Title : The Snow Child
Author Eowyn Ivey
Publication date : February 1st 2012
by Reagan Arthur Books
Hello, everyone! Nice to see you again. The first time I heard about this book was around 2 years ago. It had glowing review and people even mentioned that they nearly cried so I was instantly interested. I love books that can make me cry. Only the bittersweet one, mind you. Tears are good, as long as it's not overdone.
Set in 1920s of the snowy Alaska, Jack and Mabel were too elderly couple who longed for a child. They felt their marriage was falling apart and Mabel even felt if their decision to move to Alaska was a mistake. One night, out of the blue, the couple released their inner child by building a snow girl, and since them a little blonde mysterious girl started to appear out of nowhere.
I have to admit that Ivey is a superb writer. As a person who lives in a hot tropical country, The Snow Child let me experience the cold snow of Alaska and gosh, it even gave me the chill. I also love the dialogue, the magical bits and pieces, but for the life me, I cannot feel for the character. To me, they lack depth and I wish they were written in a more complex way so I can believe that they were human. So, no. I do not get the same reader experience as some of the reviewers might do.
“Sometimes these things happen. Life doesn't go the way we plan or hope, but we don't have to be so angry, do we?”
I am not saying that I don't enjoy reading it. It's a good story, but it's far from heart-touching. Since it is a debut, it's very obvious that Ivey is a gifted writer. As a mother, I can relate with Mabel's feeling. The emptiness she felt, the self doubt, the longing for a child. Some women need a child to complete her and not having one leaves them an emotional pain.
She had watched other women with infants and eventually understood what she craved: the boundless permission-no, the absolute necessity- to hold and kiss and stroke this tiny person. Cradling a swaddled infant in their arms, mothers would distractedly touch their lips to their babies' foreheads. Passing their toddlers in a hall, mothers would tousle their hair even sweep them up in their arms and kiss them hard along their chins and necks until the children squealed with glee. Where else in life, Mabel wondered, could a woman love so openly and with such abandon?
I don't have anything else to say on this book. Maybe I had an expectation that was too high and as always, made me disappointed. Fortunately, I don't hate The Snow Child. The book is good enough, but it doesn't touch my heart.
3 rating from me. Grab it if you are a fan of magical realism or fairytale retelling. Have you read any books from Eowyn Ivey? Are you a fan of magical realism? Please share!
