#BookReview ~ Cold Enough for Snow by Jessica Au
Fitzcarraldo Editions Feb 2022
Read on audio, narrated by Gaby Seow
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I’ve just finished this enchanting novel which I heard about on one of my favourite blogs, by @radzpandit earlier this year. This is a beautiful short book about a woman meeting her mother in Japan for a mini break and explores there relationship from the perspective of the daughter. Little is said about their lives at the beginning of the story and I enjoyed how things are slowly revealed.
The real strength of this #novella is in the brilliantly observed interactions, the #sensory descriptions of the city around them and the inner reflections of the main character. For example, on their first evening walk: ‘plants grew on the steep walls of the canal , trailing downwards and the water gave a shaking, delicate impression of the world above.’
Like many mother-daughter relationships, these women have trouble being totally honest with each other, Later they visit a gallery and the daughter reflects: ‘Wasn’t it incredible, I wanted to say, that once there were people who were able to look at the world—leaves, trees, rivers, grass—and see its patterns, and, even more incredible, that they were able to find the essence of those patterns, and put them to cloth?’ She can’t quite do this and says what she thinks her mother wants to hear.
The daughter also reflects on her University days, focusing on a lecturer who has left a lasting impression. I always enjoy stories that address our connection with past events and our faltering or confused memories and this one does it brilliantly. The daughter dwells on growing up alongside her sister at several points, on the different paths their lives have taken and how their choices have affected the family dynamic.
This #audiobook is less than 4 hours long and I found myself reading it slowly and rereading sections as I went as it captivated me so much!
#JessicaAu #ColdEnoughForSnow #Reading #Books @bookstodon