Snow Gothics

It is a snowy day here and I was thinking more about how I characterized Cover of Snow by Jenny Milchman. I called it a "snow gothic" and it made think more about the characteristics of such a book. Is it just snow? Or is it more than that?

I recently read the second book in MJ McGrath's Edie Kiglatuk series. This one is set in Alaska where Edie has gone to cheer on and help her ex-husband during a dog race. But, first she finds the body of a child on the land of the Old Believers, a group that left Russia over a dispute over a matter of Russian Orthodox dogma and iconography. Snow is a big part of the novel and in fact, there is a dramatic scene when Edie, Sammy, her ex-husband and her policeman friend are trapped out in a blizzard in terrible cold.

This book is clearly not a snow gothic. Edie lives in the cold--she considers Alaska "warm" and this is a fascinating but pretty straightforward mystery. The fascinating part is learning the ways of people who grew up in the snow and cold and how they adapt to it.

On the other hand, Beneath the Shadows by Sara Foster is clearly a snow gothic. It is set in the English moors in a very small town. The protagonist, Grace, has moved to the home town of her husband from London. He disappears one day, leaving their baby in a carriage at their front door and never returns. Grace lives in the town but is not of the town.

The townspeople share old myths and there may or may not be a ghost. And, Grace never is really sure who she can trust. But what really makes this a snow gothic is the palpable sense of unease that the snow signals. if you go out you may never return just like her missing husband. She is alone, surrounded by people who might be friendly and helpful, but she cannot really trust any of them. The dark sky brings snow and danger because it is quiet but it can trap you either inside or out.

Snow, then, is very important to creating atmosphere and the sense of danger and unease that drives the book and makes it so engrossing and enveloping.

Cover of Snow by Jenny Milchman

Cover of Snow is the first novel published by Jenny Milchman. Nora Hamilton lives with her husband, a policeman, in Wedeskyull, a town in the Adirondack Mountains in New York. She wakes up one morning to find that the house feels empty and discovers the body of her dead husband. Their town is a small town, not particularly welcoming to newcomers but Nora feels the coldness even more now that her husband is dead. She does not understand why he is dead and begins to investigate it and this brings attention, most of it being the wrong sort, to her.

When I was thinking about this book, I decided it was an excellent example of "snow gothic." So, what is a snow gothic? It is not like the traditional meaning of gothic in which supernatural elements mix with disturbances among the characters but it is more like "Southern Gothic" in which there is a strong sense of place and unease brought on by secrets among the characters. The town is dark and silent because of the snow and truly because of the secrets. Snow gothics are characterized by secrets, silences and that overbearing sense of gloom that you can get before the storm really hits.

Snow is very present in this book. It is always either snowing or about to snow and when the book delves into the history of the characters--snow is present then.

Milchman does a great job creating a place, an atmosphere and characters that you will remember. A very good book and a great one to read on a snowy afternoon in New Jersey. I am already looking forward to Milchman's next book