Snow Angels
by Stewart O'Nan
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 211)
Read in December, 2007
Every time I read a book by Stewart O'Nan, I think to myself: "This book is perfect." I read in the NYT review of O'Nan's latest novel, Last Night at the Lobster (which I'm waiting to get my hands on) words to the effect that O'Nan has never been wildly successful because he's difficult to categorize: that each book is in effect an exploration of a different genre.
That may be true, but I would be hard pressed to think of another writer who can more perfectly inhabit each ...more
That may be true, but I would be hard pressed to think of another writer who can more perfectly inhabit each ...more
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Read in February, 2008
I bought this book after seeing a trailer for the upcoming movie, which is probably a terrible reason to buy a book. Unfortunately, the short 2 minute trailer was far more compelling than the book. Two parallel stories are being told in the novel: that of Glenn and Annie and their disintegrating marriage and that of Arthur Parkinson, a high school student suffering through his own family's dissolution. Though Arthur and Annie are tied together as former child and babysitter, I didn't feel th...more
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Read in March, 2008
Rick will hate that my first reaction is that the story was depressing but the truth is that it was but it was also a good story. I think the plot summary on the back of the book is inaccurate as it tells that the narrator has a strong connection to his baby-sitter that ends up being killed. I didn't really see that angle of the story; to me it was more about two families that lived next-door in a small town and the sad but realistic events that unfold over the course of two months.
I do wish ...more
I do wish ...more
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Read in June, 2007
I read this book for a book club -- not my typical choice for summer reading. It was ok pretty much sums it up. The story was mildly intriguing, but the writing style was very disconnected and abrupt. I didn't necessarily have a hard time following it, but I didn't really enjoy it either. It also seemed rather mundane to me. I know there have been a lot of good reviews of this book, but it just didn't catch me. maybe it's the wrong time of year. I'll say one good thing, the title tie-in ...more
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Read in February, 2008
I just read this as "filler" while I was waiting for a couple of books to come in. It was on a display at the library labeled "Books Recently Made Into Movies," so I thought I'd give it a try.
It starts out like it's going to be pretty interesting, with the murder of Annie, who is Arthur's former babysitter. (Arthur being the primary narrator.) Then it gets mostly boring for a long time, then the last 50 or 60 pages are fairly good.
On the positive side, the writer has...more
It starts out like it's going to be pretty interesting, with the murder of Annie, who is Arthur's former babysitter. (Arthur being the primary narrator.) Then it gets mostly boring for a long time, then the last 50 or 60 pages are fairly good.
On the positive side, the writer has...more
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Read in November, 2007
a quiet, melancholy novel set in 70s-era butler, pennyslvania. it pings back and forth between the somewhat too-saintly 14-year-old son of newly divorced parents and the encroaching demise of his former babysitter. o'nan generates some level of sympathy for each one of his troubled characters, which helps to make the book a page-turner, even though many of the key events are telegraphed. it also helps that o'nan's language is evocative and his sense of place is keen. it makes perfect sense that ...more
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I flew through this book in three or four days; the voice(s) were compelling, and at times, so was the plot, but the two storylines never really came together as I expected, or wanted, them to. There were a couple of lovely early chapters that weren't followed through on, and while for a few chapters I thought the plot was heading in an unexpected direction, it turned back around to exactly where I thought it would go as foretold by the first chapter. I enjoyed reading it, but mostly as a lesson...more
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Read in March, 2008
When I heard Kate Beckinsdale interviewed, and they said how tragic a character she is playing...I had to get this book. I have been looking for a rich story, and with a character that was flawed or sad. I love her, and pictured her as the character, Annie. And it delivered. The story is so sad, and great. The movie is coming out, so I hope they stayed true to the book. I just don't know what to write, being new to reviewing. Hope you read it.
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Stewart O’Nan never disappoints…ok, I confess…I saw him speak at Literary Sojourn in Steamboat Springs and fell head over heels for him and his work. Snow Angels is not a fun, uplifting book. Instead it deals with the end of a marriage, the death of a child, depression, and murder. Somehow O’Nan makes the reader feel for, and even identify with, these very troubled and unlikable characters. This story is simply unforgettable.
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Read in April, 2008
This book has interweaving chapters chronicling the destruction of two families. Although the first chapter reveals the basics of where the story is headed, it makes the trip in a beautiful and heartbreaking way. The real strength of this novel, for me, is its wonderful characterizations: O'Nan neither idealizes nor condemns, but instead creates wonderfully sympathetic people making both good and bad decisions.
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Read in June, 2008
A very tragic tale. I did fly through this book-- it was never dull. The reader gets inside the heads of characters that in reality you always wonder why they do what they do, what makes them tick. In reality these people make you crazy. In the book you understand them a little bit more, but you also realize in some things you will never completely understand this completely harsh existence.
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Read in March, 2008
Easily one of the best novels that I have read in the last five years. What a refreshing read after the garbage that is The Ha Ha. Also, Entertainment Weekly has given Snow Angels the movie an A rating. I'm very eager to see it. If it is half as good as the novel it will be a swell film. Definitely read this book.
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Read in December, 1996
Stewart O'Nan has Western Pennsylvania connections, and that's where this book is set. I don't remember a lot of details, except that it revolved partly around the murder of the main character's former babysitter, and I really liked it. I see it's now been optioned as a movie with Kate Beckinsdale and Sam Rockwell.
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This book is a quick read. It tells you in the first few pages that there is a murder. You spend the rest of the novel trying to figure out how Arthur's beloved babysitter, Annie, is murdered. Part indictment of small town life, part character study, it's definitely interesting and hard to put down.
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Read in June, 2007
Just saw David Gordon Green's adaptation this weekend at the Sundance/BAM festival here in Brooklyn and was mightily impressed. The book is excellently conceived, and delivers all of the 70s era isolation you could possibly want without any lingering images of Kevin Kline in a three peice cordouroy suit.
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Read in October, 2006
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
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Read in July, 2008
It's probably not a good idea to decide to read a book because Amy Sedaris is in the movie version. But that's what I did. I made it about half way through, and then had to stop. De-pressing, in a depressing motel sort of way. It was good writing and all, I just wasn't up for all the depressingness.
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Read in March, 2008
I did not enjoy this book. It started out boring...got a little better...but then got boring again. I decided to read this because I saw that the movie was out. Now I don't think I will even bother with the movie. Very slow and depressing.
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Has a copy to sell/swap
A bit drawn out. Promising story lines, but never any compelling or satisfactory conclusions beyond the obvious. It borders on the formulaic and pat idea of a spurned ex-husband unable to let go.
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I just read an overview about this book in a newsletter from the library (yes, I'm a book geek). It looks interesting and is coming out as a movie. I put it on hold at the library.
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