Friday, January 3, 2014

The Snow Child

The Snow Child has been on my "to-read" list for almost a year, and right now I'm kicking myself for not reading it sooner. I absolutely loved this book.
I like books that are realistic with just a little touch of magic thrown in. The Snow Child fits that description exactly. Mabel and Jack are a childless couple who move to the Alaskan wilderness to start a new life. Things aren't going so well for them. Then, one night, they build a snow girl together. In the morning, she is gone, and a little girl named Faina comes into their lives. The author, Eowyn Ivey, does a fantastic job of keeping Faina's mystique going throughout the entire book. Is she real? Is she the snow child come to life? Or is she something in between? I loved pretty much all the characters in the book—Jack and Mabel; their neighbors, George and Esther; and George and Esther's son, Garrett. They're all flawed and very human, but also very likable. I especially loved Esther.
I can't really find a single fault with this book. It's a lovely, magical story, and it's written beautifully. I would love to read more books by this author. I'm also interested in learning more about the snow child fable, upon which this book is based.
Up next for me are Train Dreams by Denis Johnson, and The Tragedy Paper, by Elizabeth LaBan.

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