I'd see it on peoples shelves on coffee tables, I'd see it in shop windows, on Goodreads, I'd see it in my local charity shop, and as you might know by now, when the charity shop has a book, I find it hard to resist.
So, not recommended in any way, I went into this book with my eyes wide open.
I read the end before the beginning, which sounds weird but it’s a good idea because you get a sense of the history behind the story and the author’s influences, which sets things up nicely. (I'd recommend you start there.)
The story itself was intriguing. A couple who can't have children relocating to the isolation that is Alaska, to avoid the questions, the looks, the pressures.
So, having settled in, our two main characters start to make a go of it, but there's always that nagging doubt, that unspoken word, that the move was wrong, that they should go back home, give it all up. That is until a child appears, a young girl hidden in the snow.
I liked the main characters, and the sense of isolation that only a good book can portray. I liked the mystical aspect too, which reminded me a little about how I write. Was this magic, Gods will, or just dumb luck? I liked the cold, the chill, the ever present danger of being lost, or worse, attacked by wild animals in the vast northern tundra of Alaska. Reading this book in the summer did nothing to warm me.
So, why only three stars? Well I suppose the book just wasn't me. The writing was good, the characters fine, the story was somewhat quirky, which isn’t always a bad thing, and I did enjoy it, but I didn't bond with it.
I guess, some you do, some you don't.
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