Snow Angels: A Novel [Paperback]

Stewart O'Nan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1, 1995

With intricate feeling and perfect pitch, this novel by the author of In the Walled City weaves together the stories of two small-town Pennsylvania families connected by tragedy. "An exquisite double helix, each of its two strands the tale of an unraveling family."--Elle.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

First novelist O'Nan links the troubled family life of a teenage boy with the events leading up to the violent death of his beloved former baby-sitter.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Arty Parkinson, the protagonist of this fine first novel, returns one Christmas to his hometown of Butler, Pennsylvania, to confront his haunting past-specifically, the winter of 1974, when he turned 15 and two terrible things happened: his family fell apart, and Annie Marchand, the young neighbor who had once been his baby-sitter, was murdered. O'Nan (In the Walled City, Univ. of Pittsburgh, 1993) weaves together these seemingly disparate small-town tragedies-one narrated in the first person, the other in the third-with consummate skill, seamlessly shifting the focus among characters he wishes to make the reader care about. This winner of the 1993 Pirates Alley William Faulkner Prize for the Novel is recommended for fiction collections.
David Sowd, formerly with Stark Cty. District Lib., Canton, Ohio
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics) (December 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140250964
• ISBN-13: 978-0140250961
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,196,148 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Stewart O'Nan's award-winning fiction includes Snow Angels, A Prayer for the Dying, Last Night at the Lobster, and Emily, Alone. Granta named him one of America's Best Young Novelists. He lives in Pittsburgh.

www.stewart-onan.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Aftermath of two failed marriages, December 2, 2005

By 

algo41 "algo41" (philadelphia, pa United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Snow Angels: A Novel (Paperback)

"Snow Angels" focuses on the aftermath of two failed marriages. O'Nan has a very simple prose style, his characters are not very reflective, and he is certainly not interested in offering the reader his own analyses. Then, why did I like this book as much as I did? Like Mozart in his music, O'Nan chooses just the right details and dialogues, so that nothing is wasted, and a very interesting and moving work is created. On the one hand, the reader does not really get a complete picture of any of the characters. On the other hand, nothing is false, and the characters come alive through action and dialogue and thought, not by the author's sketch. While "ordinary people", they are complex and interesting, as are most real people. The structure of parallel stories adds weight to the novel, and there is a love affirming coda at the end.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It grabbed me. I read it in one shot., March 25, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Snow Angels: A Novel (Paperback)

I found the book on a table at a university library. The title interested me and I read the first couple of pages. I was hooked. At first, I was amused by the interests and high school life of the protagonist, Arthur Parkinson. I thought,"Hey, just like my high school." Then I began to appreciate the layering that experiences and events had on the individual character's perspective. I also like the meandering fashion the story had. Events take place linear, concurrently, overlapping and intersecting at the most interesting places, just as life happens. Take any small town tragedy and you'll find more twists and turns than you would have ever imagined. Mr. O'Nan's story took on the complexity of this situation and grounded it in Arthur, a character many people will identify with.

17 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A masterpiece of writing, June 5, 2000

By 

Janice M. Hansen (California United States) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Snow Angels: A Novel (Paperback)

This was my first Stewart O'Nan book, which launched me on a mission to buy every book he has ever wrote (of which none will disappoint.) I appreciated how well O'Nan creates the momentum, a calculated and skilled accounting of events in a boy's life, Arthur, that challenges his ability to accept and move on. He effectively conveys the confusion of youth when faced with parental divorce, first love, and the ramifications of being in the right place and a terrible time to make a grusome discovery. O'Nan sets up the story in a small Pennsylvannia town, and you feel every ice storm and foot fall on crunching snow as the adult Arthur comes back to town and eventually must make peace with himself.