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29th out of 115 books
—
43 voters
Whiter Than Snow
Whiter Than Snow opens in 1920, on a spring afternoon in Swandyke, a small town near Colorado’s Tenmile Range. Just moments after four o’clock, a large split of snow separates from Jubilee Mountain high above the tiny hamlet and hurtles down the rocky slope, enveloping everything in its path including nine young children who are walking home from school. But only four chil...more
Hardcover, 304 pages
Published
March 30th 2010
by St. Martin's Press
(first published January 1st 2010)
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Much like the townsfolk that comprise the characters of this novel it is a plain, straightforward read. Good, not great but soul-satisfying nonetheless. Pieced together like a patchwork quilt the book weaves together several stories culminating in a final piece.
3.5***
Just after four o’clock on a spring afternoon in 1920, the Colorado mining town of Swandyke is changed forever. An avalanche hurtles down the rocky slope above the town, burying nine children on their way home from school. The disaster cut across social class, religious and racial differences and affects everyone in the town from the owner of the Fourth of July Mine to the Jewish prostitute to the only Negro mine worker.
Dallas tells us about the disaster early, and we know right away the...more
Just after four o’clock on a spring afternoon in 1920, the Colorado mining town of Swandyke is changed forever. An avalanche hurtles down the rocky slope above the town, burying nine children on their way home from school. The disaster cut across social class, religious and racial differences and affects everyone in the town from the owner of the Fourth of July Mine to the Jewish prostitute to the only Negro mine worker.
Dallas tells us about the disaster early, and we know right away the...more
4 STARS
1920s - Swandyke, Colorado - The novel opens with an avalanche heading towards the school house and branches out to show the past life of Swandyke residents.
There is Lucy Patch - born and raised in Swandyke - daughter of a miner and sister to the town beauty. Her intelligence bides her time out of the mine and into the city and college life with the promise to return right after as per her father and sister, Dolly.
Grace Foote is more than the snobby mine manager's wife...she was once a d...more
1920s - Swandyke, Colorado - The novel opens with an avalanche heading towards the school house and branches out to show the past life of Swandyke residents.
There is Lucy Patch - born and raised in Swandyke - daughter of a miner and sister to the town beauty. Her intelligence bides her time out of the mine and into the city and college life with the promise to return right after as per her father and sister, Dolly.
Grace Foote is more than the snobby mine manager's wife...she was once a d...more
I've read and enjoyed many Sandra Dallas novels and picked this one up at the library one day when I hadn't brought my other book to read. It begins on the 1920 day of an avalanche in a Colorado mining town, and then goes on to tell the back stories of 6 of its residents whose young children get caught up in the snow that barrels down the mountain into their town. Each story is compelling and beautifully told in Dallas' easy style and we learn what has brought them to the high mountain town of S...more
In 1920, in a small mining town, Swandyke, Colorado, a terrible tragedy happened. An avalanche, taking everything in its path, including nine children on their way home from school, hurtles down a slope.
Their are the Patch sisters, Lucy and Dolly, who between them have five children buried under all the snow. Lucy and Dolly have not spoken in many years, not since Dolly betrayed Lucy in the most horrible way. Wanting to get out of the town, Lucy goes to College, with the stipulation that she wi...more
Their are the Patch sisters, Lucy and Dolly, who between them have five children buried under all the snow. Lucy and Dolly have not spoken in many years, not since Dolly betrayed Lucy in the most horrible way. Wanting to get out of the town, Lucy goes to College, with the stipulation that she wi...more
Swandyke is a mining town high in the Rocky Mountains overlooking Denver in the early part of the twentieth century. It is a small town, dominated by the Fourth of July mine and inhabited by people just as every bit as dirty and poor as the town itself . There are the estranged Patch sisters, Lucy and Dolly; Minder Evans, a Civil War veteran haunted by his past; Grace Foote, the aloof wife to the mining superintendant; Joe Cobb, the only Negro in town running from the fear and hatred of the post...more
This is my second book by Sandra Dallas and I am fast becoming a fan, though Tall Grass is still my favorite! This book is set in the in Colorado in the mining town of Swandyke. It begins at 4:00 in the afternoon of an early spring day in 1920, with an avalanche that sweeps down the mountain catching 9 children on their way and we learn that only 4 survive. Sandra then spends about half of the book telling the stories of 5 different individuals whose children or grandchildren are amongst the nin...more
Reason for Reading: I've always wanted to read a Sandra Dallas book and the plot of this one was particularly intriguing.
