The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey: A Review
Does anyone really belong to you? If you think of children or spouses in this regard, The Snow Child will stop you cold.
In the 1920's Mabel and Jack settle along the Wolverine River in Alaska.
They hope the challenge of homesteading in the wild will wipe away years of grief and give them a fresh start.
Instead, they find that work and isolation rule.
The hardship of everyday life cuts away at their spirits.
Cash is scarce.
Hope dimmed.
As the cold bites, each tries to survive in their own way.
After a fresh snowfall, they build a snow child in a moment of much-needed frivolity.
When they awaken the next morning the snow child is demolished and the hand-knit mittens and scarf they draped on it are gone.
Jack sees a small girl running in the snow.
When Mabel glimpses the blond girl, it unifies them.
Jack hunts for a moose to keep them from starving in the winter.
When he is ready to give up, the magical little girl appears and leads him to a moose.
Food for winter is secured.
The little snow girl, Faina has frosty lashes, a cool blue stare, and is always accompanied by a red wolf.
She seems otherworldly and Mabel and Jack find her appearances and disappearances disconcerting.
They continue to try to maintain contact with her, but she remains elusive.
Faina dictates the terms upon which the relationship grows.
She brings to them physical gifts, but most importantly she offers hope and love.
The writing in this enchanting book is beautiful.
Its direct simplicity reflects the austerity of the Alaskan atmosphere.
The wilderness itself is an important character.
Jack reflects on the land flowing with milk and honey that was to give up moose, caribou and bears.
"What a different truth he found.
Alaska gave up nothing easily.
It was lean and wild and indifferent to a man's struggle.
" Only someone intimately acquainted with Alaska could write so eloquently about its beauty and barrenness.
This unique story masterfully juxtaposes the isolation and stillness of the land with its snow-covered beauty and the joys found in the simple life.
Ms.
Ivey aptly captures the contrast of the mystique versus the reality of homesteading in 1920s Alaska.
Eowyn LeMay Ivey was raised in Alaska and lives there with her husband and children.
She received her BA in journalism and minor in creative writing through the honors program at Western Washington University and studied creative nonfiction at the University of Alaska Anchorage graduate program.
She worked as an award-winning reporter at the Frontiersman newspaper for nearly 10 years.
The Snow Child is her debut novel.
You will want to purchase this fanciful, entrancing book for your best friend.
Lose yourself in The Snow Child to find healing, mystery and magic.
Highly recommended.
In the 1920's Mabel and Jack settle along the Wolverine River in Alaska.
They hope the challenge of homesteading in the wild will wipe away years of grief and give them a fresh start.
Instead, they find that work and isolation rule.
The hardship of everyday life cuts away at their spirits.
Cash is scarce.
Hope dimmed.
As the cold bites, each tries to survive in their own way.
After a fresh snowfall, they build a snow child in a moment of much-needed frivolity.
When they awaken the next morning the snow child is demolished and the hand-knit mittens and scarf they draped on it are gone.
Jack sees a small girl running in the snow.
When Mabel glimpses the blond girl, it unifies them.
Jack hunts for a moose to keep them from starving in the winter.
When he is ready to give up, the magical little girl appears and leads him to a moose.
Food for winter is secured.
The little snow girl, Faina has frosty lashes, a cool blue stare, and is always accompanied by a red wolf.
She seems otherworldly and Mabel and Jack find her appearances and disappearances disconcerting.
They continue to try to maintain contact with her, but she remains elusive.
Faina dictates the terms upon which the relationship grows.
She brings to them physical gifts, but most importantly she offers hope and love.
The writing in this enchanting book is beautiful.
Its direct simplicity reflects the austerity of the Alaskan atmosphere.
The wilderness itself is an important character.
Jack reflects on the land flowing with milk and honey that was to give up moose, caribou and bears.
"What a different truth he found.
Alaska gave up nothing easily.
It was lean and wild and indifferent to a man's struggle.
" Only someone intimately acquainted with Alaska could write so eloquently about its beauty and barrenness.
This unique story masterfully juxtaposes the isolation and stillness of the land with its snow-covered beauty and the joys found in the simple life.
Ms.
Ivey aptly captures the contrast of the mystique versus the reality of homesteading in 1920s Alaska.
Eowyn LeMay Ivey was raised in Alaska and lives there with her husband and children.
She received her BA in journalism and minor in creative writing through the honors program at Western Washington University and studied creative nonfiction at the University of Alaska Anchorage graduate program.
She worked as an award-winning reporter at the Frontiersman newspaper for nearly 10 years.
The Snow Child is her debut novel.
You will want to purchase this fanciful, entrancing book for your best friend.
Lose yourself in The Snow Child to find healing, mystery and magic.
Highly recommended.
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