Anita Shreve, Light on Snow

I could not put this book down. I started it and was on page 72 before I knew it. Nicky, our narrator, recalls the events of one December, around 1983, when she was 12 years old. She and her father lived in New Hampshire then, having fled New York after the car accident that took the lives of her mother and baby sister Clara. Living a quiet life in a desolate area, her father makes furniture and Nicky tries to adjust to their new life. One day, while taking a walk through the woods, they find an abandoned infant. A short time after, the mother of the abandoned baby, posing as someone who wants to buy a piece of furniture, comes to meet them, and after admitting her true identity, ends up trapped in their house for a few days during a snowstorm.

Shreve has some wonderful lines in this one. In one scene, Nicky sees that her father has brought out a photo of Clara, and Nicky reminisces about other photos that are not displayed, reminders of happier days and mundane events. In one, she notes, you could hear her father snoring (174). At another point, Nicky notes that her father has bought the supplies her grandmother will need to prepare the Christmas meal. Grammie, Nicky tells us, always "hits the ground cooking" (286).

The book veered toward melodrama at the end, not finishing as strongly as it might have, but it still was quite emotionally powerful. An excellent read.