Books

Men don’t change; Effie Gillis knows that. She’s already juggling divorce, disappointment and the disquiets of a disturbed childhood.

In the opening of Eowyn Ivey's debut novel, The Snow Child, an old couple who move to Alaska to escape heartbreak find their new home is a harsh and wild place, and they fear they may not survive its merciless ways. Little do they know that some magic, in the form of a small girl, awaits them.

I love making lists, but choosing my favourite books ever was one tough assignment. Tempted as I am to throw in a few “Complete Works of…” (Shakespeare, Jane Austen, Edgar Allan Poe), I’ve settled on five novels that I’ve read and re-read and keep recommending to others.

Alaskan author Eowyn Ivey's debut novel, The Snow Child, is Chatelaine's next book club pick. Here's our review to get things started.

Pulitzer Prize-winner Katherine Boo spends three years in an Indian slum to write this narrative non-fiction about the life of poverty and the human condition that exists there