Tales for Winter
'A Snow Garden & Other Stories' is a collection of seven interconnected short tales set over the Christmas period. Romances begin and end, parents and children find common ground, lost friends reconnect, and slap bang in the middle of it all, a woman named Maureen encounters an unusual young man at a Boxing day ball. Central characters become bit players in each others' stories, highlighting the interconnectivity of all our lives as we try to navigate relationships where reality and expectation don't always match up.
Gently Does It
If you've enjoyed Rachel Joyce's other books, such as 'The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry' and 'The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessey', you are likely to enjoy this one too. The stories in 'A Snow Garden...' are subtle, poignant, well-observed and wise. Traditionally, Christmas is the one time of year when we make the effort to spend time with friends and family, and these stories explore the emotional crises that can come from things not being quite as we imagined or hoped they would be.
Overall
Being a cliché, I already like to re-read 'A Christmas Carol' by Charles Dickens each winter. I now plan to re-read this too. 'A Snow Garden...' strikes me as a collection that I will notice something new in each time I read it, especially due to the intertwined nature of the stories. It is a charming and thoughtful book that is a fitting addition to the Rachel Joyce canon.
Now, what next..?
'A Snow Garden & Other Stories' by Rachel Joyce was published by Transworld Publishers, part of Penguin Random House. The cover image was kindly provided by the publisher. This review is based on the 2015 hardback edition, purchased from the Dartmouth Community Bookshop in Devon. Check it out if you're in the area!
