The Elegant Gathering of White Snows and over one million other books are available for Amazon Kindle. Learn more

Buy New

or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
or
Amazon Prime Free Trial required. Sign up when you check out. Learn More
Buy Used
Used - Very Good See details
$3.64 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details

or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
 
   
Kindle Edition
 
   
More Buying Choices
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
The Elegant Gathering of White Snows
 
 
Start reading The Elegant Gathering of White Snows on your Kindle in under a minute.

Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here, or download a FREE Kindle Reading App.

The Elegant Gathering of White Snows [Paperback]

Kris Radish (Author)
2.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (96 customer reviews)

List Price: $14.00
Price: $11.20 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details
You Save: $2.80 (20%)
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
In Stock.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Gift-wrap available.
Only 7 left in stock--order soon (more on the way).
Want it delivered Wednesday, May 30? Choose One-Day Shipping at checkout. Details

Formats

Amazon Price New from Used from
Kindle Edition --  
Hardcover --  
Paperback $11.20  

Book Description

June 10, 2003
Eight Women on a Journey That Will Change Their Lives as Lovers, Wives, Mothers, Daughters, Friends

Just after midnight in a small town in Wisconsin, eight women begin walking together down a rural highway. Career women, housewives, mothers, divorcées, and one ex prom queen, they are close friends who have been meeting every Thursday night for years, sharing food, wine, and their deepest secrets. But on this particular Thursday, Susan, Alice, Chris, Sandy, Gail, Mary, Joanne, and Janice decide to disappear from their own lives.

Their spontaneous pilgrimage attracts national attention and inspires other women from all across the country. As the miles fall away and the women forge ahead on their backroads odyssey leaving small miracles in their wake each of their histories unfolds, tales of shattered dreams and unexpected renewal, of thwarted love affairs and precious second chances.In luminous, heartwarming prose, Kris Radish deftly interweaves the women s intimate confessions into the story of their brave, history-making walk.

A breathtaking achievement, The Elegant Gathering of White Snows tells an incomparable tale of friendship and love, loss and liberation.

Frequently Bought Together

The Elegant Gathering of White Snows + Dancing Naked at the Edge of Dawn + Annie Freeman's Fabulous Traveling Funeral
Price For All Three: $31.60

Show availability and shipping details

Buy the selected items together
  • In Stock.
    Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
    Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details

  • Dancing Naked at the Edge of Dawn $10.20

    In Stock.
    Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
    Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details

  • Annie Freeman's Fabulous Traveling Funeral $10.20

    In Stock.
    Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
    Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details



Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

When eight women in rural Wisconsin take off in the middle of the night for a journey of the heart, it touches women everywhere. The walking women are different ages and of diverse backgrounds, yet their friendship and unwavering mutual support have forged an immutable bond. They start their walk as support for Susan, who is facing an unwanted pregnancy, but all are walking for their own lost loves and lost dreams. As they walk, they talk about their lives, and the pain of the past is shed. The media picks up the news of their perambulation, and soon they become a national sensation that starts other women thinking about their lives, resulting in positive changes all over the country. The women are unaware of their influence, and their small community protects their privacy, so they can proceed without the intrusion of the outside world. A rallying cry for the empowerment of women, Radish's novel is also a celebration of the strong bond that exists between female friends. Patty Engelmann
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

From the Inside Flap

Eight Women on a Journey That Will Change Their Lives as Lovers, Wives, Mothers, Daughters, Friends

Just after midnight in a small town in Wisconsin, eight women begin walking together down a rural highway. Career women, housewives, mothers, divorcées, and one ex?prom queen, they are close friends who have been meeting every Thursday night for years, sharing food, wine, and their deepest secrets. But on this particular Thursday, Susan, Alice, Chris, Sandy, Gail, Mary, Joanne, and Janice decide to disappear from their own lives.

Their spontaneous pilgrimage attracts national attention and inspires other women from all across the country. As the miles fall away and the women forge ahead on their backroads odyssey--leaving small miracles in their wake--each of their histories unfolds, tales of shattered dreams and unexpected renewal, of thwarted love affairs and precious second chances.In luminous, heartwarming prose, Kris Radish deftly interweaves the women?s intimate confessions into the story of their brave, history-making walk.

