The Snowman's Children: A Novel - Hardcover

Hirshberg, Glen

3.54

307 ratings by Goodreads

9780786710829: The Snowman's Children: A Novel

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0786710829 ISBN 13: 9780786710829

Publisher: Carroll & Graf, 2002

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The Snowman’s Children is a poignant, psychologically intense first novel that tells the story of an incident from one man’s childhood in the 1970s, when a serial killer called The Snowman stalked the streets of suburban Detroit. The incident, a result of good but woefully misguided juvenile intentions, forced his family to leave their home, and eventually forced him, at age twenty-nine, to return to his hometown in search of three old friends. Reminiscent of both To Kill a Mockingbird in its touching portrait of childhood, and the beautifully written brand of suspense that calls to mind Smilla’s Sense of Snow, The Snowman’s Children is an unusually controlled and original novel that establishes Hirshberg as an important new voice in American literature.

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From Publishers Weekly:

Hirshberg's first novel attempts a dark twist (even darker than usual) on the tale of a 1970s suburban childhood. In the winter of 1977, a serial killer dubbed "The Snowman" haunted a quiet Michigan neighborhood, preying on the town's children. Mattie Rhodes, who was 10 years old at the time and left town soon afterward, is now a directionless 27-year-old locked in a stale marriage. Unable to move forward with his life, Mattie feels compelled to return to his hometown to make sense of the past. As he attempts to reconnect with his old friend Spencer Franklin, the tragic story behind his departure is gradually revealed. Seventeen years ago, Mattie and Spencer watched their friend, the brilliant but troubled Theresa Daughrety, descend into madness, brought on not only by her encounter with the killer but by her mother's suicide and her father's overbearing presence. Mattie's reckless attempts to save Theresa spawned an unthinkable disaster. Hirshberg deftly uses hints of magic realism to depict the wintry landscape of Mattie's remembered childhood. Everything from children's names (Jon Goblin) to the games they play ("Murder in the Dark" and "Mind War") lends the book a sinister air of unreality. Hirshberg doesn't quite succeed in pulling off the sensational climax; the mysterious disaster behind Mattie's departure is implausible and unsatisfying. Nonetheless, his deft use of psychological suspense shows much promise. Though it's not as artful or subtle, the novel may remind readers of Jeffrey Eugenides's The Virgin Suicides, another eerie, nostalgic coming-of-age tale set in the 1970s Detroit suburbs.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist:

Troubled 29-year-old Mattie Rhodes returns to Detroit in search of his childhood friend Theresa, a brilliant, strange, and mysterious girl who, even now, haunts him. For a few magical months in 1977, Mattie, Theresa, and their friend, Spencer, the lone black boy bused to their school as part of Detroit's desegregation mandate, form a special bond, united by their outsider status. At the same time, a serial killer called the Snowman has been preying on children, snatching them in broad daylight. Both oblivious to and thrilled by the danger, the school kids all make Snowman jokes and try to sneak out of the house to go sledding. As Mattie and Spencer begin to sense that Theresa is in danger of slipping away from them and descending into mental illness, they concoct a desperate plan to save her and instead condemn their families to the nightmare of media publicity. First-novelist Hirshberg too often slides from drama into melodrama, but he has a real gift for capturing the emotional power of childhood friendships. Joanne Wilkinson
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