Six Degrees of Separation: From The Snow Child to a Mistletoe Murder

On the first Saturday of every month, a book is chosen as a starting point and linked to six other books to form a chain. Readers and bloggers are invited to join in by creating their own ‘chain’ leading from the selected book.

Kate W: Six Degrees of Separation

This month’s reading began with Eowyn Ivey‘s The Snow Child. I suspected magical realism and expected to cast the whole thing aside. But this reworking of the traditional Russian fable utterly disarmed me. Set in barely-settled 1920s Alaska, the frozen landscape and the fresh and flower-strewn spring, the tough-because-they-have-to-be characters, the hardships and friendships make this a believable, yet lyrical story which transported me willingly to a different world.

I remembered a book which gave me a similar reaction: Cecilia Ekbäck‘s Wolf Winter. As an evocation of life in an isolated 18th century community of far-flung homesteads in northern Sweden it’s quite wonderful. The sheer drudgery of keeping alive in the long dark days of winter; the isolation; the fear of beasts and evil spirits: in fact the pervasiveness and absolute acceptance of a spirit world was involvingly brought to life. But it’s also a murder mystery, and this pulled me in far less. Nevertheless.five years on, those evocative descriptions of tough lives in a tough place stay in my mind.

Yet more tough lives in unforgiving conditions. The North Water, by Ian McGuire. This is a gritty story set largely in a 19th century whaling ship. There’s violence, brutality, bad language, bowel movements a-plenty, but it doesn’t feel gratuitous. Patrick Sumner has – we eventually discover – left the British Army in disgrace and his options are few. He becomes a ship’s surgeon on the whaling ship, and finds that a hard and desperate life becomes even worse as the ship and its crew battle against an arctic winter and a particularly brutal and amoral member of the crew. An involving and gripping story that recreates a world I can only be grateful not to be a part of. And – British readers – I’ve just discovered that the book has been made into a five part series available on BBC i-player.

Let’s stay at sea, and with fishing, but let’s lighten the mood – please – by turning to Silver Shoals, by Charles Rangeley-Wilson. I was entirely and unexpectedly engaged by this book, an exploration of our nation’s iconic fish: cod, carp, eels, salmon and herring. This is a story of the fish themselves; of fishermen; of the consequences of greed and the way back from it; of geology; meteorology; our nation’s social history as it relates to food and farming; of corruption and political will. It combines serious discussion of issues with good yarns about the fishermen who took Rangeley -Wilson fishing with them, whether on week-long voyages on trawlers, or half day sorties to the local river bank. He travelled north, south, east and west in quest of fish and their stories, and produced and absorbing account which I read in record time because I was so enthralled by all the threads of the story Charles Rangeley-Wilson told.

My next book is set not at sea, but in the mountains. However, there is the same attachment to place here that fisherman seem to have to their chosen piece of water.. A Whole Life, by Robert Seethaler. This is a spare and restrained telling of the story of a life. The life of a lonely, but not discontented man living in a small community in a mountain valley, after a chequered and varied early life. This is a man who values solitude, and the landscape in which he lives. His needs are simple, but even these are not always easy to meet. A poetic, satisfying book. It’s a work in translation, but this is an accomplished piece of work which reads beautifully, and deserves re-reading.

Marcus Sedgwick lives in the Haute-Savoie, not really so very far from Seethaller’s hero. One of his books is Snow. This is a beautifully presented and thoughtful little monograph. Always fascinated by snow, Marcus Sedgwick’s chosen home is one where snow in winter is a daily reality. He’s come to appreciate that there is far more than one kind of the stuff, and that some of it is ‘the wrong kind’, getting in the way of the everyday lives of those who are very accustomed to snow of all kinds. He wanders discursively through science, literature, art, and personal anecdote to build up a vivid picture of this fascinating substance which exercises such a grip on our imaginations and our daily lives when we encounter it. A book to read, to savour, and to continue to dip into from time to time.

Now, let’s lighten the mood. It’s nearly Christmas shopping time. Let’s choose another short book, with winter at its heart. The Mistletoe Murder and other Stories, by PD James. The Guardian describes this book as ‘a box of crackers’, and so it is. These are four short stories of murder most foul that were all originally published elsewhere, all set round about Christmas time. They’re clever, and not at all likely to be mistaken for Scandi-noir. These quickly read little gems, nicely presented by Faber and Faber, would make an ideal stocking filler.

So there we have it. From one murder mystery to four murder mysteries, with four stops in between.

It seems to me that next month’s starting book could hardly be more different. It’s Beach Read, by Emily Henry.

Author: margaret21

I'm retired and living in North Yorkshire, where I walk as often as I can, write, volunteer, and travel as often as I can.

57 thoughts on “Six Degrees of Separation: From The Snow Child to a Mistletoe Murder”

  4. You do present some fascinating reads, Margaret, though I often couldn’t manage them myself. Well, not willingly, anyway! I’m sure you know which ones I mean. Hope you have a fabulous weekend, with a glimmer of sunshine here and there.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Hoping to have a great weekend, if a chilly one. You too Jo. I actually think you could read any of the books on my list: They’re all do-able! But yes, never enough time.

