Her mother is an ethnic Pole, while her father is of Lithuanian Jewish descent. It is worth noting that Novik herself is a second-generation American immigrant. She borrows titles of nobility and honorifics from the languages spoken in that region and even manages to shape her fictional lands in its image. In both Spinning Silver and her previous fairy tale inspired novel, Uprooted, Novik crafts a setting inspired by Russia, Poland, and Eastern Europe. While Rumpelstiltskin and straw never appear in Spinning Silver, the beats are familiar enough to echo the original tale. The girl, through stealth and wit, discovers his name, Rumpelstiltskin, and frees herself from his grasp. If she can guess his name in three days, he will relinquish all claim to her and her blood. The girl, however, is clever, and arranges a new deal. In most versions, the imp forces the girl to promise her first-born child for the final task. The imp who arrives with magical powers in exchange for gifts and favors. A local king who takes the daughter and tasks her with the impossible feat of transforming three storerooms into gold. A father boasts about his daughter’s ability to spin straw into gold. Everyone knows the name, if not the spelling or the story beats. In Spinning Silver, Naomi Novik takes on the classic tale of Rumpelstiltskin. The fairy tale is one of those story types which never goes out of fashion, with authors always reinventing the tales for the newer generations.
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