A review by thewordsdevourer
The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey

emotional mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Diverse cast of characters? No

2.0

hm, it's been quite some time since i last finished a book frowning. the snow child is an amalgamation of many beautiful aspects: vivid scenery that makes for several wonderful, stirring scenes--the snow child-making and ice-skating scenes, in particular--filled w/ characters that demonstrate the charm and oft-touching neighborly relationships in the alaskan wilderness, and themes of life's possibilities, found family, nature's breathless beauty. and yet, the thread that holds it all tgt--faina's existence--is flimsy, and unfortunately makes for a magical realizm book that, in my opinion, lacks realism. it feels like a story that teters between a fairytale and realistic fiction, struggles throughout w/ trying to be both and neither, and pulls the rug off my feet at the end. throughout the whole book, the old couple wrestles w/ the wonder and--as is asserted pointedly several times--the "real humanness" of their own snow child, thus the ending makes for a baffling conclusion.
Expand filter menu Content Warnings