This author! I’ve now read two of her books and I’m a big fan. A sad, older couple want a child so badly. So when they build a darling little snow girl and wrap her in a red scarf, is it any wonder when they “imagine” her alive? In deep winter in Alaska, a little girl with striking blond hair starts to visit their homestead and in her own way helps them survive their first harsh winter there. But she refuses to stay with them; how can she survive? Their closest homesteading family (set in the early 1900s) become good friends with the couple but simply do not believe that the girl exists, much less survives the harshest of winters. The story follows this couple and the snow girl into their old age. This story is beautiful and beautifully written. ( )

Honestly, no. I'm jsut not connected to the characters and think people are giving this book waaaay too much hype. It could have been much better but if you don't get the reader hooked by the 100th page, writing is not your forte. At first I thought it was a book for middle schoolers by the simplistic way the characters were written. Ivey doesn't write dialogues well at all. ( )

The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey is a wonderful fairytale for adults(and whoever fancies it) set against the harsh backdrop of 1920s Alaska. Sometimes a little of what you fancy does you good ! And so I fancied a fairytale and it did me the world of good!!!

This is the story of Jack and Mabel a childless couple who move to Alaska to farm and to etch a living from the harsh and frozen land. A man and woman set in their ways, Jack the stubborn sort who is too proud to ask for help and Mabel who fears friendship and both mourning the loss of their only child in their own lonely way.

One night after a heavy snowfall they make a snow child and adorning the figure with mittens and scarf. The following morning the snow child has been trampled and the mittens and scarf are missing and the couple spot a small figure running through the trees. Mabel recalls an old Russian Fairy tale about a snow child coming to life and hopes she has made her longed for child that she can love. Is she real or a just imagined by Mabel and Jack?

There is so much to love about this story, I was so excited to read an adult fairytale, The details of Pioneer life in Alaska are beautifully written along with the description of the harsh winter environment and the animals naive to this country.

This is a novel rich in characters and prose and for a debut novel it is extremely well written. A tale of love and loss of friendships and hardships. A book that will stay with you long after you finish. ( )

Poignant, moving, starkly beautiful, an ode to impermanence.

Mabel and Jack are a middle-aged couple who move to Alaska in the 1920s. They struggle to carve out a life on a barren homestead in an unforgiving landscape. Can they even survive the extreme winter? When a strange little girl appears out of nowhere, the childless couple is stunned. Have they conjured her out of snow and longing?

The Snow Child is a tender story lovingly told. The description of winter in the Alaskan wilderness is starkly beautiful, the portrayal of an older couple realistic and moving. A genre-crossing blend of historical fiction and fairy-tale re-telling, The Snow Child is a moving exploration of the harsh realities in nature, our tenuous place within it, and the very human yearning to feel fulfilled.

Snow is the perfect metaphor for impermanence, for all that is fleeting--joy and sorrow, childhood and innocence, for the miracle of life itself. ( )

Beautifully written. An engrossing retelling of the Russian folktale Snegurochka set in Alaska. The winter is rendered as a character alongside Mabel, her husband, and her snow child. I am not an enormous fan of the ending but that is partially because of my knowledge of Slavic folklore - I suppose that those coming in fresher would not have the annoyed reaction I did to the choices Ivey made. Regardless, this is a nice summer read when you want something snowy! ( )

"To believe, perhaps, you had to cease looking for explanations and instead hold the little things in your hand as long as you were able..."
As unique as a snowflake, Faina touched the lives and dazzled all with her delicate nature and ethereal beauty...
Many times we relate to books through current/relevant experiences. Here I see themes of estrangement, longing, parental control vs. children's independence.
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Two thirds supernatural story and mystery and one third quotidian romance set in early twentieth century rural Alaska equals two thirds excellent magical realist novel and one third mediocrity.

Jack and Mabel have just picked up from their Pennsylvania home and taken on a homestead in Alaska. Married late (for the time) in their thirties, they suffered a stillborn child and now in their late forties, childless, they are fleeing from their mostly silent grief and unfulfilled dreams of a family. They are great characters and their sometimes difficult yet always tender relationship is wonderfully developed.

On the night of the first big snow of the winter season, as they are struggling mightily to carve out a foothold in the Alaskan wilderness and their ability to make a go of it is in deep doubt, they make a snowgirl in a moment of levity. The next morning it has been destroyed, the mittens and scarf they placed on it gone, and they begin to see a child running among the trees and sometimes coming to their cabin. Naturally, she is wearing the mittens and scarf.

Here we learn that this story has been based on a Russian folk tale in which an old childless couple makes a girl out of the snow, who then comes to life as the daughter they never had. The story does not end well, the girl eventually melting away/tragically disappearing, either due to getting too warm or falling in mortal love.

