A review by yulie
Cold Enough for Snow by Jessica Au

5.0

In the last few years, I've been spending a lot of time with my mother. She came to Australia three decades ago and holds onto some very traditional values, speaks English incredibly haphazardly, and I've always felt the cultural barrier between us has been insurmountable. Still, after a rough set of rebellious and frustrating young adult years from myself, I've finally learned to establish a loving mother-and-daughter relationship with her on my own terms, although so many aspects of it still feel stilted. My values and what gives me meaning rarely aligns with my mother's views of the same, and our ideas of love are vastly different, although we've finally reached our own understandings of each other. As a result of this life history of mine, this book immediately captured me.

Cold Enough for Snow has such a palpable quality to it that draws you in within the very first few pages. It's meditative and melancholy, yet generous at the same time to its subjects. The book is thick with atmosphere, evocative, and written so elegantly -- it's beautiful. It's a short read and entirely deserving of one's time, and leads to a lot of introspection on how we define love, as well as our relationships with ourselves and others. If you also happen to be a second generation immigrant that has a complex, loving relationship with your mother, you'll be drawn into it that much more.