Another Booker shortlisted book, though this one has had quite a lot of press- I've seen it on tube tunnels and billboards.
Snowdrops is set in Moscow amongst slush and state-corruption. The book is a letter of confession to Nick's fiance, revealing things he hasn't told her about his time working in Russia. All the way through he refers to this unknown woman in his present, and with the ultimate question, will she still want to marry him? I'm guessing no.
We have three plot lines; firstly that of Nick's relationship with beautiful young Russian Masha, then we have his law firm's business deal with 'The Cossack' (some of this was a bit over my head) and finally, his elderly neighbour's friend has mysteriously disappeared in the bitter winter. These threads do not intertwine, and simply seem parallel plots. I expected it all to come together at the end, but disappointing there was no pinnacle. They simply serve to show that all aspects of Nick's life, work, play and home, are all drenched in deception.
The first thread is probably the most interesting. That of Nick's 'relationship' with mini skirt wearing, sharp talking Masha who is very much his junior. Of course, we all smell at rat here, why is a beautiful young woman stepping out with a foreign 40yr old? Nick himself is also aware of an ulterior motive, he is no tragic hero, neither is he an old fool in love. He knows there is a price to pay and the narrative simple expresses his pathetic waiting for this scheme to reveal itself.
The journey to this 'revelation' is not mysterious. We can spot how Masha will sting him many pages prior to the back cover, yet it is written with beautiful extended metaphor and a masterful take-on hindsight. You are transported to Russia, with an authorial flair that could only come from personal experience (A.D Miller himself spent 3 years as a correspondent in Russia). The dialect is spot on, and an effective tool in creating the strong personas and presence of the characters.
The choice to write it as a letter was perplexing at first. Nick expresses intimates of his relationship with Masha that no fiance would want to hear. 'Stupid man!' I wanted to scream that the pages, 'why are you telling her this? Do you even want her to marry you?'. For that reason the ending did not have an impact. I feel as though the final line was supposed to be shocking, but anyone with half a brain could have guessed it.
An immersing read that transports you to another place and time. The plot could have been cleverer but nevertheless, it was something I looked forward to reading on my commute. I have a bone to pick with publishers, in that the text was almost embarrassingly large? Call me a snob, but that instantly changes my opinion of content. Also the stiff spine was a nightmare when trying to hang fast to a Piccadilly line tube pole. Is it correct to include physical aesthetics in a book review? In this case, it really did have a negative impact on my reading experience.
Now reading: Cold Mountain by John Frazier
0 comments:
Post a Comment