Reviews with content warning for Child abuse - Snow

A well constructed murder mystery which kept tension slowly simmering throughout.
I didn't love or hate this one but thought the interlude while downright disgusting was fantastically well done. A brave move by Banville to try and get into the heads of these absolute monsters.
I felt Jenkins going missing was done in a bit of a lazy fashion and felt like it was there just to wrap up the plot at the end, and think developing that aspect of the story may have been more beneficial than the countless unnecessary pubs scenes.
A solid 3 star for me, a good read but nothing spectacular.

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helenfarch's review against another edition

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challenging dark sad slow-paced

Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

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devilstatedan's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

An outstanding piece of gothic noir literary historical crime writing! A young 1950's detective is called to an estate in Ireland to determine who killed the local priest. The priest's body has been mutilated and the crime is under threat of being suppressed by the catholic church higher-ups, who have a loose control over Ireland. The detective's journey is mysterious and as he attempts to deduct the truth from the constant lies of those around the estate. The cast of characters is interesting and all are self-serving in one way or another, and Banville's way with words is something to marvel at indeed, as he describes the oppressive environment of freezing snow and relentless cold. It's gothic and dark and the subject matter becomes increasingly challenging as the story unravels and we learn the truth of just who all these people really are beneath the surface. Truly amazing writing.

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armorcats's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I don’t know how to rate this. It’s either 3 star, which is good with a lot of faults for me, or 4 star, which is great with some faults. I feel like I’ve read the essentials of this plot before and without the extraordinarily upsetting section weirdly called The Interlude and without the author’s seeming need to describe every character with a feature that makes them unattractive. I enjoyed the setting, the atmosphere, the era, and the flawed characters though. Ultimately, I guess it’s a 4 for me.

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