The Snow Song by Sally Gardner

 

The Snow Song by Sally Gardner.

Published 12th November 2020 by HQ Stories.

From the cover of the book:

A heartbreaking novel for adults, from the award-winning Sally Gardner.

Women imprisoned by superstition, chained by guilt.

Perched on a mountain in a land of ancient forests is a village, rife with secrets. Cut off from the outside world it is run by the elders, men to whom tradition is all.

Edith lives alone with her alcoholic father who is forcing her to marry the village butcher. But she is in love with a shepherd who promised to return to her.

As the village becomes isolated in a sea of snow, Edith loses her power of speech. And it is this enchantment that will have far-reaching consequences, not only for Edith but for the whole village.

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The Snow Song is the most gorgeous of dark fairy tales, set in an isolated village where the word of the male elders and the weight of age-old superstitions keeps the people in check, especially the womenfolk.

Edith, in common with her fellow women, has fallen prey to the whims of the village butcher - a man who wields both his fortune and the pursuit of his desires at the expense of his neighbours and even his own family. He wants Edith... and therefore he must have her at all costs.

But Edith has fallen in love with an outsider - a man who appears to be a simple shepherd - and he promises to return for her before the first snows fall. And the consequences of their doomed love will come to affect the whole village.

This is the most magical tale about the importance of listening to others, of finding your own voice and making yourself heard. Sally Gardner weaves these themes beautifully throughout this novel by using the love story of Edith and her shepherd, which draws in all the villagers who have suffered at the hands of the butcher and his fellow elders, and proves the catalyst they need to bring about positive change in their lives.

Although the setting for this tale is one that takes us back in time, to a place far removed from the world we know, this is nonetheless, at heart, a tale of oppression, control, finding yourself and gathering the courage to take a stand against evil. There is a lot to take from this book about the modern world, which I found rather clever.

There is plenty of sadness to be endured in these pages, much of it quite difficult to read as the women of the village finally have to courage to share the truth about their experiences, but there is also much to make your heart soar too. The power of love, friendship, stories and music shines through and lead us to the most wonderful of endings, which made me shed more than a few tears - and the way Sally Gardner uses both the snow and the whispers of underlying magic to underpin this beautiful fable is simply wonderful. I loved it.

The Snow Song is available to buy from our favourite book retailer now, of via Bookshop.org HERE.

About the author:

Sally Gardner grew up and still lives in London. Being dyslexic, she did not learn to read or write until she was fourteen and had been thrown out of several schools, labelled unteachable, and sent to a school for maladjusted children. Despite this, she gained a degree with highest honours at a leading London art college, followed by a scholarship to a theatre school, and then went on to become a very successful costume designer, working on some notable productions.

After the births of twin daughters and a son, she started first to illustrate and then to write picture books and chapter books, usually with fairytale- or otherwise magical subject matter. She has been called 'an idiosyncratic genius' by London’s Sunday Times