This is a beautiful story. It's what I call a light read. I picked the book up one evening and when it was time to turn out the light saw I had read three-quarters of the book. The story is simple and quite straight-forward but Dallas has written it in such a manner that the reader becomes emotionally involved in the characters by the time the already mentioned tragedy unfolds...more
This is a beautiful story. It's what I call a light read. I picked the book up one evening and when it was time to turn out the light saw I had read three-quarters of the book. The story is simple and quite straight-forward but Dallas has written it in such a manner that the reader becomes emotionally involved in the characters by the time the already mentioned tragedy unfolds...more
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Another beautifully written story by Sandra Dallas. Dallas weaves a tale set in the 1920's in Swandyke, Colorado, a small mining town where an avalanche sweeps away nine young children as they walk home from school. Only four survive. The story goes back to share the stories of the lives of the parents of these children, of their differences in family, culture, social status and religion. Dallas puts you in the midst of the hardships, heartbreaks, family trials, the challenges faced in a small m...more
Sandra Dallas is a solid story-teller whose books often recreate early 20th century Midwestern and Western history. In "Whiter than Snow", the story of an avalanche in a dirt-poor gold-mining town in Colorado that kills or injures 9 schoolchildren, the author traces the life of each parent leading up to the moment when the snow rumbles down the mountain into the path as their child walks home from school that day. Like Wilder's "The Bridge of San Luis Rey", fate brings together formerly unconnec...more
Set in 1920, in the High Colorado mountains near the Tenmile Range, in a small mining town called Swandyke, this story opens with a detailed description of the families and characters that the story are centered around. An avalanche slides down the mountain killing five children, and this story of that fateful day.
However this author (the first book I have ever read by her) takes great care to explain the character of each parent and each family represented in the story. She also takes the time...more
However this author (the first book I have ever read by her) takes great care to explain the character of each parent and each family represented in the story. She also takes the time...more
I have read two other of Sandra Dallas's books, and I enjoyed this as much as Tallgrass. I found Prayers For Sale to be a little slow. Whiter Than Snow is set in a mining town, as is Prayers For Sale. An avalanche falls in April 1920, in a small mining town in Colorado and buries nine young school children. The story begins with the avalanche and then quickly turns to describe the life of each parent or caregiver of the nine children. In the various stories are two sisters who have not spoken to...more
I would like to give this more than 2 stars, but just can't quite get there. I read this book in a 24 hour time span - it was engrossing and a quick easy read. And I don't quite know what I expected, since I just picked up the book based on the fact that it was a new one from Sandra Dallas - I think I've read pretty much everything she's written. But somehow this didn't meet those expectations, whatever they were.
I'm not big on short story collections, and this sort of felt like that to me. Even...more
I'm not big on short story collections, and this sort of felt like that to me. Even...more
Whiter Than Snow is a novel set in 1920 that begins with tragedy. An avalanche buries nine school children, in the fictional, mining town, of Swandyke, Colorado. Only four of the nine children survive this horrendous event. The five who died are the children of Dolly and Lucy Patch, and their story along with the stories of other family members of the victims are linked together by this tragedy.
