Winner of the Specsavers National Book Awards 'International Author of the Year' 2012.
A bewitching tale of heartbreak and hope set in 1920s Alaska. Jack and Mabel have staked everything on making a fresh start for themselves in a homestead 'at the world's edge' in the raw Alaskan wilderness. But as the days grow shorter, Jack is losing his battle to clear the land, and Mabel can no longer contain her grief for the baby she lost many years before. The evening the first snow falls, their mood unaccountably changes. In a moment of tenderness, the pair are surprised to find themselves building a snowman - or rather a snow girl - together. The next morning, all trace of her has disappeared, and Jack can't quite shake the notion that he glimpsed a small figure - a child? - running through the spruce trees in the dawn light. And how to explain the little but very human tracks Mabel finds at the edge of their property? Written with the clarity and vividness of the Russian fairytale from which it takes its inspiration, The Snow Child is an instant classic - the story of a couple who take a child into their hearts, all the while knowing they can never truly call her their own.
'This book is real magic, shot through from cover to cover with the cold, wild beauty of the Alaskan frontier. Eowyn Ivey writes with all the captivating delicacy of the snowfalls she so beautifully describes' Ali Shaw, author of The Girl With Glass Feet
'If Willa Cather and Gabriel Garcia Marquez had collaborated on a book, THE SNOW CHILD would be it' Robert Goolrick, author of A Reliable Wife
'Eowyn Ivey's prose brings the chilly northern wilderness to life' Bookseller
'The juxtaposition of the harsh conditions with the magical and gentle descriptions of Faina combine to make a memorable read' Sarah Clarke, The Torbay Bookshop
Author
About Eowyn Ivey
Named after a character from J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, Eowyn Ivey currently works at an independent bookstore in Palmer, Alaska. Before that, she was a reporter and editor for the Frontiersman newspaper and won a number of awards, including Best Non-Daily Columnist from the Alaska Press Club. Several of her short stories have been published in the anthology, Cold Flashes, and the literary journal, Cirque. Eowyn lives in Alaska with her husband and two daughters. The Snow Child is her debut novel.
