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    The Snow Queen: A Novel
    The Snow Queen: A Novel
    The Snow Queen: A Novel
    Audiobook6 hours

    The Snow Queen: A Novel

    Written by Michael Cunningham

    Narrated by Claire Danes

    4.5/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    A darkly luminous new novel from the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of The Hours

    Michael Cunningham's luminous novel begins with a vision. It's November 2004. Barrett Meeks, having lost love yet again, is walking through Central Park when he is inspired to look up at the sky; there he sees a pale, translucent light that seems to regard him in a distinctly godlike way. Barrett doesn't believe in visions—or in God—but he can't deny what he's seen.

    At the same time, in the not-quite-gentrified Bushwick neighborhood of Brooklyn, Tyler, Barrett's older brother, a struggling musician, is trying—and failing—to write a wedding song for Beth, his wife-to-be, who is seriously ill. Tyler is determined to write a song that will be not merely a sentimental ballad but an enduring expression of love.

    Barrett, haunted by the light, turns unexpectedly to religion. Tyler grows increasingly convinced that only drugs can release his creative powers. Beth tries to face mortality with as much courage as she can summon.

    Cunningham follows the Meeks brothers as each travels down a different path in his search for transcendence. In subtle, lucid prose, he demonstrates a profound empathy for his conflicted characters and a singular understanding of what lies at the core of the human soul.

    The Snow Queen, beautiful and heartbreaking, comic and tragic, proves again that Cunningham is one of the great novelists of his generation.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherMacmillan Audio
    Release dateMay 6, 2014
    ISBN9781427233394
    The Snow Queen: A Novel
    Author

    Michael Cunningham

    Michael Cunningham is the author of six novels including A Home at the End of the World, Flesh and Blood, The Hours, Specimen Days, and non-fiction book, Land’s End: A Walk Through Provincetown. The Hours was awarded both the 1999 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the 1999 PEN/Faulkner Award and made into an internationally acclaimed, Oscar-winning film. His new novel, The Snow Queen, will be published in May of 2014. He lives in New York.

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    Reviews for The Snow Queen

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    • 5/5
      The Snow Queen, illustrated by Vladyslav Yerko.Published in the Ukraine, this beautiful edition of Hans Christian Andersen's classic tale retains the format of the original, with seven "chapters" or parts. When young Kay is pierced with slivers of a demonic goblin's mirror, his heart turns to ice and he can only see the bad around him. Kidnapped by the Snow Queen, Kay is taken to the far north, where he becomes caught up in the "icy game of reason," and forgets everything he has ever loved. His childhood friend Gerda has not forgotten him however, and she undertakes a long journey to find him and bring him home...Like some of Andersen's other stories, The Ugly Duckling and The Little Mermaid among them, The Snow Queen is an original creation of the author, rather than a retelling of a traditional folktale. Interpreted by scholars and literary critics in many ways, at its heart, this tale concerns the conflict between good and evil, and between love and intellect. It is clear that Kay's icy heart, and inability to see anything but that which is evil and ugly, are tied to his desire to be "clever," to live by reason alone. Gerda triumphs because her loving heart transforms those around her, from crows to robber girls, into her allies. It is her tears, which spring from her love of Kay, that melt the ice in his heart. I am always particularly struck by Andersen's wisdom, as manifested in the words of the Finmark woman, who observes that the power of twelve men is as nothing compared to the loving heart of one innocent little girl.It is unfortunate that this beautifully-illustrated book, published in Kiev, Ukraine, is not more widely available in the United States. Vladylsav Yerko does a phenomenal job of bringing this tale to life, and his paintings are intensely involving, whether the scene depicted is icy or warm. This is one of the most gorgeously illustrated books currently in my collection, and I sincerely recommend it to anyone who loves fairy-tales.
    • 5/5
      This is very special book for me. The story is wonderful and the illustrations are full of living art and beauty.The art in this book is truly breathtaking, the details are amazing! I just agreed with many readers about it. For example: "This is perhaps the most extraordinary children's book that I have ever seen.' - Paulo Coelho, Internationally selebrated writer. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil" Or: "The full page illustrations by the award winning Ukrainian artist, Vladyslav Yerko, are alone worth the price of the book. I recommend it to all ages." Robert Goldsborough, Writer and former Chicago Tribune Magazine editor* I found special edition of The Snow Queen book on the site snowqueen.us
    • 5/5
      The book is a fast-paced, adventure-laden story of the contrasting lives of two 19th century girls, one raised in the "civilized" portion of Scandinavia, the other the daughter of a shaman and a robber-baron of Lapland. Together they must confront the Ice Queen, sorceress of the icy Northern wastes. When Gerda leaves home to track down Kai, the boy she wishes would return her love and who has gone North with a mysterious countess to study arcane subjects, she little expects to become the captive of a robber baron of Northern Finland and his daughter's pet plaything. Ritva, the shaman's headstrong daughter comes to realize that Gerda is not just a human pet, fit only to amuse her. Together they seek the Snow Queen's castle in the Northern fastness. Gerda's rational and common sense approach, along with Ritva's innate fey nature and her reindeer, Ba, allow them to release Kai and escape. Ultimately though, Gerda can see that Kai will never truly be interested in her. As a book for young adults The Snow Queen is just fine, proceeding quickly but in an exciting and page-turning manner. However, the best of childrens' literature reads well for both youngsters and adults, though obviously on different levels. For an older reader The Snow Queen lacks somewhat in depth and, in several instances, I would have liked a particular scene or narrative to continue longer and in more detail. The narrative often skipped forward several weeks or months. This to a certain extent is probably due to the fairy tale source/style, a genre which frequently uses such leaps in time or space, but in The Snow Queen this often precluded anything but the sketchiest details of the society and landscapes around the two young women.