Lucy and Dolly Patch are estranged sisters, and adult daughters of a miner. Joe Cobb, a black man who...more
Lucy and Dolly Patch are estranged sisters, and adult daughters of a miner. Joe Cobb, a black man who...more
Sandra Dallas has the ability to sculpt the events of an everyday life into something compelling. Though this book has at its heart a cataclysmic event for a small town in Colorado, the book is primarily made up of the back-stories of some of the people caught up in the terrible events of a spring afternoon in 1920, when nine children, headed home from school, were buried by an avalanche. The town of Swandyke responds, but not before the reader has been taken into the past to learn the history o...more
I have really changed in my old age. (really I'm not even 60 yet)! I don't know if it is age or the variety of books I'm reading in book club, but my tastes have changed. I would normally not have picked up a book like this by myself without a recommendation from someone else, but I'm glad I did. I usually like romance/mystery/suspense. This book was not in any of those catagories. It was more like human interest. It told the stories of 6 people in the 1800's and how they got to the crisis point...more
Whiter Than Snow is a historical novel about the Colorado mining towns of the early 1900s. Sandra Dallas is known for her compelling western dramas, well research and so realistic you can feel the grit in your teeth and the cold in your bones. In her latest novel the town of Swandyke has suffered an avalanche and nine children have been buried. As the town frantically works to dig the children out, Dallas takes us through the lives of each family affected, detailing their histories and heartbrea...more
This is one of her sadder stories, but will little spots of joy. It is a series of smaller stories, as you learn the background of various characters, wrapped in the larger story. One day an avalanche takes several of the town children as they return home from school. As the anxious parents wait to discover if their children will survive or not, you learn the story of each parent, and most are not very happy. Some of the children are saved and some are not. There are some very touching moments,...more
I enjoyed Dallas’ Prayers for Sale so thoroughly, that I had some unrealistic expectations for this novel.
Here’s my goat-getter with this novel: I wasn’t convinced that any of the children needed to die. Before you cry foul, the reader is told within the first few pages that an avalanche occurs and that 5 of the 9 children walking home from school in the small Colorado mountain town are killed. We just don’t know who until the end of the story.
Unless a writer is delving into nonfiction or hist...more
Here’s my goat-getter with this novel: I wasn’t convinced that any of the children needed to die. Before you cry foul, the reader is told within the first few pages that an avalanche occurs and that 5 of the 9 children walking home from school in the small Colorado mountain town are killed. We just don’t know who until the end of the story.
Unless a writer is delving into nonfiction or hist...more
Sandra Dallas’ new book returns her readers to the small mining town of Swandyke, Colorado just down the road from the setting of her bestselling books, Prayers for Sale. Whiter Than Snow focuses on different members of the community and their children. As Dallas tells the story of each character, the reader begins to understand the character through their past experiences and how they interface with the Swandyke community. Towards the end of the book, there is a tragedy that brings the communit...more
In the small mountain town of Swandyke, near Breckenridge CO, it is time for school to be dismissed. Just as the children are leaving school, an avalanche roars down from the mountain above the school. The author tells us that 9 children are buried in the avalanche and some live and some die. Sandra Dallas then switches gears and tell us the back story on each child's parents.
The characters are so vivid. They have quite varied backgrounds and have lived lives that are interesting. The reader fe...more
The characters are so vivid. They have quite varied backgrounds and have lived lives that are interesting. The reader fe...more
Sandra Dallas is a captivating story teller with real and poignant characters. The story of Whiter Than Snow begins with an avalanche in a small Colorado mining town. Nine children are trapped in the snow and the reader learns only four will survive. Dallas then introduces, not the children themselves, but their parents and guardians. Through the history of these people, the reader develops sympathy for them and an understanding of the importance of their children.
