A review by ashlyntalksbooks
Blizzard by Marie Vingtras

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

My neck was aching from the contorted position I was reading in, but I couldn’t waste any time rearranging my pillows because I just had to finish this book. 

I wish it was longer, I wish I could know more, I wish I understood how I can feel so much for these characters I only spent a couple of days with. But I know that’s also the beauty of the book—I’ll be chewing on all of this for a long time to come. Sometimes, less is more. 

I’m also wholly obsessed with this author and translator now. A French woman telling such a rich and compelling story with almost precise regional dialect of a place that even Americans find remote in their own country? Fleshing out dark and complicated histories of a country that isn’t her own in vignettes that don’t tell textbook knowledge but show lived experiences. It’s brave to take that on, and what’s more, it’s convincing. I admire anyone who can put themselves in others’ shoes that well. Of course, that’s an author’s job, but I suppose that’s what sets the truly masterful ones apart. 

Knocking off a .25 because I’m still spiteful that there wasn’t more to read.