Is this what has happened to Jack and Mabel? Mabel believes so. Jack meanwhile learns of another tragic possibility. Which one does the author ultimately intend? She'll keep you guessing. Thus far it is a brilliant novel: great characters, a great well sketched setting the author is intimately familiar with (being a native Alaskan), and an intriguing magically tinged story.

To follow the outlines of the fairy tale, something has to befall the girl. Having her melt at a campfire probably wouldn't work, so Ivey takes the reasonable path of having the girl grow into her late teens and fall in love. Unfortunately for me this is where the novel lost a lot of its charm and magic and became somewhat dreary. Her love interest is a boring character, and the lovestruck teenage girl comes off worse on the written page than a mysterious snow pixie child.

But all in all, still a really good read. ( )

Clever story but a bit to ethereal. ( )

Probably more of 3.5 but it lost enough steam that I can't justify a 4th star.

A book that begins in reality eventually dips into the magical only to come to a very real ending. I wanted the magic to last. ( )

Beautifully written. Hard to describe how this book creeps up on you. I stayed up all night to finish it. Gorgeous and terrifying. ( )

So, I like magical realism, I enjoy a good literary fiction every now and then, I’m intrigued by historical Alaska, and I also like a good fairytale retelling now and again.

This is the tale of Mabel and Jack, who have moved to the Alaskan wilderness in the 1920s to start their lives anew, after a death in the family. They’ve always wanted a child, and one day, make a small snow-girl….the next day it’s gone, and a little blond girl has appeared, coming to them each winter, the child that the couple never had. But the question of the story is, is she real? Is she the fabled Snow Child, or perhaps a human-fairy hybrid?

This is a sad, haunting, and beautifully written book that’s the perfect read for cold, dark winter days. The sense of isolation is very real in this book. The descriptions of the wilderness are so vivid, as is Mabel and Jack’s grief. The relationship with Faina, the child, and their new friends was a joy to read. Faina is mysterious and we never learn much about her. The story takes place over about a decade, and I enjoyed reading about Mabel and Jack and their friends growing, both emotionally and physically.

The ending is left quite vague, though, still adding to that sense of wonder. Yet it frustrated me because I like more concrete endings. I didn’t care for all the descriptions of hunting animals, but I understand that this is set in the wilderness in the 1920s, and this was how people survived. Some parts in the middle were very slow.

It’s definitely a different type of read. But if you love magical realism and fairytale retellings and want a truly atmospheric setting with beautiful prose, give this a try. ( )

So, I like magical realism, I enjoy a good literary fiction every now and then, I’m intrigued by historical Alaska, and I also like a good fairytale retelling now and again.

This is the tale of Mabel and Jack, who have moved to the Alaskan wilderness in the 1920s to start their lives anew, after a death in the family. They’ve always wanted a child, and one day, make a small snow-girl….the next day it’s gone, and a little blond girl has appeared, coming to them each winter, the child that the couple never had. But the question of the story is, is she real? Is she the fabled Snow Child, or perhaps a human-fairy hybrid?

This is a sad, haunting, and beautifully written book that’s the perfect read for cold, dark winter days. The sense of isolation is very real in this book. The descriptions of the wilderness are so vivid, as is Mabel and Jack’s grief. The relationship with Faina, the child, and their new friends was a joy to read. Faina is mysterious and we never learn much about her. The story takes place over about a decade, and I enjoyed reading about Mabel and Jack and their friends growing, both emotionally and physically.

The ending is left quite vague, though, still adding to that sense of wonder. Yet it frustrated me because I like more concrete endings. I didn’t care for all the descriptions of hunting animals, but I understand that this is set in the wilderness in the 1920s, and this was how people survived. Some parts in the middle were very slow.

It’s definitely a different type of read. But if you love magical realism and fairytale retellings and want a truly atmospheric setting with beautiful prose, give this a try. ( )

This was a lovely story - a fairy tale for grown-ups. ( )

Man, did I feel the depression from Alaskan winter homesteading. I felt the ache of infertility. I also felt the beautiful magic of the snow and the well developed retelling of an old Russian fairy tale. What a unique, lovely read. ( )

A retelling of The Snow Maiden set in the 1920’s Alaskan frontier. An older couple, Jack and Mabel, were never able to have children and it haunts their relationship, even as they left their comfortable lifestyle back east for the wilds of Alaska. Until one day when they surprise themselves by playing in the evening snowfall and making a snow child, which then seems to come to life, as they begin to have strange experiences with a little girl who appears to them from out of the woods. She gradually becomes like a daughter to them throughout the years, although she never fully takes to civilized life, never staying with them in their cabin and always disappearing through the spring and summer and returning only with the snowfall. When something happens that ties her even more closely with the ‘real’ world, will she stick around, or will she suffer the fate of the Snow Child in the story, as Mabel fears she may?

