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4.5 stars
initially, i was attracted to louise nealon’s snowflake as it was being compared to both my favourite irish novelists' works, sally rooney and naoise dolan. naturally, being a huge fan of rooney’s works, it had to go into my personal tbr straight away and i was thrilled to have received a copy of this book from definitely books by pansing. despite the endless comparisons between nealon’s debut to these acclaimed irish literary works, snowflake stands on its own with its natural uniqueness that dives into the deeper side of relationships we formed on a daily basis.
debbie is THE main character in this coming-of-age story, and by emphasizing that i truly do mean that she is one of us. we are the main character in our coming-of-age story just as much as she is in this story of hers. i find myself relating to every aspect of debbie’s new life entering college, more so to being in our early twenties era. the way that she thinks of the world felt like my own personal thoughts was being projected onto the paper, like it was calling me out for being just as insufferable as debbie are from time to time. my annotations truly consisted of the words “ouch” and “felt” nearly 99% of the way through and i cherished this experience with my whole heart because as sick as i am, i love nothing more than a book that calls me out on my insufferable behaviour.
as said before, this book dives into the deeper side of relationships and it’s more than just following debbie’s story on being that “different country girl”. we also follow her close-knit relationship with her uncle billy and with her mother, maeve. all of which i find to be so heartwarming and yet so tragic as i dive into their story further. i love how beautifully connected the greek mythology references are to their lives, and even maeve’s infatuation with the philosophical wondering of dreams. recollecting, dissecting, and reliving her dreams almost as if they were prophecies which she and debbie somehow slowly comes to believe as the book progresses. debbie’s rollercoaster of a friendship with xanthe was also very fulfilling to read. i somewhat relate to their friendship so much, especially with my own branches of friendships that i’ve had previously and even now. this book is just charming with its simplicity and that dash of magical realism to it.
speaking of simplicity, i adore nealon’s writing as it is simple and yet it hits you in your heart just in the right spot. it somewhat echoes of rooney’s writing which i find understandable now as to how it’s being heavily compared to rooney’s work but as far as the plot goes, snowflake is an entirely different being from any of rooney’s works. it stands brightfully on its own and it definitely deserves more recognition. louise nealon is a brilliant writer and i cannot wait to see what she comes up with next.
content warning: mentions of suicide, mental health issues, death and more but this is all i have on the top of my head for now. nevertheless, approach with caution!
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”when we fall asleep, we go to a place where words dissolve and become meaningless, like rain dropping into the ocean. as soon as rain hits the ocean it is no longer called rain. as soon as a dreamer enters a dream there is no longer the dreamer. there is only the dream.”
initially, i was attracted to louise nealon’s snowflake as it was being compared to both my favourite irish novelists' works, sally rooney and naoise dolan. naturally, being a huge fan of rooney’s works, it had to go into my personal tbr straight away and i was thrilled to have received a copy of this book from definitely books by pansing. despite the endless comparisons between nealon’s debut to these acclaimed irish literary works, snowflake stands on its own with its natural uniqueness that dives into the deeper side of relationships we formed on a daily basis.
debbie is THE main character in this coming-of-age story, and by emphasizing that i truly do mean that she is one of us. we are the main character in our coming-of-age story just as much as she is in this story of hers. i find myself relating to every aspect of debbie’s new life entering college, more so to being in our early twenties era. the way that she thinks of the world felt like my own personal thoughts was being projected onto the paper, like it was calling me out for being just as insufferable as debbie are from time to time. my annotations truly consisted of the words “ouch” and “felt” nearly 99% of the way through and i cherished this experience with my whole heart because as sick as i am, i love nothing more than a book that calls me out on my insufferable behaviour.
as said before, this book dives into the deeper side of relationships and it’s more than just following debbie’s story on being that “different country girl”. we also follow her close-knit relationship with her uncle billy and with her mother, maeve. all of which i find to be so heartwarming and yet so tragic as i dive into their story further. i love how beautifully connected the greek mythology references are to their lives, and even maeve’s infatuation with the philosophical wondering of dreams. recollecting, dissecting, and reliving her dreams almost as if they were prophecies which she and debbie somehow slowly comes to believe as the book progresses. debbie’s rollercoaster of a friendship with xanthe was also very fulfilling to read. i somewhat relate to their friendship so much, especially with my own branches of friendships that i’ve had previously and even now. this book is just charming with its simplicity and that dash of magical realism to it.
speaking of simplicity, i adore nealon’s writing as it is simple and yet it hits you in your heart just in the right spot. it somewhat echoes of rooney’s writing which i find understandable now as to how it’s being heavily compared to rooney’s work but as far as the plot goes, snowflake is an entirely different being from any of rooney’s works. it stands brightfully on its own and it definitely deserves more recognition. louise nealon is a brilliant writer and i cannot wait to see what she comes up with next.
content warning: mentions of suicide, mental health issues, death and more but this is all i have on the top of my head for now. nevertheless, approach with caution!
twitter ☆ instagram ☆ booktube