Customer Reviews

Whiter Than Snow (Wheeler Hardcover)

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I've read all of Ms. Dallas's books, and have loved every one of them. 'Whiter Than Snow' is a great story about some of the folks of Swandyke, CO...a mining town at what feels like the top of the world.

The story begins with an avalanche that buries nine children who were walking home from school, killing five of them. We don't find out which four survive till the very end. The following chapters are about each of the parents of the nine children, and their individual stories; how they came to end up in Swandyke, and the shameful secrets they harbor.

Ms. Dallas has such a talent for developing her characters and making you care about them. Once you hear the stories of each parent, it's heartbreaking to know some of them will have lost their children...children who, for some, are the only thing keeping them going each day. The ending was a fine one. I hesitate to say 'good', or 'satisfactory', since so many little lives were lost, but for being such a sad tale, she ending it with a glimmer of hope.

**As for the Kindle version, it was terrible. I'm sure this is not Ms. Dallas's doing, which is why I'm not deducting stars for it, but there were so many errors! And what's worse, this book was $11.99! Not the normal $9.99 that most Kindle books are. I would think if a publisher was going to charge more for a Kindle format, they would at least make sure it was translated properly. For instance...every time the word 'off' appeared, an 'f' was missing. EVERY...SINGLE...TIME, throughout the WHOLE book. 'Off' read as 'Of'. Not the end of the world, but annoying nonetheless. Also, there was a LOT of punctuation missing, and there would be huge gaps in the middle of a word, mainly longer words. Overall, NOT a pleasant Kindle experience...especially not for $11.99**

That said, I absolutely recommend this book...in hardcover. It's a great story (albeit a sad one), and will be very difficult to put down once started. As always, I look forward to whatever comes next for Ms. Dallas...she never fails to please!

Yes, I am an admitted Sandra Dallas fan and yes, I did have her newest book pre-ordered just because that's what I do. Needless to say, she does not let her legion of fans down with this sad, sad story. It made for some tearful reading and yet, I had to know what made these characters all end up in that high mountain town and experience the tragedy that befalls them. I found myself in such places as the Civil War, the New York tenement district,a poor Iowa farmstead-just to name a few locations that were all described as if you were, in fact, there. I would recommend this story to anyone who will not be too haunted by the heartbreaking outcome.

This was absolutely one of the best human interest books I have ever read.
Every character was beautifully developed and interesting. The story unfolded gently and the ending left you wanting just one more chapter. If you love books that teach you something,i.e., life in a mining town and American history, Civil War and family values, then please read WHITER THAN SNOW.

In April 1920, the Swandyke Avalanche came down Jubilee Mountain in Colorado killing twenty schools kids; only four survived.

The parents wait anxiously as everyone digs frantically. Age, race, religion, gender and occupation no longer are dividers. Estranged sisters Lucy and Dolly pray for their five kids between them to be safe while the former's husband Henry takes charge and the latter's Tom gets drunk. Black widower Joe fears for his beloved Jane. Jim and Grace also worry about their offspring. Elderly Minder keeps the Civil War cemetery clean, but now fears for his grandson Emmett. Essie is a popular French hooker who is actually a New York Jew; she hopes one day to be a real mom to her Sophie raised by a nanny. All share in common their fear that their child may be dead.

The ensemble cast seems genuine before and during the disaster; especially poignant is the reaction of panicked parents as race and occupation no longer matter. Time and place come across as key elements. Although the first abrupt change in whose background story is told comes out of nowhere, readers will adapt to the switching perspectives that enable fans to know how the cast will react to the tragedy.

Harriet Klausner

Tragedy strikes Swandyke, a small Colorado mining town, snatching up a group of schoolchildren in its wake. This crisis brings together an unlikely group of people. Lucy Patch, a bright woman who once sacrificed her dreams for her impoverished family, meets her long-estranged sister, Dolly Patch. Joe Cobb, the only black man in town, once fled vicious racism in Alabama with his beloved daughter in his arms. Grace Foote, born to wealth, laments a twist of fate that changed her life. Minder Evans, a veteran of The War Between the States, has spent his life haunted by ghosts of the war and unspeakable guilt. He now lives for his young grandson, his only living family member. Essie Snowball, raised by a traditional Jewish family in a New York tenement, is now a prostitute at the local hook house. All these people are drawn together, at the scene of a tragedy, by their love for their children and their terror of losing them.

This novel opens at the moment of the crisis then steps back to explore the history of each of these characters. It flows more like a series of vignettes than a novel, yet I found each story so compelling I couldn't put the book down. Sandra Dallas is a master storyteller. I was drawn into each time and place she described: a Civil War battlefield and prison camp, a hot, steamy Alabama farm, and a dry, frigid mining town, near the peak of a Colorado mountain, around the turn of the 20th century. Parallel themes of love, disappointment, loss and yearning for a better life run through these characters' stories. They also delve into prejudice, cruelty, and the stifling nature of rigid gender roles, as well as forgiveness and atonement for past sins.

The threads of this novel were somewhat disconnected, coming together at the end in a way that was compelling but not completely satisfying. I was left wanting to know more about these rich, colorful characters and the tenuous bonds they were forming among themselves. Nevertheless, Whiter Than Snow worked for me. The author's storytelling ability and gift for creating vivid settings and characters sucked me in, and I rarely put down the book until I reached the last page.

