Books of Winter (2022)

The twenty-fourth day of the second month in the year the albatross came to the south-western halls...

I thought I’d try something new (and perhaps make into a regular feature) by writing a bit about the books I’ve read recently. I probably wouldn’t have had this idea if I hadn’t joined a book club a few months ago because the book club has basically forced me to read more fiction, particularly newish fiction. I have a tendency to read older stuff (which is good! I think more people should read older stuff, particularly in the fantasy genre, hence one of the reasons why I wanted to start my newsletter), but when it came to new fantasy fiction, I have often hesitated. I don’t know why that is; maybe I figure if they’re any good they’ll stand the test of time and I can read them later. Besides, my stacks of dusty Ballantine and Ace paperbacks ain’t gonna read themselves!

Also, lately, I have been drawn to non-fiction much more than fiction. I can usually read non-fiction faster, and I can read it in smaller chunks at a time. With fiction, I like to have an immersive experience — I want my imagination to get carried away — but when I find time to read these days it’s usually with my three kids causing havoc around me, and long stretches of time for immersive imaginative reading experiences are few and far between. Non-fiction is great for these hectic moments because I can dip in for a paragraph or two and get the information I need without the mental commitment that fiction requires.

Anyway, I’m in a book club, and I’m reading more fiction. I thought I’d make a regular feature of sharing what I’ve been reading at the end of each season (yes, technically winter in Michigan stretches well into March and sometimes even April, but I’m going with the months we traditionally associate with each season, not with the weather outside). So here are my Books of Winter (2022).

Piranesi

I absolutely LOVED Susanna Clarke’s first fantasy novel, Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell. LOVED IT. When I saw she had a new book out recently, I was hoping it would continue exploring the delightful Regency-era fantasy Europe of her first book.

Piranesi is not set in the same world as Jonathan Strange. But honestly, it doesn’t matter because Piranesi is a masterpiece of a book in its own right. I wasn’t sure what to expect when I opened it and began reading — I knew it involved a man called Piranesi who lived in a vast “house” filled with statues, and that maybe there was a connection to C.S. Lewis’s The Magician’s Nephew, but other than that vague sorta premise, I knew nothing.

I hesitate, in fact, to detail what the book is about even as I’m recommending it to you. Because part of the fun of Piranesi is in finding out exactly what is going on — with our central character, with the house, with the mysterious “Other” who is the only other living inhabitant of the house. The story is written from the point of view of our titular character, and it is his voice — his very self — that makes the novel such a moving and even profound experience. Bearing witness to his discoveries and his journey is at the heart of the book, and I don’t really want to give anything away because I want you to experience that magic for yourself.

I will say this, though: the book is a strange mixture of unsettling, almost horror-like moments and whimsical, childlike wonder. It’s a weird combination — weird in the best sense of the word. By the end, I was crying both out of joy and melancholy, and the themes of the book are even more profound and life-affirming than those in Clarke’s earlier novel. This might be the best new book I’ve read in a long while. (The best old book I’ve read in a long while is Sigrid Undset’s Kristin Lavransdatter, but that’s a post for another day!)

Spinning Silver

When Naomi Novik’s Uprooted came out a few years back, my husband read it and sang its praises. He’d also read and championed all twelve zillion of Novik’s His Majesty’s Dragon books, so I figured I should check out her stuff. Uprooted sounded more interesting than Napoleonic Wars — particularly because it was based on Slavic folklore and fairy tales — so I put it on my birthday wish list. I excitedly unwrapped it on my birthday, admired the beautiful hardcover design, and then promptly put it on my bookshelf because I wasn’t finished with the books I was currently reading.

And that’s where Uprooted has been ever since. Sitting on my bookshelf, unread. I am kicking myself now for letting it linger because when my book club finished reading Novik’s other Slavic-inspired fairy tale-esque novel, Spinning Silver, I was astounded by how much I absolutely loved it. When we chose the book, I figured I would like it just fine, but I wasn’t expecting to be blown away.

Reader, I was blown away.

The story centers around three female characters: Miryem, the moneylender’s daughter; Wanda, the child of an impoverished, abusive father; and Irina, the ugly-duckling daughter of the local duke. Each woman has her own strengths and flaws, and each of them are developed so well that I felt heavily invested in all of their arcs. The women’s lives are intertwined, of course, but Spinning Silver avoids one of my biggest pet peeves about books with multiple points of view: not for one moment did I want to “get through” one character’s POV in order to get back to the other, more interesting POVs. Every POV in this book is captivating. Each character (not just the three women at the center of the story) has an interesting role to play, and I loved getting to know them all. I was expecting a fairly well-plotted story, but I was not expecting such a tight narrative coupled with such captivating and vivid characters.

And the magic in this book! Such wonderful fairy tale magic! (Anyone who has read my own fiction knows how much I love fairy tale magic.) The main antagonists are the Staryk, icy fey people from a wintertime otherworld. They desire gold and will do anything — including pillage and kill — to get it. In some ways it’s a twist on the tale of Rumpelstiltskin, but it’s much more than that. And when we find out there is something to fear even more than the Staryk… Let’s just say that if you enjoy folklore and fairy tale elements in your novels, then Spinning Silver does the trick. I was impressed with how nuanced the magical elements in the story ended up being.

Spinning Silver hit me at the right time seasonally too. I have this weird thing about certain books being meant for certain seasons, and Spinning Silver is most definitely a winter book. The Staryk are quite literally made of ice, and winter and snow figure heavily in the setting and plot of the book. It helped that while my book club was reading it, Michigan was in the midst of an arctic blast of subzero temperatures and snowfalls. Would it have the same enchanting effect if I was reading it in the blazing hotness of summer? I’m sure it would still keep me furiously turning pages, but I don’t know if it would have felt quite as perfect. As a wintertime read, though, it was enchanting (pun intended).

Having read and loved my first Naomi Novik novel, I won’t make the mistake of letting Uprooted sit on my shelf unread anymore. Maybe it’ll show up as one of my Books of Spring or Summer 2022…

What about you? What books have you been reading this winter?