The snow child: a novel

Book Cover
Average Rating
Publisher
Varies, see individual formats and editions
Publication Date
Varies, see individual formats and editions
Language
English

Description

In this magical debut -- a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize -- a couple's lives are changed forever by the arrival of a little girl, wild and secretive, on their snowy doorstep. Alaska, 1920: a brutal place to homestead, and especially tough for recent arrivals Jack and Mabel. Childless, they are drifting apart--he breaking under the weight of the work of the farm; she crumbling from loneliness and despair. In a moment of levity during the season's first snowfall, they build a child out of snow. The next morning the snow child is gone--but they glimpse a young, blonde-haired girl running through the trees. This little girl, who calls herself Faina, seems to be a child of the woods. She hunts with a red fox at her side, skims lightly across the snow, and somehow survives alone in the Alaskan wilderness. As Jack and Mabel struggle to understand this child who could have stepped from the pages of a fairy tale, they come to love her as their own daughter. But in this beautiful, violent place things are rarely as they appear, and what they eventually learn about Faina will transform all of them.

More Details

Contributors
ISBN
9780316175661
9780316192958
9781461839064
9780316175678
9780316192965

Discover More

Excerpt

Loading Excerpt...

Author Notes

Loading Author Notes...

Similar Titles From NoveList

NoveList provides detailed suggestions for titles you might like if you enjoyed this book. Suggestions are based on recommendations from librarians and other contributors.
These books have the appeal factors bittersweet, haunting, and spare, and they have the genres "literary fiction" and "book club best bets"; and characters that are "complex characters."
Both novels capture the harsh beauty and rich mythology of the wilderness areas in the Pacific Northwest: Wild Life depicts an individual's sojourn with non-humans, while The Snow Child features a mysterious girl who joins a community of Alaskan homesteaders. -- Krista Biggs
The Snow Child and Touch explore themes of isolation, identity and the mythology of the north woods (in Alaska and British Columbia, respectively), while making full use of the starkly beautiful settings. -- Krista Biggs
These books have the appeal factors haunting and spare, and they have the genre "literary fiction"; and characters that are "complex characters."
The O'Briens unfolds across generations while The Snow Child takes place in a small community with a limited cast, but both explore meaning of family and the interaction between humanity, civilization, and wilderness. -- Krista Biggs
Meandering, lyrical and melancholy, these haunting literary novels share themes of love, marital discord, and the binds of family and community. Both books have a similar dreamlike quality and are set in starkly beautiful yet geographically isolated locales. -- Catherine Coles
These books have the appeal factors bittersweet, haunting, and spare, and they have the genre "literary fiction"; the subjects "childlessness," "family relationships," and "motherhood"; and characters that are "complex characters" and "introspective characters."
These novels share an ethereal, dreamlike quality and borrowed elements from the 19th-century Russian fairy tale "The Snow Maiden." While The Child Finder is more plot-driven and disturbing, both have desolate, snowy backdrops and small casts of emotionally haunted characters. -- Catherine Coles
Bonds between husbands and wives and parents and children inform these haunting, lyrical novels. Although their settings are specific (medieval England in The Buried Giant, 1920s Alaska in The Snow Child), their themes of love and memory are universal and timeless. -- NoveList Contributor
These books have the appeal factors bittersweet, haunting, and spare, and they have the genres "literary fiction" and "book club best bets"; and characters that are "complex characters."
Magical realism lends these retellings of classic fairy tales a haunting, dreamlike atmosphere. Boy, Snow, Bird's reinvention of Snow White explores themes of racial identity in 1950s Massachusetts. The Snow Child, set in 1920s Alaska, probes the depths of parental love. -- NoveList Contributor
While The Cove takes place in the Appalachians and The Snow Child unfolds in Alaska, both lyrically written novels share the emotional territory of isolation, alienation, and love. -- Krista Biggs

