Uprooted
Ratings570
Average rating3.9
4.5 stars!
I really enjoyed this book, such a lovely fantasy story. The whole concept of the book, the wicked, corrupted Wood and the magic system were really interesting. I liked the plot-twists a lot, the writing style made me want to keep going and it was really enjoyable.
I loved Nieshka's personality, such a strong and determined girl, who would to anything for the things she believed in. I loved her, especially towards the end of the book.
Oh I loved this book enormously. So different. (Also a little bit in love with Sarkan, I have to admit). Happy to find a five star book after a year of mainly misses, too.
Update 7/12
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Okay, I've read a few reviews about this book from obviously very disappointed people and so I feel that I should say more about what I liked about this. Not saying that all of those people have missed these points, but I've seen a lot of ‘Sarkan is a dick / stockholm syndrome / cardboard cutout' comments and I do not agree.
I think that all of the wizards in this book are basically traumatized into coldness by their long lifespans. One of them explicitly touches on this at some point, explaining that it's hard when everyone you love dies, but that it gets easier over time. The Dragon himself is kidnapped at the age of three, taken from everything he knew and put in this cold environment. The man is scarred. He doesn't want any ties with anyone.
Apart from that, they are also, just like everyone else, part of a human race that has lost all contact with nature, both in their actual dealings with it and in their approach of magic. The kind of magic that Agnieszka brings into the mix is actually rooted in nature, just like she herself is. This tale is not about a ‘bad guy' (the Wood and the wood queen) that you 'suddenly have to feel sorry for at the end of the book', it's about how continuous lack of communication through time results in ossified layer upon layer of first lack of understanding and eventually hatred. The bad guy was never the wood. It wasn't even man either, per se. The bad guy is not listening and not wanting to change. Agnieszka represents communication and change.
I think the reason Sarkan falls for her is that they apparently can do some seriously sexy flower magic together, which I gather is a very sensual experience he's never had before. None of these wizards have, since they've all learnt their magic in coldness. She likes him because he at least has the intelligence and intellectual curiosity to look beyond his own limits, and to entertain the possibility of a different way.
Finally, while I do agree that there are certain Mary Sue-aspects to Agnieszka, her tremendous magical power clearly comes from her deep roots in nature, so it's not that weird that the others have to study and graft for seven years: they approach their craft from the science side. It's like she's whittling a very nice and very useful plate out of wood, whereas they have spent years building factories, doing research and making just-as-useful but rather sterile plates out of plastic.
So there you have it. Plates. I'm staying firm at five stars.
(Although I do think that Agnieszka shouldn't be dismissing /all/ learning like she clearly is doing. That did rub me up the wrong way a bit. Not everyone should be satisfied with being allowed to skip through the woods all day long.)
I don't know how I feel about this book. Mostly because I have more questions than answers and this review is me trying to work through those questions.Uprooted is a retelling of Beauty and the Beast with a beauty that is neither so beautiful nor helpless and a beast that's not really a beast ( at least that's what Novik would like us to believe). There's no denying that Novik writes beautifully, Uprooted was as much a joy to read as [b:Spinning Silver 36896898 Spinning Silver Naomi Novik https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1513872748l/36896898.SX50.jpg 58657620] was (still one of my favourite books this year). However, in my opinion, Uprooted lacked the strong world-building and tight plotting of Spinning Silver. Agnieszka's magic is largely imprecise and instinctive while the magic of the wizards is exact and almost scientific in its application. The only other person who apparently had Agnieszka's kind of magic was the witch Jaga, who died 500 years ago and whose spells have mainly been rubbished as nonsense. This made me wonder:1. In the past 500 years had there been no one who had that same brand of magic?2. Had no one been alive during Jaga's own time whom she trained to carry on her legacy? It is mentioned that the other wizards needed to be apprentices for 7 years before taking the test yet during Jaga's time she had not trained any witches?3. Also, it is said that Ballo didn't realise he was a wizard until he hit 40 and it became obvious that he wasn't ageing. Wouldn't the same have been true of anybody with either Agnieszka or Jaga's brand of magic? Wouldn't they have stopped ageing too?It just doesn't seem clear to me why all knowledge of that magic died with Jaga when she had been alive for 100+ years.Additionally, the reason for the differences in magic wasn't really explained. Initially, I thought it might be gendered because only Agnieszka and Jaga were recorded to have practised the intuitive kind of magic; however, the presence of Alosha (the female wizard) led me to believe that might not be the case. And to be honest, I was relieved to realise the magic wasn't necessarily gendered. The idea of a system where men practice precise magic while women cast instinctive spellls has such misogynistic implications that I was glad Novik hadn't stooped to that. As a black woman in STEM, I still encounter people who believe that women just aren't good at sciences and I would have been absolutely revolted to read a version of that belief in this book. However, that still led me to ask why Agnieska and Jaga were different from the rest and what made their magic so rare??????????Finally, I hated the romance and I hated Sarkan. There was no redeeming decades of kidnapping. I also couldn't get over both the power imbalance and the 100+ age difference. There was too much I had to ignore to enjoy this romance and I couldn't do it. I don't really enjoy bully romances, I prefer reading about two sweet people being kind to each other.