A breathtaking achievement, The Elegant Gathering of White Snows tells an incomparable tale of friendship and love, loss and liberation.

Product Details

  • Paperback: 321 pages
  • Publisher: Bantam (June 10, 2003)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0553382411
  • ISBN-13: 978-0553382419
  • Product Dimensions: 5.1 x 0.7 x 8.2 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (96 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #116,757 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Kris Radish grew up dreaming about living a Nancy Drew-like life and always held her own passion for writing very close to her heart. A former journalist, nationally syndicated columnist, magazine writer and university instructor, Radish also loves to tell stories about the times she picked nighcrawlers, served beer to cowboys, worked on a tomato farm and hung out of the side of a fast moving helicoper.

Radish is now the bestselling author of six novels and has captured the hearts of legions of fans with her heartwarming, real, passionate and often hilarious novels. Her stories focus on the important bonds of female friendship and celebrate the common feelings, heartaches, loves, and struggles that all women share. She loves to call her work "true fiction" because she addresses the real emotions that women live and share every day.

She is also the author of two non-fiction books, writes poetry, is the mother of two young and very fiesty adults, is known for her wild laugh and wilder hair, and is working on her seventh novel.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
95 of 110 people found the following review helpful
Good Idea - BAD Writing January 25, 2005
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Ms. Radish has a wonderful message, but her writing is so amateur that all you can't see the message for the soap box.

My book club picked this book and that's the only reason I'm still plodding through it. We picked it because of the premise of the book: women bonding, overcoming pain and loss etc., etc. But it's one of the most poorly written books I've read in a long time. Every page screams: "Where was the EDITOR of this thing??".

Want an example? Here you go: Page 5, 3rd paragraph: "As the women talk, they don't see themselves as separate entities even though they are each as different from one another as the proverbial fish is to the bicycle." HUH?????

Also, the book is over-run with unnecessary details that should have been "red penned": Page 140, 4th paragraph: "At the bottom of the bag are two bottles of wine, the same kind they had at Susan's house the day they left." Why do we need to know this?

There are hundreds of examples of what seem to be attempts at colorful language but result in a reaction of "huh?" : page 135, 5th paragraph: "The disgusting echoes of cars roaring past on the highway sounded as if a convoy was stalking the women walkers". DISGUSTING echoes????

With good editing, this book would have been half as long and maybe twice as interesting. Anyone who has ever read Alice Hoffman, Ann Tyler or Kaye Gibbons knows what I'm talking about. Their writing makes you CARE what happens to the characters.

To the reviewer who surmised that the negative reviews of this book were coming from young folks without much life experience: I'm 62 years old and have been around the block a few times, and I'm here to tell you that this book ain't the real world, baby.

I'm willing to suspend belief for a well-written book, but not for one that makes me wish I had a red pen in my hand to "cut and slash" and get to the heart of the matter.
Was this review helpful to you?
24 of 26 people found the following review helpful
Cringing through cliches February 20, 2006
Format:Paperback
This is not the type of book I would have chosen to read. I reluctantly bought it when my book club chose it as their next selection. Even though it looked goofy and sentimental, I cautioned myself not to "judge a book by its cover".

Reading this book is excruciating. The cliches are so embarrassing and juvenile, the premise so stupid, the characterization so predictible, and the flashbacks so maudlin, that I would give up if I had not wasted eleven dollars buying this paperback.

There must literally be a dozen cliches to the page. All women are victims. Men are abusive, sex-crazed, needy. Even the physical types of the women are cliched. The tough, hard-working Lenny has to wear cowboy boots and Southwestern silver jewelry. She has long black hair. I could have guessed it all without even reading. The world-weary journalist has to be tall and big-boned, hence ugly. Very feminist, Ms. Radish.

I can scarcely get through a paragraph without groaning in disgust. A father who shrugs off the brutal rape of his daughter, little boys who get off on spying on their mother in her underwear- these anecdotes are so distasteful, so unrealistic, and so hysterical that I am only left to ponder what bizzare issues this author must have.

I have no empathy for the underdeveloped, boozy, dull, whiny, selfish, and stupid protagonists. In fact, I may hate them. Nancy Drew was a more nuanced character.

