Reviews tagging 'Antisemitism'

Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik

163 reviews

bookforestsprite's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

"endlessly surprising and moving" indeed! A new favourite! Naomi Novik's writing is masterful and truly magical!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse and Antisemitism

meshuganush's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Very Jewish. Has a great face turn near the end. Neatly splits into three acts.  The story feels like a beautifully and intricately woven tapestry. There is incredible depth and every detail matters for the whole. 

An excellent portrayal of antisemitism in society as well as mob mentality. It explored themes of the importance of family as well as found family, the brilliance and fortitude of women and an enemies to lovers story that isn't cliche.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Xenophobia and Antisemitism

tracy713's review against another edition

adventurous tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence

Minor: Antisemitism

cgwynne's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Antisemitism, and Death of parent

nafsaila's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes

4.0

I've yet to not enjoy a Naomi Novik novel. The variety of characters and the depth shown from so many of them I think it was most drew me to this story. Miryem, the child of a moneylender, gains a reputations for turning silver to gold, and after the Staryk king hears of it, Miryem's fate is shifted. When beginning to read it I thought that would be the end of the story if Miryem was able to "produce" the promised gold, however the interweaving of other complex storylines really kept this one going. I listened to the audio version so occasionally I stumbled in understanding exactly which character I was following, but I didn't find that to be a deterrent for me. Would highly suggest for fans of fantasy.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent

Moderate: Sexual assault and Kidnapping

Minor: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Child death, Emotional abuse, Torture, and Antisemitism

heartfruit's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Domestic abuse and Violence

Minor: Antisemitism

dcdc's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Antisemitism, and Death of parent

Moderate: Alcoholism, Misogyny, and Grief

Minor: Sexual violence

lira_the_recluse's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

An expanded fairy tale. It was a treat to see the Slavic folktale inspiration. All the characters had believable and complex motivations. 

A couple minor things. I wish there were fewer point of view characters, but I don't mind that as much as th second point. I wished there was an audio marker or something to let you know when a POV switch happens mid chapter. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Antisemitism, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

teigenbereadin's review against another edition

adventurous medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

This is a perfect fairytale retelling that has me trying to guess what fairytale it was based on through most of the book! (I hate it when the original fairytale is too obvious) I love the clever princess trope (think shaharazad) and so that was awesome. The characters have depth and grow through the book. My only complaint is that sometimes the plot ties can be a bit hard to follow. Like there was an explanation of some of the magic rules and it was pretty vague and left me confused until it came into play in the book. But I definitely would recommend this book to fantasy lovers!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Antisemitism

Minor: Rape

kurumipanda's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Antisemitism, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Animal death, Child death, Rape, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Xenophobia, Blood, and Classism