Book Club Guide

Spinning Silver

by Naomi Novik · 2018 · Literary Fiction

Key themes

Rumpelstiltskin retold — but the moneylender's daughter is not the victim
Three women, three bargains — and what each must give up
The Staryk and the human world — two systems of value that cannot simply trade

About this book

Miryem, a moneylender's daughter, finds she can turn silver into gold — a gift that draws the attention of the Staryk, cold fae lords from a world of ice and silver, and binds her to one of them in marriage. Novik's Locus Award-winning fantasy, loosely inspired by Rumpelstiltskin, weaves together three women's stories of bargains, debts and the price of survival in a world where every transaction has consequences.

Published in 2018, Spinning Silver won the Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel and was shortlisted for the Hugo and Nebula Awards. Novik has described drawing on her own Jewish and Polish heritage for the novel's setting and the Miryem storyline.

Discussion questions

The Rumpelstiltskin story is usually about a miller's daughter forced to spin straw into gold. Novik gives the gold-making ability genuine logic — Miryem is a moneylender's daughter who actually understands value. How does this reframing change the story's moral landscape?
The novel has three female narrators — Miryem, Wanda and Irina — whose stories intersect. How does Novik develop these parallel narratives, and what do they share about women's positions in this world?
The Staryk operate by a different logic of bargains and debts than the human characters. How does Novik develop this — and what does the eventual negotiation between the two systems require?
Miryem's Jewish identity and her family's position as moneylenders are integral to the novel, drawing on real medieval European antisemitism. How does Novik handle this — does the fantasy frame allow for a more direct engagement with this history?
Spinning Silver won the Locus Award and was a Hugo and Nebula finalist. How does it compare to Uprooted — and what does Novik's approach to fairy tale retelling offer that more conventional retellings don't?