That's No Child
Eowyn Ivey describes waiting to find 'her story' and it becoming her first novel 'The Snow Child'. It's just as well that the making and reading of a book is in how you tell the story not the originality of the plot because 'her story' is also the traditional Russian fairy tale Snegurochka or Snow Maiden. It also leans heavily on Arthur Ransome's 'Little Daughter of the Snow' and less consciously on picture books like Raymond Briggs' The Snowman. Certainly this is a book that would appeal to younger readers but it is more about motherhood than childhood and about the difficult and painful process of letting go. There are some poignant moments in the protagonist's relationships that everyone will recognise - not least the abandonment of pride in accepting help from friends and neighbours.
What I liked best however was the description of the harsh brutality and beauty of the Alaskan landscape where you are forced to make brutal choices such as hunting to survive. As well as paying homage to northern mythology she also generously cites twelve Alaskan writers who mostly use their natural environment front and centre in their works. Shame she didn't mention Russell (Rusty) Annabel's Alaskan Adventures and who Ernest Hemingway described as 'the finest outdoor writer' he had ever read.
No comments:
Post a Comment