Fletcher, Susan - Shadow Spinner
So far, this is my favorite retelling of Arabian Nights (the others I've read being the manhwa One Thousand and One Nights and Cameron Dokey's The Storyteller's Daughter).
Marjan, a servant girl to a Jewish couple (though more like their adopted daughter), ends up being bought by Shahrazad, as Shahrazad has been telling tales for 982 nights and is beginning to run out of stories.
So far, both books of Fletcher's that I've read have an excellent sense of place; I can't comment about the factual accuracy, as I don't have the knowledge, but she puts in an incredible amount of detail, both psychological and sensory. What struck me most in this book was how much fear permeated the book. I like that Fletcher doesn't forget that even though the sultan hasn't been killing women for nearly three years, he killed a woman every day before Shahrazad stepped in.
Marjan is impacted by that fear in her every day life, before she's brought to the palace; people are afraid of the sultan taking their daughters, and every day Shahrazad lives is a relief for them. And when Marjan enters the harem as a servant, the anxiety and dread only goes up. I particularly love Fletcher's Shahrazad, who is beautiful and brave, yes, but also terrified and desperate and grasping at straws. The entire harem feels haunted; Marjan realizes that her room once belonged to a girl who in all probability was executed by the sultan.
We also aren't offered an easy ending: Marjan must wrestle with forgiveness , and though Shahrazad of course survives and triumphs, we never forget that though she loves the sultan, she has long feared for her life as well.
I liked this a lot, from the multiple (and different! and cool!) female characters to how they all interact to the atmosphere of the book. And even better, there are small callouts to the stories of Arabian Nights (my favorite was the oil casks and how they reminded me of Morgiana, whom I adored). Definitely recommended.
Links:
- coffeeandink's review (minor spoilers)
Marjan, a servant girl to a Jewish couple (though more like their adopted daughter), ends up being bought by Shahrazad, as Shahrazad has been telling tales for 982 nights and is beginning to run out of stories.
So far, both books of Fletcher's that I've read have an excellent sense of place; I can't comment about the factual accuracy, as I don't have the knowledge, but she puts in an incredible amount of detail, both psychological and sensory. What struck me most in this book was how much fear permeated the book. I like that Fletcher doesn't forget that even though the sultan hasn't been killing women for nearly three years, he killed a woman every day before Shahrazad stepped in.
Marjan is impacted by that fear in her every day life, before she's brought to the palace; people are afraid of the sultan taking their daughters, and every day Shahrazad lives is a relief for them. And when Marjan enters the harem as a servant, the anxiety and dread only goes up. I particularly love Fletcher's Shahrazad, who is beautiful and brave, yes, but also terrified and desperate and grasping at straws. The entire harem feels haunted; Marjan realizes that her room once belonged to a girl who in all probability was executed by the sultan.
We also aren't offered an easy ending: Marjan must wrestle with forgiveness , and though Shahrazad of course survives and triumphs, we never forget that though she loves the sultan, she has long feared for her life as well.
I liked this a lot, from the multiple (and different! and cool!) female characters to how they all interact to the atmosphere of the book. And even better, there are small callouts to the stories of Arabian Nights (my favorite was the oil casks and how they reminded me of Morgiana, whom I adored). Definitely recommended.
Links:
- coffeeandink's review (minor spoilers)