The Snow Song by Sally Gardner

The Snow Song by Sally Gardner
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 1 day

Pages - 384

Publisher - HQ Stories

Source - Gave to by a fellow blogger

Blurb from 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.


My Review

A cult like village, men are the be all and end all, money, fear and power rule the town. When Edith meets the love of her life, an outsider Shepherd she is willing to risk it all. An agreement is made, if he returns she can marry him, if he doesn't she WILL marry the power wielding cruel older butcher as promised by her alcoholic dad. As the small village is cut off and snowed in, Edith is forced to follow tradition, that which is expected of her. She loses her voice as her enforced wedding day looms and it seems everyone is hell bent on tradition and what it demands rather than Edith or what is right.

Guys, I haven't read a book quite like this, it has stories from "gypsy" traveller folk tales, told by the Shepherd or Edith as she heard them from her elder female relative. Some of the stories within the book itself have very fairytale style vibes. We have horrific abusive male characters that will enrage you by the way they treat and think of women. I did like how none of them had names but rather labelled by their professions. The female characters also provoke angry responses too and I would have liked to have slapped and shook some but we also see some personal growth, some!

The book is thought provoking, enchanting at times, dare I say almost magical at some points, not like Harry Potter type but more the stuff in fairytales, evil, good, shady questionable humans and their behaviours. How a strong female can make such a change/impact but also the old saying it takes a village to raise a child well this village shows just how bad things can be/accepted hence the almost cult like reference. Women subservient to males, except the Shepherd, he is such a nice and good soul, women being treated badly, used even by their so called loved ones, actions and consequences, it is a mixed bag. I think some people could take it to a really deep level, I was absorbed by it and a bit of rollercoaster of emotions, 4/5.

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