A solid retelling of the original story. I think I would have liked more from the snow girl’s perspective, and the other characters could have been fleshed out a bit more, but overall it was an enjoyable story nicely told. I appreciate that the details of the girl’s existence are left mostly unexplained and up to the imagination of the reader. ( )

This is a stunning debut novel by Alaskan native Eowyn Ivey. Set in the 1920s it follows Mabel and Jack, an older couple and recent arrivals to the Alaskan wilderness who attempt to set themselves up a homestead in the harsh landscape. Childless and dealing with grief of miscarriage, they love each other deeply but under the weight of the work the land needs and their isolation it seems they have set themselves an impossible task to complete.

One night after an early winter snowfall they are caught in the magic of their new home and build a snow child. Mabel giving the figure her gloves and Jack carving the face into one of a young girl.

The next morning the snow child is gone but between the trees they both see glimpses of a young girl. Mabel is reminded of a fairytale her father read her as a child of an old childless couple who were blessed with a child come to life from a figure they built in the snow, but as with all fairytales things are not always as easy as they first appear.

So begins a magical tale of love, loss, longing and the importance of family and friends.

I bought this book on kindle probably a year ago but it was only when I saw someone’s else’s review that I added it to my December reading list. To be honest after finishing A Christmas Carol a couple days after Christmas I was going to give myself a break until the new year but this book called to me and I’m so glad it did.

This is a story of few characters but each feels so powerfully portrayed that I know them intimately. From Mabel, Jack and Faina (the snow child) to their neighbours the Bensons, especially Esther who I would read whole novels about on her own.

Ivey also weaves into this an obvious love of the Alaskan wilderness and it is another character we learn to love. From the icy cold of the Wolverine River to the snow capped mountains, the landscape plays an important part in the lives of all inhabitants of this fairytale made real.

A beautiful story and I will definitely be reading more of Eowyn Ivey in the future. ( )

What a wonderful story to spin from the inspiration of Sněhurka. I have a deep appreciation for writers who can bring winter to life with such love and honesty. ( )

A retelling of the Russian fairy tale set in Alaska in the 1920s.

Mabel and Jack are struggling through their first winter on their new homestead in the Alaskan wilderness. After the devastating loss of a stillborn child, Mabel remains in the grip of a depression she can’t shake off even a decade later, and she and Jack feel disconnected in their marriage.

All of that slowly begins to change with the first snowfall of the season. After Jack and Mabel impulsively build a little snow girl in front of their cabin, they wake the next morning to find it gone, along with the scarf and mittens they put on it. Soon after, they spot a little girl in the woods who seems to have no family to take care of her and no home to return to. Gradually, they gain the girl’s trust, learn her name, and come to think of her as their own, though she never stays long and always returns to the wildness of the woods.

Reading this book feels like walking through a deep blanket of snow while watching fresh flakes drifting gently around you. It’s slow-paced, steady, and quiet; lonely at times, beautiful, and a reminder of all the good things you have to go home to. It’s the perfect book to read on a Saturday morning after a snowstorm when the world looks like a winter wonderland, and a thoughtful reimagining of a classic story. The landscape is harsh and the weather unforgiving, but the human experience is unifying and heartwarming. ( )

Ivey brings a Russian fairytale to life in The Snow Child. A childless couple, Jack and Mabel, resettle in Alaska. It's a lonely and harsh existence, and Mabel is especially depressed. But their marriage still has some sparks, and the reader can feel the love between them. One day, in a playful moment, they build a little snow girl, and coincidentally, the next day, they discover a real little girl, apparently feral, who survives in the woods on her own. Ivey does an excellent job of making this premise believable, and her descriptions of the Alaskan life are truly what makes this book special.

While I can totally see why a lot of people loved this book, it's probably just not really my thing (you, know, magic and all. Never really something I enjoy in a novel with rare exceptions . . .here's looking at you [b:The Night Circus|9361589|The Night Circus|Erin Morgenstern|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1387124618s/9361589.jpg|14245059]). Although interestingly, I liked the magical first half somewhat more than the more straightforward second half. The ending didn't quite satisfy me, but it was consistent with what I would expect from a fairy tale.