I originally DNFed the audiobook about 1/4 of the way through. When coming back to it, I struggled to push through the remainder of the first half - sometimes thinking the book was terrible and other times thinking it was mildly interesting. The book gets 3 stars because the plot of the second half was much better. Overall, I'm glad “Spinning Silver” was my introduction to Naomi Novik because it is a much stronger book in every aspect and if I had started with Uprooted I would probably have skipped Spinning Silver. This book is just okay in all the aspects I like in my (fantasy) books: world building, character development, character relationships, plot, and complicated villains. I also greatly didn't like the Stockholm syndrome/child kidnapping aspect of it either.
Honestly my thoughts on the book swing both ways.
1) there's at the very least 9 parts to the book, so it's tedious. In spite of this, i think each part was fleshed out very well, so this might be a book that would benefit from you taking breaks from or it might feel neverending
2) there's a lot of descriptors, and I can't remember a million descriptors, so I just had to brush over them. essentially, there was a lot of brushing over to do
3) the descriptors were also the best part of the book, cause I've never felt magic as wonderfully as I did in this book
4) Kasia and the protagonist's relationship was wonderful and unwavering, and it's not often you come across a book describing the intense love you might feel for your friends
5) for that same reason, the relationship between the protagonist and her love interest is uninteresting as it doesn't compare to her adoration for Kasia
6) the protagonist's age is astonishing when you place her into the book, but it is a fantasy novel, so anything works I suppose (the princess and the frog and beauty and the beast are works of bestiality, no?)
7) you might go into it thinking it's a book for kids, but it absolutely not a book for kids. it has some intense moments.
8) i was recommitted this book as one with a strong, female protagonist and I'm 65% with you on this. Being clumsy or disliking gowns does not necessarily make you a strong, female protagonist but she was wonderfully brave and incredibly stupid, so she might be one I guess
9) We don't really get an answer as to what the heck happened during her naming ceremony
It was fantastical, so give it a go
So my “recommended to me” notes for Uprooted were “ A feminist twist on an Eastern European fairytale with interesting characters and a compelling magic system” and, it's...mostly as billed. But my personal kryptonite is immortal (or super old) character falls in love with a teenager. It bursts through my suspension of disbelief, my engagement with a book and just makes me want to set everything on fire. To add insult to injury, Uprooted also repeats the “guy is super dismissive to girl and she falls in love with him anyway” trope that I first met in Spinning Silver. In Spinning Silver it was haunting and evocative of the frozen tundra of the setting. Seeing it again from the same author? I think it's just her schtick and it made me not like Spinning Silver as much in retrospect. I resent that a lot.
But there are other parts of Novik's schtick I like: the interaction between magic and a place; the way a place shapes a people; strong female friendships between female characters with complementary strengths and profoundly evocative settings. Do they balance? Hard to say.
Sólido 3.5, o que foi uma grata surpresa, pq parecia só ser uma Bela e a fera. Tem uma pitada de Hunger games, uma pitada de sexo e violência, duas pitadas de Harry Potter, e de modo geral a receita funciona e o bolo cresce. Curti.
3.5
I started out loving this book, but somewhere in the middle it kind of lost me, only to get me hooked again during the last third? World building was fantastic though.
I'm vacillating between a 3 and 3.5. Maybe I'll decide by the time I'm done writing this review.
This book was my first ever book purchase based on a booktuber's recommendation very early on in my blogging days. I even started reading it then but found myself not interested after a couple of chapters, so it's been languishing on my bookshelf for more than two years now. When one of my book clubs chose it as our February BOTM, I decided it was finally time for me to take it out and push myself to finish it this time. And finish I did, but I'm feeling so unsure right now.
This is a book that won both the Hugo and Nebula awards, so one would assume that it's brilliant, but I've not had many good experiences with award winning titles, so I definitely went into it with lowered expectations. The writing can surely be called beautiful, poetic even in places, and it's very successful in creating a certain atmosphere that permeates throughout the book. But it also lends itself to being overly descriptive (which I tend to hate) and there were many instances where I was confused and had to go back to understand what the author meant. The pacing of the story is quite slow and it doesn't really pick up even during the major action sequences, so I was bored many a times. I don't know if I would have been able to finish the book if I wasn't so determined to. And if we come to the plot, there's not a lot that actually happens and even cutting it by a 100 or so pages wouldn't have made much of a difference.
