About:
Black Woods, Blue Sky by Eowyn Ivey is another magical-realism novel from the author of The Snow Child. Ms. Ivey is a best-selling author based in Alaska.
- 302 pages
- Publisher : Random House
- Language : English
- ISBN-10 : 0593231023
My rating for Black Woods, Blue Sky –4
Buy Black Woods, Blue Sky from Amazon.com*
More books by Eowyn Ivey*
Thoughts:
Black Woods, Blue Sky by Eowyn Ivey started off slowly, taking its time with character development before getting to the meat of the narrative. For the first two-thirds, or three quarters of the book I thought it was going to be a horror novel. Birdie, a troubled single mom, keeps making the worst decision possible at every crossroad, a staple of that genre.
I also hoped that like the author’s excellent Snow Child, the Alaskan landscape would be another character. There are plenty of excellent descriptions, but as far as I was concerned, the story could have taken place in Appalachia. Besides Emaleen, there are no sympathetic characters, or characters I could relate to. Maybe Arthur’s father, but that’s a stretch.
The writing, however, is beautiful and the story is haunting. A dark fairy tale reminiscent of the original ones, but this one didn’t really have a moral to it besides “don’t’ be stupid”.
The cruelty of nature is on full display. Arthur’s cabin, stuck in nowhere Alaska, away from people, traffic, and the Internet might sound great but it also comes with a high price. Birdie soon finds out how difficult it is to live without the modern conveniences we are accustomed to take advantage of, cleaning supplies, sanitary products, snacks, band-aids, or other adults to name a few. A dark and sad book, exploring relationships and trust.
Synopsis:
Emaleen, a young girl, got lost in the Alaskan forest and was brought back to her mother, Birdie, by Arthur Neilsen. Arthur, a soft-spoken loner, only appears in town infrequently, but after his rescue, he and Birdie became close.
Against all advice, Birdie and Emaleen move to Arthur’s cabin away from town, accessible only by plane, and with no way to contact anyone. The idyllic existence is marred by Arthur’s secret which turns a charmed life into a dangerous fairy tale.
Buy Black Woods, Blue Sky from Amazon.com*
More books by Eowyn Ivey*
Zohar — Man of la Book
Disclaimer: I got this book for free
*Amazon links point to an affiliate account, the money is usually spent on books
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