The prose, like the theme, is insipid. Worse, the writing is so unpolished that I wonder if this author ever took a Comp 101 class. Nearly every sentence contains an awkward redundancy. I feel like I am trudging through quicksand.

I am not sure what the author's purpose is, beyond an unsubtle lecture on "feminism". Probably Ms. Radish is very earnest in her desire to portray women bonding, escaping the patriarchy, and so on, but her writing is frankly awful. I have to wonder if this book went through more than one or two drafts. I also think that a well-written book should appeal to both sexes. I am very dubious that any man could make it through this tortuous and insulting manuscript.

This book is a real embarrassment, from the pretentious title to the facile plot and characterizations. The author displays an astounding superficiality in her treatment of themes and characters. Despite all this, I think the very worst aspect of this book is the author's transparent attempts to "inspire" with her twaddle.

I have never returned a book in my life, and I must have over 10,000 titles in my house. This will be the very first book I have ever brought back to the store. Yes, it's that bad.
Was this review helpful to you?
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I kept notes on my bookmark as I progressed through this book so that I could remember specifically why I disliked it, and report this to my book club which had selected it. Words and phrases I jotted down included, "melodramatic...unconvincing characters and story...don't care about the characters... cliches... unoriginal ideas... similar voices [characters]all the same." If it hadn't been "assigned reading" I would have never spent the time on this book. As I read along, I did search for something redeeming. There were definitely some worthwhile ideas here and there. Too bad they were buried and lost in this book.

Although I think the author was trying to write a very "deep message" book, it came off as superficial, trite and ridiculous.
Comment | 
Was this review helpful to you?
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Quite possibly the most unwittingly hilarious and awful book I've ever...
In the history of overwrought, awful, just plain stupid "novels," this has to take the cake. It misfires on virtually every level. Beyond purple, the prose is simply inept. Read more
Published 4 days ago by Morning's Minion
For women only
Perhaps the best fiction I've ever read! (Right up there anyways) Take a walk on the path of womanhood. A journey of sharing I couldn't put down. Great way to spend a weekend!
Published 4 months ago by Wendy
Loved the book...
Simple 'writing' though it may be (as some have said), it's about being female, being strong, being weak, being fabulous, being fallible, being (and remaining) friends... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Avid Reader
Nice Concept, Terribly Executed
The general story, though a little farfetched, has the potential to be a wonderful tale of sisterhood. Read more
Published 8 months ago by Elizabeth Grace
Truly Elegant!
I love this book! I read it while on a relaxed vacation and couldn't wait until I got back to be able to order multiple copies. I'm giving one to each of my closest friends. Read more
Published 8 months ago by Carole H. Anthony
Horrible example of female values
I was mildly amused by the dream-like relationships these women have in the beginning of the book. But then, it turned bad. Read more
Published 15 months ago by woman40
All Women should read this book
Loved this book so much I purchased 10 more & gave to my own elegant gathering of friends.
I savored each delicious word.Dancing Naked at the Edge of Dawn
Published 23 months ago by Vickey S. Saito
Loved it!!
This is a great book, in fact this book is what started our book club. Eight girlfriends getting together for lunch, maybe a little wine and a book discussion. Read more
Published on February 11, 2010 by Christine V. Carothers
Elegant gathering of white snows
Another book I liked very much and recommended to my reading group. VERY good discussion, and they liked it too.
Published on December 5, 2009 by Dorothy L. Hughes
Great Women Bonding
Loved this book- really good women bonding- supporting each other and opening up about past trauma- which is really hard to do. Read more
Published on September 18, 2009 by Support Women
Search Customer Reviews
Only search this product's reviews

Inside This Book (learn more)
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
women walkers, tea store
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Chris Boyer, Wilkins County Wisconsin, Associated Press April, Nancy Drew, New York, Sister Cynthia, Girl Scout, Grand Canyon, Sheriff Barnes Holden, Swine Man, Catholic Church, Mary Jean
Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | First Pages | Surprise Me!
Search Inside This Book:

What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?


Tags Customers Associate with This Product

 (What's this?)
Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
 

Your tags: Add your first tag
 

Customer Discussions

This product's forum
Discussion Replies Latest Post
No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 


Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
Search all Amazon discussions
   
Related forums



So You'd Like to...


Create a guide


Look for Similar Items by Category


Look for Similar Items by Subject