Books: January and February 2018

The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey

A beautiful story of a childless couple in Alaska who believe that the snow child that they build comes to life. She exudes winter, even down to her eyelashes holding snowflakes, and having frost on her skin. Having been so desperate for a child of their own, they try to tame her without compromising her. Mabel recalls a fairy tale about a snow child with an unhappy end and they are keen to protect her from such a fate.

The Wallcreeper by Nell Zink

I stumbled across this gem on the library app and listened to it on my commute. A bizarre tale of two unlikely people falling in love, marrying immediately and the rollercoaster that is their ensuing marriage.  

The Sellout by Paul Beatty

A sharp satire about the farming son of a pop psychologist who sets out to put Dickens back on the map by re-segregating the city. This was the Man Booker winner 2016. Brilliant

Motherland by Paul Theroux

This long book centres around the family of a narcissistic mother. She had seven children (eight if you included the omnipresent Angela, who died at birth) and certainly ruled the roost. I love the journey that the narrator (who I am sure is closely modelled on Paul Theroux himself) takes from despising his mother to, at her death, realising that she was his muse. 

Love Mrs Jones x