.” This may sound like an odd choice, but All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriot is an uplifting book I really enjoyed. Helps if you like animals, but not required.
@SouthJerseyChessMom, hurray for the Winter Solstice! Now the days get longer!
@SouthJerseyChessMom thanks for the suggestion. I had not really thought of Spinning Silver in light of the Hero’s Quest. Now I want to review the elements of a quest to see how it fits.
I love the books by Herriot as well. He embues them with warmth and love. Makes the dales sound lovely!
The thread on “The Dig” is closed, as we read it in the summer of 2016. We are in London for Christmas, and went to the British Museum yesterday. We saw the items from the Sutton Hoo dig, which the book was about. Everything was amazing, and I can understand why the British Museum received the items. The items were just stunning, particularly the helmet. So happy that the story was brought the story to life.
Sorry for taking this thread off track.
^ That is so cool, @silverlady!
@silverlady how awesome ! Thanks for posting that update!
My hold of Spinning Silver just came into the library a few days ago; had to wait for DS to finish his visit before I could start. Loving it so far and looking forward to reviewing the discussion.
@Marilyn, be sure to let us know what you think about it when you’re finished!
@Mary13 - Since you asked…
I really enjoyed this book. I do like fantasy/fairy tale literature and have no issues with alternate dimensions or timelines or whatever, so none of that bothered me. It also was not difficult for me to follow the different narrators; it was clear within a sentence or two who was talking.
It seemed to me like the book kept growing and expanding. It started out as a somewhat regular albeit well written story of life in small town presumably past Eastern Europe communities, with all of the prejudices and danger to Jews. I’ve read a lot of books/stories in the same vein so it seemed somewhat familiar with some intriguing characters. Then we started getting more and more hints of some kind of fantastical overlay.
I felt the book was intensely related to Judaism, which was very cool to me since so many of classical fantasy/fairy tale stories have Christian allegorical themes. I did note the question about if there were ten righteous among the Staryk’s and thought of Lot and Jonah. On the surface it was just familiar items and practices - observing Shabbat, dancing the hora at a wedding - but they became increasingly important to the plot line through the effect they had on Miryem’s behavior. In the end I felt her Jewish foundation directed her actions.
I loved her family and was highly impressed with her grandfather. Stars of David on the escape tunnel!
I laughed at the passage where Wanda marveled at the fact that Miryem’s mother found a connection at the gates of Vysnia:
One of my mantras is, “It’s a small world if you’re Jewish.” When we moved to San Diego, we were checking out synagogues to join. At the kiddush luncheon one Saturday, someone learned I was from Michigan and said I had to meet this other woman who had also grown up there. So I met her and we started exchanging background. I said my father had been Hillel director at the university and she exclaimed, “I cooked there every Sunday for a year.” So she had worked with my father 50 years earlier and had also met my mother in passing. Possibly even me, neither of us remembered, I would have been in junior high then. She was able to tell me stories about my father, and I was able to update her on his life. Naturally we joined that synagogue!
I loved all the little references to various fairy tales and such, even phrases like “The Staryk was a tale for a winter’s night.” Miryem saw the extra bedroom appear in the cottage and thought, “There was another bedroom standing on the other side that couldn’t have fit inside the outside of the house.” I said out loud, “It’s bigger on the inside!” (I.e., Tardis.)" When the Staryk king started turning everything to snow and ice near the end, I immediately channeled Frozen.
Although the ending did seem a bit rushed and I agree they left the tsar and tsarina’s relationship ambiguous, I think much of the book was building to that dramatic sealing of the crack in the ice. Miryem did realize after showing the third storeroom that she had unwittingly stolen the sun from her land by changing the silver. She may not have known then that she could bring the heat and light of the sun into the ice palace, but it left a seed in her mind that pushed her to change the mountains of silver at the end. She may not have known exactly what would happen but her entire experience led her to that moment.
And yes, I loved how the women learned and changed. Pride and Prejudice! I wish I’d been able to read this in time to join the ongoing discussion, but really appreciate being brought to this book.
I can’t like @Marilyn’s post more than once, can I? Well darn.