Perched high on a mountain in a land of ancient forests lies a village, cut off from the outside world and run by elders, men to whom tradition is all. Edith lives alone with her alcoholic father who is forcing her to marry the village butcher, a brutal, bullying man to whom many in the village are in debt. But Edith is in love with a shepherd who promised to return to her. As the village becomes even further isolated in a sea of snow, and her lover fails to return, Edith loses her power of speech. And it is this that will have far-reaching consequences, not only for Edith but for the whole village.
Sally Gardner is an award-winning author of many books for children and young adults, and has previously written two fairytale-esque novels for adults – An Almond For a Parrot (2016), the story of eighteenth century courtesan and magician’s apprentice, Tully Truegood, and The Beauty of The Wolf (2019), an Elizabethan, gender-swapped reimagining of ‘Beauty & the Beast’ – under the pen name Wray Delaney. And her latest, The Snow Song, is even more fairytale-like in its construction and execution.
The story is set in an archetypal fairytale location of a rural village surrounded by forest. The wider setting of which is never made clear exactly, but little clues sprinkled throughout – certain names, pieces of folklore (such as people coming back from dead as creature known as the ‘bloodless’) and the presence of traveling peoples/communities – all suggest a location inspired by Russia or Eastern Europe. As for a time-period, it has that ‘once upon a time’ vagueness – where technology is minimal and could be anywhere between medieval and modern. The protagonist is Edith, daughter of the local cabinet maker, who falls in love with a shepherd named Demetrious, a stranger to the village. This angers the village Butcher, who also wants to marry Edith, despite the fact that he’s old enough to be her grandfather. But the Butcher is also a member of the village Elders, the group of prominent male figures – the Mayor, the Priest, the Doctor etc – and this position of power allows him to split the young lovers apart. When Demetrious fails to return, Edith, in her sorrow, loses the power of speech.
But this is where Gardner takes the archetypes and builds upon them, while also tackling some relevant themes and topics. A lot of the male figures, particularly those in positions of power, tend to be either weak-willed and/or bullying; the Butcher exploits the weaknesses of others as a means to make them indebted to him, leading them to not only not stand up to him but to facilitate his behaviour. Edith may have lost her voice but she doesn’t remain passive, indeed she cannot afford to – no one is going to magically going to swoop in and save her. This also brings us to another couple of fairy tale archetypes: the wise woman and the deceased maternal figure. Edith’s grandmother, who is deceased prior to the story, was the village storyteller, and the positive influence in her life to counter her father’s negative. The act of storytelling itself is an important component of the book, and how through it truths can be told and strength and hope can be found. This is a story about Edith, literally, finding her voice, about women finding their voices and making them heard.
The style is beautiful in its simplicity, creating a modern fairytale that is perfect for the cold winter months, but with a warm heart beating underneath, waiting for the warmth of the spring melt to reveal it.
The Snow Song is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore.
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Synopsis | Goodreads
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.
