The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey

Alaska, 1920: a brutal place to homestead, and especially tough for recent arrivals Jack and Mabel. Childless, they are drifting apart — he breaking under the weight of the work of the farm; she crumbling from loneliness and despair. In a moment of levity during the season’s first snowfall, they build a child out of snow.

The next morning the snow child is gone — but they glimpse a young, blonde-haired girl running through the trees.

This little girl, who calls herself Faina, seems to be a child of the woods. She hunts with a red fox at her side, skims lightly across the snow, and somehow survives alone in the Alaskan wilderness.

As Jack and Mabel struggle to understand this child who could have stepped from the pages of a fairy tale, they come to love her as their own daughter. But in this beautiful, violent place things are rarely as they appear, and what they eventually learn about Faina will transform all of them.

Reviews:

Set in the rugged wilderness of Alaska during the 1920s, this captivating novel follows a childless couple who build a snow child that comes to life. As winter descends and the landscape is blanketed in snow, Ivey’s evocative writing captures the beauty and harshness of the Alaskan wilderness, making it an ideal read for cozying up by the fire.

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“The Snow Child” by Eowyn Ivey is a poignant and enchanting novel that transports readers to the rugged and unforgiving wilderness of 1920s Alaska. Inspired by a Russian fairy tale, the story follows Jack and Mabel, a childless couple struggling to make a life for themselves on a homestead in the Alaskan wilderness.

Ivey’s writing is evocative and lyrical, capturing the beauty and harshness of the Alaskan landscape with vivid detail. As Jack and Mabel grapple with the challenges of homesteading in such a remote and inhospitable environment, their longing for a child becomes a central theme of the novel.

When a mysterious young girl appears in the woods near their home, seemingly made of snow, Jack and Mabel’s lives are forever changed. As they come to love and care for the girl they call Faina, they are forced to confront their own desires and fears, and to reckon with the mysteries of the natural world.

One of the novel’s greatest strengths is its exploration of the bonds of love and family, and the ways in which they can transcend traditional definitions. Jack and Mabel’s relationship with Faina is both heartwarming and heartbreaking, as they come to see her as both a daughter and a force of nature.

“The Snow Child” is also a story about resilience and the power of hope in the face of adversity. As Jack and Mabel struggle to carve out a life for themselves in the wilderness, they are buoyed by their belief in the possibility of magic and wonder, even in the most unlikely of places.

Overall, “The Snow Child” is a captivating and deeply moving novel that will stay with readers long after they turn the final page. With its richly drawn characters, lush prose, and enchanting storytelling, it is a testament to the enduring power of love and the human spirit.

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“The Snow Child”, de Eowyn Ivey, é um romance comovente e encantador que transporta os leitores para a natureza selvagem e implacável do Alasca da década de 1920. Inspirada em um conto de fadas russo, a história segue Jack e Mabel, um casal sem filhos que luta para construir uma vida em uma propriedade rural no deserto do Alasca.

A escrita de Ivey é evocativa e lírica, capturando a beleza e a dureza da paisagem do Alasca com detalhes vívidos. À medida que Jack e Mabel enfrentam os desafios da apropriação original num ambiente tão remoto e inóspito, o desejo de ter um filho torna-se um tema central do romance.

Quando uma jovem misteriosa aparece na floresta perto de sua casa, aparentemente feita de neve, as vidas de Jack e Mabel mudam para sempre. À medida que passam a amar e cuidar da garota que chamam de Faina, eles são forçados a confrontar seus próprios desejos e medos e a enfrentar os mistérios do mundo natural.

Um dos maiores pontos fortes do romance é a exploração dos laços de amor e família, e as maneiras pelas quais eles podem transcender as definições tradicionais. O relacionamento de Jack e Mabel com Faina é ao mesmo tempo comovente e comovente, pois eles passam a vê-la como uma filha e como uma força da natureza.

“The Snow Child” é também uma história sobre resiliência e o poder da esperança diante da adversidade. Enquanto Jack e Mabel lutam para construir uma vida na selva, eles são impulsionados por sua crença na possibilidade da magia e da maravilha, mesmo nos lugares mais improváveis.

No geral, “The Snow Child” é um romance cativante e profundamente comovente que permanecerá com os leitores muito depois de virarem a página final. Com seus personagens ricamente desenhados, prosa exuberante e narrativa encantadora, é um testemunho do poder duradouro do amor e do espírito humano.