As the premise states, Whiter T...more
As the premise states, Whiter T...more
For the first half of the book new characters kept being added and just as I got into the story of one, that chapter was over and another new character's story was being added. So at first it felt like a lot of short stories, but it all ties together in the end. The story is set in the 1920's in a small mining community near Boulder, Colorado. It begins with an avalanche where nine children on their way home from school get trapped. Then the book goes into the background stories of the relatives...more
Thought the format of the book was interestingly written. Great discussion today at the asst. living facility. Gals all loved the book. Will try to read more by Dallas in the 3 book groups where I select titles. I think this was the most interesting of the 3 books by her that I've read.
Story of an avalanche that buries 9 children on their way home from school. Right at the beginning, we know that only 4 of the children will survive. Then each chapter features the background of one of the parent...more
Story of an avalanche that buries 9 children on their way home from school. Right at the beginning, we know that only 4 of the children will survive. Then each chapter features the background of one of the parent...more
Sandra Dallas is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors. This was another great story. She is a wonderful storyteller. This story is set in Colorado in 1920. An avalanche races down the mountain of a poor mining town at the same time children are getting out of school and buries 9 children in its path. Only 4 survive. Most of the book is devoted to giving detailed description of the parents of the children buried. I loved getting to know the characters, finding out where they came from and...more
One more book by the author Sandra Dallas that I really like. This story is set in a 1920 Colorado mining town. The books opens with a very large avalanche falling right at the time the town school gets out for the day. There are several stories of families and individuals that live in the town.
Ultimately, each story serves as an allegory to the greater theme of the novel by echoing that fate, chance, and perhaps even divine providence, are all woven into the fabric of everyday life. And it’s th...more
Ultimately, each story serves as an allegory to the greater theme of the novel by echoing that fate, chance, and perhaps even divine providence, are all woven into the fabric of everyday life. And it’s th...more
I have yet to read a Dallas book that I wasn't totally absorbed into from the very first sentence. She has a way of putting the reader right there in the moment of tragedy. I felt the coldness of the snow. The desperation of the parents. The joy when a loved one was recovered. The anguish when a small child who would not draw another breath was laid to rest. The author does an amazing job of taking you into the lives of each family affected and traces the choices they made that brought them all...more
I just finished this book today sitting out in the sun in a patio chair. It's a testament to how engrossing this author's books are that I was not distracted in the least by the neighbor mowing his lawn or the kids riding bikes on our street.
This novel is another set in a Colorado mining town. Each main character is given a chapter to explain the events that brought them to the small town they now live in. The last chapters are devoted to what happens in the town one day while many of the scho...more
This novel is another set in a Colorado mining town. Each main character is given a chapter to explain the events that brought them to the small town they now live in. The last chapters are devoted to what happens in the town one day while many of the scho...more
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It’s hard to describe just how unfortunately not good this book is. “Unfortunately” because you would expect more from a New York Times best-selling author. And given the genuine praise Sandra Dallas’s other novels received for her ability to write historical fiction and her “terrific” (according to Publisher’s Weekly) characters, you would expect Whiter Than Snow to stand out in the same ways. On the contrary, these are the elements which failed this time around.
The story begins with a devastat...more
Whiter Than Snow opens in 1920, on a spring afternoon in Swandyke, a small town near Colorado’s Tenmile Range. Just moments after four o’clock, a large split of snow separates from Jubilee Mountain high above the tiny hamlet and hurtles down the rocky slope, enveloping everything in its path including nine young children who are walking home from school. But only four children survive. Whiter Than Snow takes you into the lives of each of these families.
After reading (well, listening to)'Tallgras...more
After reading (well, listening to)'Tallgras...more
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Award-winning author SANDRA DALLAS was dubbed “a quintessential American voice” by Jane Smiley, in Vogue Magazine. Sandra’s novels with their themes of loyalty, friendship, and human dignity have been translated into a dozen foreign languages and have been optioned for films.
A journalism graduate of the University of Denver, Sandra began her writing career as a reporter with Business Week. A staff...more
More about Sandra Dallas...
A journalism graduate of the University of Denver, Sandra began her writing career as a reporter with Business Week. A staff...more
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