The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey

Five words from the blurb: Alaskan, wilderness, snow, girl, magical

The Snow Child is a magical little book. It manages to balance on the fine line between magical realism and reality, ensuring the reader is kept guessing as to which side of that fence this book lies.

The story is set in the Canadian wilderness, where one couple relocate in an effort to forget the pain of being childless. One day they build a snowman in their garden and are surprised to wake up the next morning to discover that it has gone. They see a girl running through the woods and are sure their snowman has come to life, but is the child real or a figment of their over-active imagination?

Mabel was no longer sure of the child’s age. She seemed both newly born and as old as the mountains, her eyes animated with unspoken thoughts, her face impassive. Here with a child in the trees, all things seemed possible and true.

This book was quick and easy to read, but packed with an oppressive snowy atmosphere. The basic story is heavily influenced by a Russian fairytale and although this book did have a childlike feel it was tinged with the grief of being unable to produce a child. I often have difficulties with adult fairy-tales, but this book was so grounded in reality that I didn’t have this problem.

The characters weren’t that well rounded, but there was something about their simplicity that added to that magical feel. I connected to them straight away and felt their roller-coaster of emotions throughout.

It isn’t a particularly heavy read, but it is an entertaining one. It will make you smile and keep you guessing.

Recommended to anyone looking for a bit of escapism.

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The thoughts of other bloggers

It hooked me from page one and did not let me go until I closed the final pages… The Book Whisperer

I wasn’t completely sure what was going on ….. but ultimately the charm and the strengths of this fairytale re-imagined won out over minor confusions and quibbles. Linus’s Blanket

Everything about it felt utterly authentic and completely effortless… Book Monkey