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The Snow Child

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The Snow Child

By: Eowyn Ivey
Narrated by: Debra Monk
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Winner: International Author of the Year – Specsavers National Book Awards 2012

A bewitching tale of heartbreak and hope set in 1920s Alaska. Jack and Mabel have staked everything on making a fresh start for themselves in a homestead 'at the world's edge' in the raw Alaska wilderness. But as the days grow shorter, Jack is losing his battle to clear the land, and Mabel can no longer contain her grief for the baby she lost many years before. The evening the first snow falls, their mood unaccountably changes. In a moment of tenderness, the pair is surprised to find they building a snowman - or rather a snow girl - together.

The next morning, all trace of her has disappeared, and Jack can't quite shake the notion that he glimpsed a small figure - a child? - running through the spruce trees in the dawn light. And how to explain the little but very human tracks Mabel finds at the edge of their property? Written with the clarity and vividness of the Russian fairy-tale from which it takes its inspiration, THE SNOW CHILD is an instant classic - the story of a couple who take a child into their hearts, all the while knowing they can never truly call her their own.

©2012 Eowyn Ivey (P)2012 Headline Digital Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Fiction Literary Fiction Heartfelt Tear-jerking Alaska
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Thus had a lot of potential, and there are intriguing aspects of it. But, as soon as the Snow Child is introduced, and especially when she becomes a woman, it's basically all about how pretty she is, and falls into the same old boy girl tragedy narrative. The character dialogue loses its natural flow, and everything gets sort of hurried to a conclusion. A shame.

Starts strong, spirals into cliché

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I loved this book, it is a simple story, there's no big surprises, but the characterisation was beautiful, and the description of the setting in Alaska was filmic and complete. It was an audiobook that I loved coming back to, to lose myself in, like a brilliant old movie.

Poetic and epic

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Good story telling.
The subsistence farming and the portray of nature make this an interesting read. Is it magic realism? You decide

The Snow Child.

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l just loved this book, full of atmosphere so that you see the landscape and feel the intense cold. The story unfolds slowly, beginning in a mood of the deep sadness of a woman trying to come to terms with her new life in a hostile, alien land and her longing for a child to which she would never give birth.
The story progresses through many triumphs and disasters until Mabel, the central character who had known so much sadness, finds a rekindled joy in her marriage and the answer to her prayers from a very unexpected source.

Beautifully sculpted story writing.

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A lovely, slightly mystical tale of hardship and love in Alaska. I was captivated by it. There are unanswered questions at the end which made for great discussion. Highly recommended .

Gripping read- perfect for Christmastime

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