A review by notesofacrocodile
Cold Enough for Snow by Jessica Au

4.0

It struck me that the last time I had been here, I was with Laurie, and thinking on and off about my mother. And now, I was here with her, thinking on and off about him, about how we had rushed around the city from morning to long after dark, seeing everything, taking in everything. During that trip, it was like we were children again, mad and excitable, endlessly talking, endlessly laughing, always hungry for more. I remembered thinking that I had wanted to share some of this with my mother, even if just a small amount.

this novella felt like a dream, a dream that is gently melancholic and softly blue, with an autumnal caress. 

a mother and a daughter in japan, visiting galleries, museums, and travelling by trains, while they attempt to catch up with each other. the daughter's mind flickers towards the past: an uncle caught in the current of adolescent love, her sister's account of childhood, adulthood, and love, her experiences with a charismatic professor with an impressive house, and so on. the intriguing thing about this novella is how everything feels ghostly, even the mother and the daughter themselves. it feels as though when one reaches out is when the other has just looked away, and when the other realised it and reaches out is when the former has just looked away, and the game continues like that (if that makes sense). as the novella progressed i began to visualise the characters more and more like ghostly wisps in the shapes of a mother and daughter, and the writing slowly feeds into this perception as well.

there is a deeply contemplative quality to this novella, which forces the reader to slow down and take it in. i took about 5 days to finish reading this one, both because i was busy and also because i did not want to rush myself with this at all. i look forward to reading more from this author!