Am I the last person on earth to read The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey, the best-selling and highly
acclaimed novel published last year? It’s quite possible, but the important
thing is that I did finally get to it. This is one of those cases when I am
grateful for book buzz because I don’t think I would have chosen this book on
my own, and I would have missed out on an amazing reading experience.
In Alaska in 1920, Mabel and Jack are trying to eke out an
existence with their small farm and the significant challenge of the long
Alaskan winter. They moved away from their families on the East Coast after
Mabel gave birth to a stillborn child and they were both mired in despair,
hoping to make a fresh start in the new frontier. However, they are both still
reeling from their loss and each trapped in his or her own loneliness and
misery.
The first beautiful snowfall of winter inspires them, and
they play together in the snow and forget their sorrows for one evening. They
even build a small snowman in the early snow; because of its size, it reminds
them of a child, so they carefully mold it to look like a little girl and add a
scarf and mittens. The next morning, their snowchild is gone, but they spot a
little girl running through the woods near their secluded cabin.
Though Jack takes a more logical approach to the child who
runs wild through the trees and snow, Mabel is reminded of a Russian fairy tale
her father used to read to her called The Snow Child, about a girl made out of snow who comes to life.
Wherever she came from, the girl, named Faina, gradually becomes more
comfortable around Mabel and Jack and spends more time at their cabin, until
they come to think of her as a daughter.
I am not normally a fan of magical realism and probably
wouldn’t have even picked this book up, if I hadn’t heard so many rave reviews
of it. Despite its hints of magic (though logical explanations are often
offered), it is also a very real story about struggling to survive in a
beautiful yet violent environment and about a couple learning to love again
after incomparable loss. It is about life, with all of its joys and sorrows,
and about family and friendship. All of that is told against a backdrop of
gorgeous, dangerous wilderness. I devoured this magical, engrossing story in
big, hungry gulps of reading pleasure and never wanted it to end.
Nope, I'm the last one who hasn't read this, but I do want to.
ReplyDeleteGreat review! As another reader who doesn't appreciate magical realism, I have to agree with you wholeheartedly.
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