THE SNOW CHILD
By Eowyn Ivey
Headline Review. 448 pages. £7.99
ISBN 978 0 755 380 534
Mabel and Jack are establishing a farm in the frozen wastes of Alaska, seeking relief from the pain of their childlessness.
It is the 1920s and the land has to be broken by hand, sod by sod. The woods are wild and dangerous places, and the winter has an alien darkness. Yet, for a moment in the first snowfall, a joy overtakes them and Mabel and Jack build a child out of snow, sculpting her face and staining her lips with berries. The next day they have their first glimpse of a girl in the woods. And so goes the story, inspired by a northern fairy tale, of a visiting snow child.
This is an extremely atmospheric and engaging tale. Somehow Eowyn Ivey succeeds in avoiding the twee or sentimental, and sustains a mystery as the story dips between fantasy and realism. The beautiful and harsh environment is vividly evoked as is the tender and sore relationship between Jack and Mabel.
Powerfully drawn
There is no greater moral or message here, though the painful loves of both parenthood and marriage are powerfully drawn. Enjoy!
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