The Big Snow [Paperback]

David Park (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 2003

When a rare blizzard strikes the north of Ireland in 1963, the inhabitants of one city find their intimate desires thrown into sharp relief. A wife dies before a husband can make his confession; her coffin is pulled to the church by a young man engulfed by his first romantic feelings. Elsewhere, an old woman searches madly for a wedding dress, and a lonely headmaster is tempted into indiscretion. In the heart of the city, meanwhile, the white snow is tainted by the murder of a young woman. As one man begins to unravel the city's dark secrets, he must race against time to find the murderer before the snow melts.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The central conceit of this acclaimed Irish author's poignant and compelling American debut is a snowstorm that shuts down Northern Ireland. A series of interlocking short stories about various smalltown characters precedes a taut, riveting urban murder-mystery involving a prostitute and a city councilman. The book starts on a wistful note as schoolteacher Martin Stevenson prepares for the death of his wife from a terminal illness that is wicking away her beauty and energy. From there, Park moves to a precocious young man's attraction to an older woman when the storm forces him and his father to help her husband after a minor auto accident. Other short interludes include a woman's efforts to buy a wedding dress for her daughter, and an encounter involving a prudish principal who winds up sleeping with one of his teachers. Park saves the best for last, when the mysterious death of a prostitute sparks a young detective named Swift to defy his boss and pursue a prominent councilman in the title novella. Park is a superb writer who focuses on interiority in the early stories, briefly but sharply bringing his characters to life with compassion and verve as they grapple with their passions and shortcomings. The impeccable plotting in the murder mystery is just as noteworthy, as Park focuses on Swift's head butting with his boss to increase the tension for the final pursuit. Structurally, the story line poses challenges, but the author incorporates a stunning beauty and a sense of mystery into his prose that makes it smooth and seamless.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Four short stories and a novella, set during the 1960s in the north of Ireland in the midst of a blinding blizzard, are linked by the theme of love. In "The Light of the World," a husband is haunted by his memories of infidelity as his wife lays dying; "Snow Trails" follows a student's infatuation with a wealthy woman and her rarefied world; an old woman buys a wedding dress and slips into madness in "The Wedding Dress"; and a deeply lonely schoolmaster forges an unexpected connection in "Against the Cold." In the moving title story, a new detective doggedly searches for the murderer of a beautiful woman, somehow convinced that his investigation will lead him to love. In setting these explorations of passionate human emotions against the austerely beautiful, snow-covered landscape, Park throws his themes into sharp relief. Skillfully depicting how the snow has transformed the neighborhood into something only partly recognizable and temporarily released people from the predictable, Park uses the imagery of his setting in every conceivable fashion and to powerful effect. Masterful fiction. Joanne Wilkinson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Bloomsbury USA (May 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1582342938
• ISBN-13: 978-1582342931
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.3 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #306,590 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Modern Irish fiction, May 29, 2007

By 

Joan Regan (California) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Big Snow (Paperback)

This book contains several short stories. (I had thought it was a novel.) Some of these stores are tangentially related to each other. By far the best one was the longest (maybe one-third of the book) entitled The Big Snow. All the stories are set in a winter of very heavy snow, unusual in Ireland. It is a thoughtful book, not a cant-put-down one. The characterizations in the longest story were wonderful, and the dialogue was superb.