This was a disjointed story line. The characters were somewhat interesting but it took too long to get to know them. And then they seemed to be very one dimensional. All the time to describe the characters, then the avalanche and then it's over. What was the point?

Set in 1920, in the High Colorado mountains near the Tenmile Range, in a small mining town called Swandyke, this story opens with a detailed description of the families and characters that the story are centered around. An avalanche slides down the mountain killing five children, and this story of that fateful day.

However this author (the first book I have ever read by her) takes great care to explain the character of each parent and each family represented in the story. She also takes the time for us to see how those characters shaped how each family would handle the loss of their children. Two sisters seperated by betrayal are reunited as one sister looses two of her children, while the other sister's children survive. A black man, who has had hard life, running from his past, looses his only child. A prostitute who is allowing her daughter to be raised by someone else, looses her daughter also. A Civil War veteran, raising his only grandson, also finds himself as one of the ones who face this horrible loss. A group of people unlikely to ever be grouped together by anything, find themselves facing a tragedy together.

A wonderfully written book, that was hard to put down once I started it. I do warn there is some objectionable language in this book. I enjoyed the way the story was set up, and while I normally do not review books that are not in the Christian fiction genre, I did enjoy this book. 292 pages $24.99 US 4 stars

This book was provided for review purposes only, no payment was received for this review.

Learn more about Sandra Dallas at her website [...]

As always, Sandra Dallas writes a good story, the hardships of living in a mining town in the mountains of Colorado,the many characters that stay with you long after you have read the book. There is a love story intertwined that is so touching. I did think that this book seemed to be written more amatureish than usual for Sandra Dallas, but still liked the book a lot. It is a fast read.

I'm a bit mixed on this book. I liked reading it...but, am left maybe feeling like it needed a bit more. Others stated there was too much information to the lead up, but I feel like the lead up was great, and then the avalanche, and then....the end?

For me, it would have been better to have all the intro chapters, then maybe more day to day chapters of how the charachters settled, and went about day to day life, then the avalanche. It was still good, but needed more....

The kindle version was fine - no problems.

In 1920, in a small mining town, Swandyke, Colorado, a terrible tragedy happened. An avalanche, taking everything in its path, including nine children on their way home from school, hurtles down a slope.

Their are the Patch sisters, Lucy and Dolly, who between them have five children buried under all the snow. Lucy and Dolly have not spoken in many years, not since Dolly betrayed Lucy in the most horrible way. Wanting to get out of the town, Lucy goes to College, with the stipulation that she will return to Swandyke after she graduates to work. Her income going to her family to help support them. She agrees so that Dolly may have a better life. But just when Lucy finds true happiness, Dolly pulls the rug out from under her.

Joe Cobb is the only black man in Swandyke. Years ago, when his wife Orange was in labor with their second child, things were not going very well and Joe ran to the white doctor for help to save his wife. The doctor made Joe stand at the screen door while he finished his supper, drank his coffee and smoked his after-dinner cigar. Then he followed Joe to his wife, but it was too late. Orange had died in that time. Angry and bereaved, Joe hit the doctor. Knowing it for a hanging offense, Joe grabbed his young daughter Jane and ran. He ended up in the small town of Swandyke and has had a few enjoyable years, until his daughter is one of those buried in the snow.

Minder Evans is an elderly Civil War Veteran who spends his days cleaning and tidying up the cemetery. Minder hasn't had any peace in his life since his cowardice cost the life of his partner in the service. The true light in his life is his grandson Emmett, who he is raising. But when he finds out that Emmett is also buried in the avalanche, Minder believes God is punishing him for his cowardice years ago.

Essie Snowball is a prostitute in the small town of Swandyke. Not wanting to bring shame upon her daughter, she has her stay with a friend, and watches her from afar except dinner on Sundays. She never planned to fall into the life, as she always dreamed of being a dressmaker, but a shady romance turned south, it was the best way for her to make fast cash. Now, with her daughter under the snow, it might have been for naught.

Grace Foote is the Mining Managers wife. Grace grew up with money and went to finishing school. She fell in love, but he wouldn't marry her since her family just lost their wealth. She seduces Jim, and finding herself pregnant, they marry. But Grace has never fit in with the townsfolk, and has always put on airs. Now with her son buried in the avalanche, Grace will need to put her fancy ways behind her.

As the men dig for the children, the townsfolk all come together. Black, white, prostitute, or elderly, when there is a tragedy, all personal beliefs are set aside. As the women huddle together frantic for their children, they set aside old differences and realize that it didn't really matter in the big pictures, did it? And perhaps they will find peace, and forgiveness, and maybe hope.

WHITE THAN SNOW hooked me from the first page. I was entranced in the lives of the characters and devastated with the tragedy of the children. Some lived, some didn't, but you will find yourself praying they all do and your heart breaking when they don't. The lives of the townsfolk intertwine in a rich woven tapestry, and Ms Dallas unravels the pieces gently but firmly. I highly recommend Whiter Than Snow - one of the best books I've read this year!