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  6. I like how your chain brings up so many environment/ atmospheric links. Snow, cold, water… and finally ending with Christmas time! And it’s great how you linked Silver Shoals and Whole Life — I’d have probably gone the predictable Moby Dick way! 😂

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Ah well, I couldn’t you see … I haven’t (yet) read Moby Dick! It seems the winter is in some ways easier to write evocatively than other seasons – you’re right – there’s some good writing about chilly times here.

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  7. Having just finished, and loved, one of your previous recommendations (Sal), I hoped to find another that appealed in this post, and I think Wolf Winter sounds like one for me. I’ll check it out – thank you 🙂

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    1. I’m guessing this would work for you, as might The North Water, So glad you liked Sal. It was an entirely serendipitous find, but I got a lot out of it too.

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    1. You’re right not to be put off my what I said. It’s easily four five years since I read it – maybe it would be different for me now. And the scene setting was wonderful.

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  13. Ivey’s, “The Snow Child,” mesmerized me. She was so young to write such a masterpiece, and of course anything by the remarkable PD James is wonderful. Love your selection of interesting reads.

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    1. Thanks Cindy. Yes, Ivey had me right there, in Alaska, living that life. Wonderful stuff. And PD James – what’s not to like? Thanks, Cindy.

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  17. Silver Shoals sounds fascinating. It’s not one they have in stock at my library, frustratingly, so it will go on my wishlist instead.

    I saw the trailer for The North Water but hadn’t realised that it was based on a book. Age old problem in our house – I see a drama I want to watch, Mr H judges it based on the merest whiff of costume and I never get to see it. Tut!

    The Mistletoe Murder sounds like fun for Xmas.

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  18. Funnily enough, I picked up Silver Shoals on a whim at my library (nice cover …. ). North Water was a good adaptation, we thought, of a good book, and suitable for Real Men Who Don’t Do Costume Dramas 😉

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  19. Love this chain, Margaret! I confess I was a little worried when I learned what the starter book was this time as it’s an absolute favourite of mine and I know it’s not for everyone. I am delighted that you enjoyed it. Wolf Winter is new to me and is now on the must read list for after Christmas – around the time this year that I read and enjoyed Snow. A Whole Life has been waiting in the wings far too long so maybe I’ll squeeze that one in next month too. And we’ve just listened to the P D James on our drive up to Filey. A great group of seasonal stories!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Sandra, everyone seems to have commented favourably on The Snow Child, even those who liked me, felt wary about it. Yes, it’s a marvellous book. I seem to have hit a winning streak with you this month – I hope so! So glad we’re managing to maintain a form of contact though the blog, albeit limited.

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  20. Hi there Margaret! Oh I love your list and just added Wolf Winter to my TBR. The PD James collection also seems really nice.

    I have also loved The Snow Child and it’s a book that will stay with me forever.

    Blessings for the Festive Season!

    Elza Reads

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Oops! I know I replied to your comment – but it’s not here! Wolf Winter seems to be the choice a lot of you have made – and it’s a good one. And warm wishes to you for this cold season.

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  21. I love books with a winter setting (actually I’m putting together a post with some of my favourites) and you have some good ones on the list. When I came across The Snow Child, I utterly dismissed it, but you’ve made me reconsider. And I will definitely pick up The Mistletoe Murder since I generally enjoy P.D. James’ stories.

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    1. You don’t seem to like winter OR summer then! I’ve tried unsuccessfully to respond to you post, but Blogger won’t play with me today. Here’s what I said: ‘You’re right – so far, I’ve only read the Anne Frank. I’d like to know about the others: I hadn’t head of any of them.’

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    2. Nope. You are right, my favourite season is autumn, followed by spring. I can’t stand extreme temperatures, I suffer from migraines and fibromyalgia and both are worse in those conditions.

      I have the same trouble with your blog (and some others from WordPress). I need to go to Chrome in order to write this comment, Firefox doesn’t seem to encourage communication between the two sites. 😦

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      1. Poor you. As an ex-migraine sufferer, you have my full sympathy. And – I guess Blogger and WordPress each want you to migrate to THEIR site!

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  23. A wonderfully wintry chain! I have Wolf Winter on the shelf and really should pick it up early next year. I see someone already told you that Marcus Sedgwick just died — ironic timing. Snow is the only one of his books that I’ve read; he wrote a lot of fantasy and YA, which might appeal less.

    Liked by 1 person

  24. That’s a cool sequence 😉 You know, I started to watch The North Water, but as soon as I realised where it was going I departed. Somehow I can read harsh, violent and grim, but recoil at watching violence particularly against animals, dramatised or worse.

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  25. I picked up The Snow Child based on the cover alone and fell in love with the story. Must look up The North Water, I’ve just read a novel by Elisabeth Gifford that touches on life the Whaling ships. A grimly fascinating bit of history!

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