The world here is both fascinating and vague - giving us just enough information so that we can follow the story but not enough detail that we can feel immersed in it. The magic system also felt so all over the place - there were hardly any rules or limits and the characters could pretty much do anything, but the way it was described was very captivating and I was impressed, though a tad confused as well. The author takes a lot of inspiration from Polish folklore and that shines through, which made for a very unique fantasy world and I really loved that part.
Agnieszka is a naive sheltered girl who enjoys the outdoors a lot and her life completely changes when she is chosen by the dragon. She is a kind, compassionate and very loyal person and can be fiercely protective of anyone she loves which I really admired about her. On the other hand, once she discovers her magical abilities, it's like she can do so much of it which no one else has ever been able to do, and some of it even very old and seasoned sorcerers can't understand - I'm pretty much tired of this trope where the heroine suddenly becomes all powerful. The Dragon (or Sarkun) is a very disgruntled, douchey, almost immortal sorcerer who is mean (bordering on abusive) towards her and I'm really over such characters too. I could understand that he was the way he was because he was too scared to put down roots and let others into his life knowing he will outlive them, but that still doesn't excuse most of his behavior towards her at the beginning.
I was glad when they achieved a sort of truce and started practicing together. It was obvious from the beginning that it would turn into a romance and while I liked the way it eventually ended up being, I didn't really like the path it took to get there. There just wasn't enough believability in their love story and I think it needed more fleshing out. I also think I didn't feel invested in them as individuals, so I wasn't emotionally attached to their relationship either.
Kasia, who is Agnieszka's best friend was probably my favorite of the lot. Her life takes paths she never expected to but she overcomes all the obstacles she is thrown and emerges stronger, always standing up for herself and those in need. The Wood itself is an all encompassing villainous presence throughout the story and while I could totally feel it's menacing effects, I can't say I completely understood what happened towards the end. There were a couple more interesting characters like Marek, Solya and Alosha but I wish they had gotten a bit more development.
To conclude, I think this book had a lot of potential but it faltered in its execution. If you enjoy beautiful writing and atmospheric, whimsical fairytale like settings, then this book might be a good choice for you. If you like more character development as well as a well realized world and magic system, I feel this might leave you disappointed. I still am glad that I finally got to read such an acclaimed book and see what the hype was all about.
Me tomaré un tiempo para pensar en la nota, tal vez sea un 2.5.
Me gusta la ambientación, pero la última parte se me hizo pesada. Le sobran páginas. Aparte que le falta desarrollo a los personajes, sobre todo hubiera querido ver más sobre Sarkan.
“I don't want more sense!” I said loudly, beating against the silence of the room. “Not if sense means I'll stop loving anyone. What is there besides people that's worth holding on to?”I read “[b:Spinning Silver 36896898 Spinning Silver Naomi Novik https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1513872748s/36896898.jpg 58657620]” first and liked it a lot. “Uprooted”, I'd heard, was even better and while it's certainly a great book, I'm not actually sure if “Spinning Silver”'s minor pacing flaw wouldn't have made this book even better. “Uprooted” tells the story of Agnieszka who lives in a small village near the Wood. Capital letter, because it's an evil wood! Evil as in, monsters roaming it and everyone going into it either staying there, never to be seen again, or coming out corrupted to the core. Fortunately, a Dragon (who is actually a wizard called Sarkan) lives nearby and protects the village and its inhabitants – albeit at a price because every ten years he takes a daughter from the village and this time it's Agnieszka. Afterwards, chaos ensues. A good, highly entertaining chaos with, admittedly, a lot of method behind it but a bit breathless. Where “Spinning Silver” was slow at times because Novik took time to tell her story slowly and with great care, “Uprooted” mostly rushes through the highly enjoyable story. It feels like the story practically broke free from Novik, as if it simply had to get out and be told without any delay: “The swelling heat of it filled me, burning bright, almost unbearable.”You don't leisurely read “Uprooted”; you feverishly turn the pages as fast as you can, you wolf it down in large chunks, not wasting any time with chewing carefully. You just want, no, need to get your fill of the story! Yes, it's that exciting. The excitement is so great, though, that it can become if not almost unbearable but slightly tiresome. I just wish Novik had paced her storytelling a bit – why not tell us more about Agnieszka's first months in Sarkan's tower after having been chosen? Why not tell us more about the wizards at the king's court, especially Alosha? What about Sigmund? The children? The princess? There are so many interesting and potentially lovable characters