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1 of 1 copy available
Writing with all the emotional richness that has drawn millions of readers around the world to her fiction, Anita Shreve unfolds in Light on Snow a tender and surprising novel about love and its consequences.
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Creators
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Publisher
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Release date
October 1, 2004 -
Formats
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OverDrive Listen audiobook
- ISBN: 9781594831447
- File size: 190181 KB
- Duration: 06:36:12
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Languages
- English
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Levels
- ATOS Level: 4.5
- Lexile® Measure: 750
- Interest Level: 9-12(UG)
- Text Difficulty: 3-4
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Reviews
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A rare and beautiful recounting of the miracle of healing for a family wounded by catastrophic losses who manages to overcome and go forward, sometimes in uncharted and completely unexpected ways. Alyson Silverman's lyrical and sensitive reading showcases Shreve's clear and tempered account of a young girl and her father living in a kind of exile, trying to resume their lives after experiencing almost unimaginable loss and grief. One can literally feel the bone-chilling cold weather and their struggles through the deep snowdrifts as the beautifully developed characters create an experience that leaves the listener feeling privileged to have met such complex and wonderful people and shared their triumphs of spirit. L.C. (c) AudioFile 2005, Portland, Maine -
September 20, 2004
An after-school stroll leads to a life-altering event for widower Robert Dillon and his 12-year-old daughter, Nicky, in this delicate new novel by acclaimed author Shreve (All He Ever Wanted
,
etc.). In the woods surrounding their secluded home in Shepherd, N.H., Robert and Nicky make a startling discovery—a baby abandoned and left to die in the snow. The infant survives, but the incident leaves its mark. Still recovering from the painful loss of her mother and infant sister two years earlier, and readjusting to the shock of a sudden move from suburban Westchester to rural Shepherd, Nicky struggles to reconcile her innocent notions of adult integrity with the bleak reality of their discovery. The tenuous sense of normalcy Robert manages to sustain is broken with the appearance of Charlotte, the baby's young mother, on his doorstep. Retold 18 years later by an adult Nicky but written in the present tense, the story shifts brilliantly between childlike visions of a simple world and the growing realization of its cruel ambiguities. Aside from a few saccharine moments and a rather pat ending, Shreve does a skilled job of portraying grief, conflict and anger while leaving room for hope, redemption and renewal. Her characters are sympathetic without being pitiable, and her prose remains deceptively simple and eloquent throughout. Agent, Jennifer Rudolph Walsh. -
May 15, 2005
Thirty-year-old Nicky Dillon remembers back to the December of the year she was 11, when she and her father, Robert, took a walk in the woods -and found an abandoned newborn girl. The baby was turned over to the authorities and pronounced all right, but only because the Dillons found her in time. Two years before, Mrs. Dillon and their two-year-old were killed in a car wreck near the family's Westchester County home. In his grief, Robert abandoned his architectural practice and moved with Nicky to an isolated cabin outside the small town of Shepherd, NH, cutting himself off from his previous associates and removing Nicky from her familiar surroundings. The story has some unexpected twists and an ending that is neither joy-filled nor tragic. Narrator Alyson Silverman has a definite Midwestern accent and mispronounces several words that a New Englander would know. For large popular collections where demand warrants. -Nann Blaine Hilyard, Zion-Benton P.L., ILCopyright 2005 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
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December 1, 2004
Adult/High School-After her family has been shattered by the deaths of her mother and baby sister in a car accident, Nicky Dillon, 12, and her father, Robert, move to a small New Hampshire town. One evening, they discover a newborn abandoned in the snow. When the infant's mother, a college student, comes to the Dillon home, the three become snowbound during a blizzard. As she learns the details of the birth, Nicky befriends and tries to hide the young woman from the detective on the case. Shreve explores unwed motherhood and puberty as well as grief and loneliness. Each character is faced with hard choices; each action has consequences. The characters are real, the events believable, and the outcomes realistic. The book is filled with suspense and tension. Shreve's writing is strong, and the treatment of these sensitive issues is handled realistically.-Sheila Janega, Fairfax County Public Library, Great Falls, VACopyright 2004 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
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August 1, 2004
The prolific Shreve has been a fixture on best-seller lists ever since Oprah picked " The Pilot's Wife " (1998) as one of her book-club selections. In her latest, Robert Dillon and his 12-year-old daughter, Nicky, discover a newborn baby abandoned in the snowy woods. As they rush the baby to the hospital, Nicky senses that the vulnerable infant has somehow unleashed her and her father's private demons. Nicky lost her mother and baby sister in an automobile accident more than a year earlier; her father's response to his overwhelming grief was to uproot them from their life in New York and move to rural New Hampshire. He has purposefully isolated himself from the outside world, keeping contact with other people to a minimum. But now the abandoned baby has forced them to act, and the two are suddenly plunged into dealing with the world-weary detective who catches the case and, later, with the distraught mother of the baby, who ends up snowbound in their house for days. Her presence forces Nicky and her father to move beyond their personal tragedy. Although Shreve continually underlines her characters' grief and desperation, their emotions seem too neat and their responses somewhat formulaic. Nevertheless, Shreve's expert pacing produces a fast read that will more than satisfy her many fans. (Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2004, American Library Association.) -
September 15, 2004
After retreating from a family tragedy to a house tucked away in the New Hampshire woods, 12-year-old Nicky and her father are thrust back into the world when one wintry afternoon they discover an abandoned newborn outdoors. How they deal with the reality of the baby's mother, who shows up at their house, and the detective who is hellbent on putting the pieces together is narrated by a now-adult Nicky looking back at her past. Shreve's latest books (All He Ever Wanted; Sea Glass) have taken historical settings rich with the detail of past customs and language; this is a different sort of tale, not as lush or complicated. But the simplicity of the story and tone, as well as the interesting inner thoughts of an adult looking back and relating a childhood turning point, makes for one addictive read. Readers will be waiting for this one. Beth Gibbs, Davidson, NCCopyright 2004 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
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