Snow country is one of the most moving books I've read in a
long time. As I read the foreword I
realised that it was part of trilogy - the first instalment of which I read
when it was first published in 2005.
Faulks, being the incredible writer he is, I'm sure there are details in
that first book that will link with and which are pertinent to the story in
Snow Country. But as there is a 16 year
gap between the two books, I'm going to have go back and read the first one
again to see what I might have missed.
Snow country is essentially a love story, but the agonies
and ecstasies of the two central protagonists are so beautifully played. The missed opportunities, the misguided
decisions and actions and the miscommunication - so reminiscent of the Henry
James novels that I read as a teenager through to my twenties - are exquisitely
examined. There is such a depth of
emotion in this story. Add in the
fabulous landscape of Austria, the looming first war and the march towards a
second and the activism prevalent across Europe in the interwar years and you
have an ever-present sense of gathering danger through out.
I found the narrative flowed exceptionally well. I found the characters absorbing, each in
their own way, and the plot was well paced and provided interesting turns of
fate. But there is pathos and sadness
there too. This is a two-hanky book. The first for when you are reading it. You'll need the second for the days and
weeks after you've finished reading it when you discover that Anton and Lena
won't leave your thoughts, or for those times when someone makes a comment or
asks a question and suddenly you're back with Rudolf, or one of the other
characters and yet another deeper level of realisation pops into your conscious
mind. A wonderful read and this book is
a keeper, I know I will return to it.
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