who make a – more or less – short appearance and are only ever mentioned again in passing. After all, pretty much all characters are so wonderfully human with their strengths, their weaknesses and everything that makes them so believable. The breakneck speed at which large parts of the story are told doesn't leave much room for pure literary enjoyment, it doesn't lend itself to thoughts about guilt and redemption as was the case in “Spinning Silver”. It doesn't leave enough room for losing oneself among the pages – the Wood is always lurking just around the corner and the reader never feels entirely safe; it's literally “one trap after another”. In spite of my criticism, I really, really enjoyed this book – it's a fairy tale gone (action) thriller in part and it has the same dry subtle humour that I loved about “Spinning Silver”... “but the thought of putting a knife into a man was something else, unimaginable. So I didn't imagine it. I only put the knife on the tray, and went upstairs.” ... and the same beautiful and relatable style: “Happiness was bubbling up through me, a bright stream laughing.”Ultimately, “Uprooted” is a book that leaves me hungering for more. Hopefully a bit more relaxed and laid-back next time, a bit more like “Spinning Silver”. In fact, since we're talking about modern fairy tales, let me make a wish: Dear Naomi Novik, creator of amazing literary worlds, first among the fair folk, gifted among authors, please write a book that combines “Uprooted”'s thrills with “Spinning Silver”'s depth and eternal praise be yours! P. S.: Naomi, what's that grudge against poor squirrels? “I stumbled over the torn and spoiled body of a rabbit or a squirrel, killed as far as I could see just for cruelty;” (Uprooted)“He had a small bow and arrow, and shot squirrels, and when he hit them, he came and looked at their little dead bodies with pleasure.” (Spinning Silver)
Being a fan of the author from the Temeraire series I thought I knew what I was in for. But I did not at all!
This book kept me engaged right from the first chapter and kept the suspense laid on thick... I thought I knew where the story was going only for something completely unexpected to happen.
I also enjoyed reading from the first person perspective where her previous books were third, obviously a talented author to achieve both perspectives so wonderfully.
A good story in concept, just poorly executed with hollow world building, a poorly designed magic system, and an obnoxiously rude and abusive love interest who shows no character depth or growth even until the very end.
An enthralling take on an old fairy tale, that keeps the feel of a folktale, but with language and characterization that feel comfortably modern. I don't care if this is based on 100% authentic Polish folklore, or an amalgam of various folk tales, filtered through a Polish-American family's bedtime stories - it has a lot of heart and charm.
I don't want to spoil anything - I had a ton of fun just picking this up and going for the ride. And I'm putting Novik's other books on my TBR pile!
I loved Spinning Silver, read this immediately after and found it not nearly as satisfying. I think reading them in that order and proximity did Uprooted a disservice since without that context I think I would have enjoyed it a lot more.
10/10, 100%, absolutely LOVED this book. It was very unexpected, didn't take the twists or turns I thought it would and ended in a satisfying but also brilliant way.
This is going to be a fantasy classic
I don't know how to describe this book. Its a story unlike any other and not at all what I expected it to be and did not know where I thought it would. I can definitely see it being a fantasy classic people are going to still love years from now.
I just commented somewhere or another that I'v never had a book crush – I don't “fall for” characters in books. I certainly would not fall for The Dragon in Uprooted – what a sour, stern character. But I believed that he was a good match for Agnieszka though, and vice versa.
But would it have killed someone to ever tell Agnieszka “good job?” :)
I liked Agnieszka a lot. I found her the type of strong female character I like to read. I think her magic came to easily and she always had the right spell too readily, but I kept turning the pages. Her evolution, and the choices she made at the end, really satisfied me and took the book to a whole new level for me.
The woods has villain – before my find out the origin of the threat – was pretty inspired. We know the woods are scary in fairy tales, but this took it to a whole new level of malevolence.
3,5 stars.
After first chapter, I was sure I'll hate this book to the bone, and discarded it for days. Then I finally picked it up and flew through.
It COULD'VE been better - first half goes slowly and I wish that pacing was kept in the rest, instead of suddenly breaking into running. Nonetheless, I'm charmed. And it may be partially because so many things have familiar sound and taste, but screw it, I don't see things of that kind too often in Western books, so I'll gladly let myself be lost in the Wood.
אהבתי מאוד את הספר. אמנם לקח לי זמן להכנס אליו, או ,ליתר דיוק, ההתחלה הייתה קשה לי מאוד, נהניתי מאוד מרובו המוחלט, מהדמויות הנשיות החזקות ומהעלילה, וגם מהסיום.
איזכורי הבאבה יגה, ה-מכשפה של אגדות העם עליהן גדלתי, הוסיפו מאוד להנאתי מהספר :)
(צריכה להגיע לממשק הוובי כדי לסמן “מכיל ספוילר” ולכתוב איזה קטע הייתי שמחה להעיף מהספר כדי שאוכל להמליץ עליו לאחייניתי בת ה11 ) .
