The Snow Child review

The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey

I read this book during a particularly stressful week at work. I looked forward every evening to reading a few chapters before falling to sleep. The descriptions and well developed characters had me hooked, and sent me off into a deep sleep filled with snowflakes every night.

Alaska in the 1920's is the setting for this wintry tale which begins in an isolated cabin, with an old couple who long for a child of their own. Mabel and Jack create a snow child one evening, and the next day discover a feral child living in the forest surrounding their homestead.

The description of the surroundings is seen though the eyes of the characters, and develops it's own personality as the story evolves. Turning from a desolate and overbearing place to a place filled with beauty and magic.

The story is not particularly driven by the plot, however, spanning a decade in years allows the author to convey the difficulty of life in those times. It also allows the reader to really get to grips with the characters and how they change.

The characters supporting the story seem continually to be the fairy godmothers of the situation, always there to help and find a solution to the problem. This can be kind of jarring, but I always enjoy the idealism of a problem being easily solved and everything turning out alright in the end.

I thought, initially that this book might be questioning the sanity of the main characters and their lonely life in the forest, by creating an imaginary child. I was left a little bit confused then, when the other characters eventually meet her too. So is she real or not? Strangely, I didn't mind. I quite like that this book never feels the need to explain itself. The little girl and her mysterious life before meeting Mabel and Jack are left for the reader to decide.

To this end, I found it was impossible to predict where the tale would go, and found myself continually worrying about how it would end and for the fate of the characters.

Dreamy and cosy. The perfect remedy for long Winter evenings.