Similar Authors From NoveList

NoveList provides detailed suggestions for other authors you might want to read if you enjoyed this book. Suggestions are based on recommendations from librarians and other contributors.
These authors tell how a little bit of magic (real or perceived) can help smooth the way in difficult situations, whether revolutionary feeling, life in the wilderness, or family drama. They also have a gift for lush language and description that has the reader sinking into the reading experience. -- Melissa Gray
Though Eowyn Ivey's writing tends to be more spare than Gabriel Garcia Marquez's lush prose, both are known for their haunting, sometimes bleak magical realism-filled literary fiction that explores the inner lives of complex characters. -- Stephen Ashley
These authors' works have the appeal factors bittersweet, haunting, and strong sense of place, and they have the subjects "frontier and pioneer life" and "life change events"; and characters that are "complex characters."
These authors' works have the appeal factors haunting and strong sense of place, and they have the genres "literary fiction" and "historical fiction"; the subjects "frontier and pioneer life" and "pioneer women"; and characters that are "complex characters."
These authors' works have the appeal factors bittersweet, haunting, and spare, and they have the genre "literary fiction"; and the subjects "frontier and pioneer life," "pioneers," and "wilderness areas."
These authors' works have the appeal factors haunting, bleak, and spare, and they have the subjects "husband and wife," "married people," and "extramarital affairs"; and characters that are "complex characters," "flawed characters," and "introspective characters."
These authors' works have the appeal factors bittersweet, haunting, and strong sense of place, and they have the subjects "husband and wife," "frontier and pioneer life," and "pioneer women"; and characters that are "complex characters," "introspective characters," and "flawed characters."
These authors' works have the appeal factors haunting and spare, and they have the genres "literary fiction" and "historical fiction"; and the subjects "frontier and pioneer life" and "family relationships."
These authors' works have the appeal factors haunting, melancholy, and spare, and they have the genres "literary fiction" and "historical fiction"; and the subjects "childlessness" and "birthmothers."
These authors' works have the appeal factors haunting and strong sense of place, and they have the genre "magical realism"; the subjects "wilderness areas" and "single fathers"; and characters that are "complex characters."
These authors' works have the appeal factors haunting and strong sense of place, and they have the genre "historical fiction"; the subject "frontier and pioneer life"; and characters that are "complex characters."
These authors' works have the appeal factors haunting, bleak, and spare, and they have the subjects "husband and wife," "frontier and pioneer life," and "explorers."

Published Reviews

Library Journal Review

Set in 1920s Alaska, this "beautifully executed" retelling of a beloved Russian fairy tale is one of the season's hot debuts. A Discover Great New Writers and Indie Next pick. (LJ 12/11) (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Powered by Syndetics

Kirkus Book Review

Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Powered by Syndetics

Library Journal Reviews

I was intrigued by this book after learning that galleys would be available at BEA and ALA—impressive for a first novel that's not a slash-and-dash thriller. Then I chatted with the publicist, who reported that Ivey's work is why we all in our various ways go into this book business. In 1920s Alaska, newcomers Jack and Mabel struggle against despair, finally building a snow child to distract themselves. The next morning, their creation is gone, but they spot a blonde-haired girl running in the forest and soon come to regard her as the daughter they never had. A fairy tale with an edge.

[Page 50]. (c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Powered by Content Cafe

Library Journal Reviews

Here's a modern retelling of the Russian fairy tale about a girl, made from snow by a childless couple, who comes to life. Or perhaps not modern—the setting is 1920s Alaska—but that only proves the timelessness of the tale and of this lovely book. Unable to start a family, middle-aged Jack and Mabel have come to the wilderness to start over, leaving behind an easier life back east. Anxious that they won't outlast one wretched winter, they distract themselves by building a snow girl and wrap her in a scarf. The snow girl and the scarf are gone the next morning, but Jack spies a real child in the woods. Soon Jack and Mabel have developed a tentative relationship with the free-spirited Faina, as she finally admits to being called. Is she indeed a "snow fairy," a "wilderness pixie" magicked out of the cold? Or a wild child who knows better than anyone how to survive in the rugged north? Even as Faina embodies a natural order that cannot be tamed, the neighborly George and Esther show Jack and Mabel (and the rest of us) how important community is for survival. VERDICT A fluid, absorbing, beautifully executed debut novel; highly recommended. [See Prepub Alert, 9/21/11.]—Barbara Hoffert, Library Journal

[Page 114]. (c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Powered by Content Cafe

Library Journal Reviews

In this evocative retelling of a Russian folk tale set in 1920 Alaska, a childless East Coast couple finds an unexpected blessing while homesteading in the unforgiving wilderness. (LJ 12/11) (c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Powered by Content Cafe

Reviews from GoodReads

Loading GoodReads Reviews.

Staff View

Loading Staff View.