A review by cactuswildflower
Cold Enough For Snow by Jessica Au

emotional reflective relaxing sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

I selected Cold Enough For Snow simply for the title. This brief novel reads like a piece of poetry and packs a punch. I’ve never visited Japan but I feel like I know it, having traveled vicariously with this mother daughter team as they navigated their way across the country. Yearning to connect more deeply with her aging mother, a young Australian woman arranges an autumn holiday to Japan, taking in art, nature, architecture and food. We are privy to family dynamics and revelations as the trip progresses but ultimately the pair fail to deeply connect as the daughter had initially hoped. It is an essay in discord, but beautiful and poignant. A gorgeous fictional travelogue, gentle and soft like gradually falling snow. It leaves the reader contemplating the depths of their own familial relationships. I didn’t want it to end.