The Snow Child - Eowyn Ivey
Jack and Mabel are a childless couple now a little beyond childbearing age, living in Alaska in the early 20th century. They have drifted apart, partially due to the grief over the stillbirth that they experienced ten years earlier, and partially due to their own brokenness that keeps Jack silent and Mabel suicidal. They are also struggling to turn their part of the country into a farm, and are low on food and income.
On the evening of the first snowfall of winter, they manage to briefly connect with one another, building a child out of snow, and, as the winter continues, begin to believe that this snow child has come alive. Glimpses of a young girl are seen in the woods, usually accompanied by an equally mysterious fox. Yet only Jack and Mabel seem to ever see the girl.
This reads like a fairy tale, and is actually inspired by a Russian fairy tale, in which a similarly childless older couple magically bring a snow child to life. What is interesting about this inspiration is that Mabel is aware of the Russian tale, even getting a copy sent to her from her sister. With the inspiration fully acknowledged, the interesting part of the novel is trying to decide whether The Snow Child will follow its inspiration to the tearjerker ending, or whether Jack and Mabel can 'rewrite' the ending.
No spoilers here, but parts of the book are very sad. The first chapter, in which Mabel attempts to commit a passive form of suicide but walking on thin ice shows how melancholic things may get, although other parts of the book counter this sadness with seasons of joy.
The Snow Child is an odd book. But it did keep me reading.
Completed 25 November 2021.
(Alphabet Soup Books)
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