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Found this at a thrift store for a half dollar. Remembered it had been a bestseller some years back, so I bought it. THE SNOW CHILD was inspired by a Russian fairy tale, and given an American treatment with a setting of a remote Alaskan village in the 1920s. Otherwise it pretty closely follows the fairy tale - of an older childless couple who pray for a child of their own, and voila, a magical little wild child appears after they build a little girl out of snow, and becomes an important part of their lives, yet remains wild, separate. The years go by. There are folksy neighbors, whose youngest son falls in love with the snow maiden. Yadda yadda.

I guess I was the wrong audience for this one. I found it predictable and something of a slog, but I finished it, by golly. I saw echoes of GREEN MANSIONS here, but without the mystery. This one was just 'okay.' I was glad to get to the end of it.

- Tim Bazzett, author of the memoir, BOOKLOVER ( )

“She could not fathom the hexagonal miracle of snowflakes formed from clouds, crystallized fern and feather that tumble down to light on a coat sleeve, white stars melting even as they strike. How did such force and beauty come to be in something so small and fleeting and unknowable? You did not have to understand miracles to believe in them, and in fact Mabel had come to suspect the opposite. To believe, perhaps you had to cease looking for explanations and instead hold the little thing in your hands as long as you were able before it slipped like water between your fingers.”

Beautifully written story based on a Russian fairytale, Mabel and Jack attempt to make a living off the land in the rugged Alaskan wilderness in the 1920s. They are childless, having experienced a stillbirth. One evening, at the first snowfall, they build a snow-girl, and the next day a child appears running through the woods. Is she real or mutually imagined?

I enjoyed the way the author portrays the harsh reality of life in the Alaskan wilderness against the whimsical nature of the child in the woods. Mabel and Jack question the reality of events, and the reader guesses right along with them. There are multiple ways to interpret this story.

The girl appears to exist in the real world and the fantasy-imaginative world simultaneously. It seemed to have a sliding scale between reality and fantasy. As I read this book, I could, at various times, make a case for either possibility. One thing is clear – the snow girl changes the lives of everyone she encounters.

4.5 ( )

It was not hard to like this book...a lot. The Snow Child is a page turner and I found myself sometimes having both anticipation and dread when I sat down to read it. Anticipation because I like the story so much that I was excited to read it and dread because I liked the characters so much that I didn't want to read the book when I knew bad things might happen.


Some of the highlights for me? The opening chapter where Mabel tempts fate by stepping out onto the river ice even knowing that it might crack beneath her and she would be swallowed by the rushing, freezing water. I thought this perfectly set-up the story that was to follow and her contemplation of suicide was heart-wrenching.

Jack and Mabel are the heart of this book. I felt their story from the loss of their baby, move to Alaska and the trials and tribulations they go through just to make it on their own, is really well told. The strong bond they eventually develop, that so easily could have been lost, was one of the best parts for me. Yes, Faina, has an important part to play in this but, I found her character to be less compelling.

I like fantasy where both the reader and the characters are left questioning reality and never quite determining the truth along the way. I felt like Ivey succeeded in describing this tension, even to the end of the book. As far as we know, Faina is still out there in the Alaskan wilderness.

A really good read and I look forward to reading To The Bright Edge of the World when I have a chance. ( )

The Snow Child is based on an ancient Russian fairy tale, and like any good fairy tale, it touches the edges between what is real and what is imagined. Eowyn Ivey commands the language in such a beautiful, moving way, that it would almost not matter if the story was not spectacular. But, never fear, she couples all that almost poetic language with a story that is moving and captivating and mysterious. This is the kind of magical realism I can buy into. It is like good slight of hand, you cannot stop yourself from believing what you see, or in this case what you read.

All her life she had believed in something more, in the mystery that shape-shifted at the edge of her senses. It was the flutter of moth wings on glass and the promise of river nymphs in the dappled creek beds. It was the smell of oak trees on the summer evening she fell in love, and the way dawn threw itself across the cow pond and turned the water to light.

I found myself whispering, “I believe in those things as well.”

I certainly cared about these people, each of them. I wanted so much for Jack and Mabel to find happiness and reward for their hard lives. I loved Fiana, who seemed to be so at one with nature and so self-sufficient, and yet so lonely. I did not read, so much as devour, this book. It is sweet and poignant and infinitely realistic.

I can file this one under F for “favorite”.
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July bookclub book from Becky. Good read ( )

joah, bissi märchenbezogene und anmutende Story, Alaska der hmmm... 192oer Jahre oder so. Wildnis-Romantik und voll melancholisch und so :D Rauscht aber einfach durch. Bei mir zumindest. Sprachlich ziemlich schlicht gestrickt, die Story bekommt keine Tiefe oder Plastizität. Und mehr als die Story ist da nicht. ( )