The Snow Child

The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The Snow Child is a modern retelling of Snegurochka, a Russian fairytale about a girl made from snow who comes to life.

This is a rich story told in a sparse, clean way. It is cold but not in the sense that it is unfeeling or austere. It's just set amid cold weather, snow and ice and the beauty of Alaska. It encompasses all of winter in its raw, crystalline grandeur.

Things unfold from a rather depressing beginning. Mabel is barren, having lost a child to stillbirth. She knows the joy of carrying a child but has been robbed of motherhood. This is a deep, deep pain generally misunderstood by women are mothers. It is the denial of the one thing that makes a woman what she is: the ability to have children. Mabel is on her way to commit suicide when we meet her. She's stranded in the Alaskan wilderness with little prospects of survival for herself and her husband. She decides to drown herself in a river, then after some consideration, decides she just can't do it.

The only real consolation for Mabel is her relationship with Jack, her husband. One night they are awakened briefly out of their dull, flat life, seized with some frivolity in the snow. They build a snowman, a snow child outfitted with mittens and a scarf, her face carved into the icy snow. The next morning they rise to find that the mittens and scarf have been stolen and the snow child knocked down. And they spy color and movement in the trees. This turns out to be Faima, a girl who lives in the wilderness. Their relationship with her develops and the story continues from there.

This is a pioneer story. Things aren't really pretty or nice. Ivey has contrasted a hardscrabble life in the Alaskan wilderness with the beauty of winter here. And while the plot is an uplifting story overall, there is a tone of caution in it, a hesitation to really accept happiness amid the joy that is happening. Mabel and Jack are the epitome of this balance; they find themselves acting like parents to a child that is not theirs. It happens slowly and grows, taking us as readers on their journey from despair to hope. It is an amazing character study of two people who go from remote and disconnected (by choice, in order to heal) to contented and encircled by neighbors and friends that they love and that love them.

This book has won numerous awards and deservedly so. It's one of those stories that, when you finish it, you know you've been changed by it. It's not full of sweetness - but it is full of overwhelming beauty. It's happy and sad and wonderful and terrible and leaves you with a feeling of being glad you read it.

On audio, it is narrated by Debra Monk. Her voice is one that can sound dull and emotionless - but that's perfect for this story. She isn't overly emotional or bright. Having said that, she did make the characters who were bright and happy sound like just that. Her voice for Esther was the best. She really captured a woman who lives on the prairie surrounded by boys and men. And her voice for Mabel was perfect; reserved, cautious, hesitant to hope. Faima was also perfect, with a light, fairy-like, almost transparent sound. Monk gave yet another layer of depth to the story.

This needs to be read in winter. Even better if you live in or are visiting Alaska - it will change you in a way that life in Alaska does. It is brilliant.




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