"Moon of the Crusted Snow" - First Impressions *No Spoilers*

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

Come share your initial impressions! Please leave all particulars beyond the first few pages for the full discussion thread open on the 7th!

Content Warnings for those who want them: (view spoiler)[substance use, riots/runs on groceries, racism, desecration of the dead, animal slaughter. (hide spoiler)]

[Anna]

November is Native American Heritage Month in the US, so this is a good time for this BOTM! Indigenous History Month in Canada is in June, but GR is in the US, so we'll make it work :)

[Christopher]

This one is slow paced so far, but in a way that I like -- I feel like I'm settling into what life is like in the town. I'm curious where this one will go and it definitely captures my attention. I think I'd be further along, but so far I've been reading this just before bed or if I wake up in the middle of the night unable to get back to sleep so usually fatigue overcomes my ability to read more than a few chapters in a sitting. I'm also curious to compare this one to The Memory Police as that was a recent club read that I suspect will have some overlap (but maybe not!)

[Jessica]

I just found out this is being discussed and I am pumped! I was really into this book when I read it last year. I met the author last year after a panel on apocalyptic books at our local book festival. Though he has said - and I've heard Cherie Dimmaline, another indigenous author in Canada, say the same - that this book isn't exactly "apocalyptic" in his opinion, as the First Nations people have already experienced their apocalypse, more than once.

Interestingly, it is also the "city read" this year which my city picks annually, so it is the most borrowed book from my library system in 2020!

[DivaDiane]

As soon as I finish my current reads I'll either read it or listen to it, whichever one I finish first, because it's in ebook and audio book format on Storytel.

Really looking forward to it.

[Meredith]

As Christopher said, I am finding the beginning rather slow paced, but in a good way. I am liking the details and that we are getting an idea of the community and what life is like for the people there.

[Jerry-Book]

Just finished it. I liked the introduction to another culture, namely, the First Nation.
The author either grew up in this culture or has done a lot of research.

[Travis]

I'm planning to start this in a couple of days. Really looking forward to it.

[Cheryl]

Jerry-Book wrote: "Just finished it. I liked the introduction to another culture, namely, the First Nation.
The author either grew up in this culture or has done a lot of research."

More specifically Anishinaabe, as it says in his biography here on GR. #OwnVoices is so very important; I hope I can find this in one of my libraries.

[Kaa]

I agree with Christopher and Meredith about enjoying the way the slow pace and detailed descriptions of life in the community at the beginning really bring the reader into the setting.

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

I love the atmosphere and the loving relationship in the early going. I hate "falling in love" stories, but I just adore healthy happy mature love stories--I think that's much harder because there's less drama, and much rarer because falling in love is pretty simple, but sticking with a partner(s) takes a lot of effort.

[Hank, Hankenstein's Modster]

One bonus for me is that I was right in the middle of the book when the recent snow storm hit Colorado. Walking around in the very cold weather had a extra kick to the immersion in the story.

[Emmett]

I have to agree with pretty much everyone above- I liked how the author just slowly introduced you to what a typical day is like there and set the story up to develop in any direction really. (Except of course for the foreboding mention of winter on the way!)

[Gabi]

I love the slow build up of tension. The prose hasn't got the wicked humor I'm used to from Louise Erdrich's stories (my only major foray into North American indigenous literature), but I'm very much enjoying the style.

[Cathy]

I love stories that make you feel like you’re there and this one definitely does that.

Slow, but extremely immersive. The slow pace definitely adds to the tension of the story.

This book isn’t something I would have normally picked up, but I’m glad I did!

[Nicol]

I agree, it was completely immersive and realistic - and absolutely terrifying - more terrifying than any of the haunting reads I did in October - can't wait to discuss in the spoiler thread.

[Andrew]

I too have been really enjoying the slow pace and immersive storytelling so far.

This book seems particularly relevant right now as the first week of November is Treaties Recognition Week in Ontario [where Rice lives and grew up]. Reading Rice's description of life in a Northern remote Anishinaabe community is a stark and cogent reminder of the disadvantages still being faced by Indigenous Canadians.

[Oleksandr]

I just started it. It is a short book, so I plan to finish it soon. So far (1/3 thru) not impressed. It is a fine slow read, but less spectacular (in all senses) than I expected

[Rachel]

Discovered it’s on hoopla so I might listen soon!

[Travis]

I agree with everyone. I LOVED the slow build and the setting. And I second Nicol: absolutely terrifying.

[Kathryn]

I'm slightly bored at the moment. I understand for the need to build up the setting, but according to me it is a touch over done. What I do like is the descriptive way in which the story is told. But, I find the writing a bit simplistic. It is also a bit too telling than showing. One good thing, it is so hot here in South Africa, that reading about winter is quite nice.

[Anthony]

Twelve chapters in, and while I normally welcome slice-of-life subtlety, in this case I’m feeling like the author doesn’t quite know how to balance *which* slices of life to include, and which to leave unspoken. And therefore any sense of dramatic tension or forward momentum is incredibly diluted for me.

I am finding it quite refreshing to spend time in a setting and community that are new to me, though.

[Jemppu]

Anthony wrote: "...any sense of dramatic tension or forward momentum is incredibly diluted for me..."

This was much of my impression as well. Though, I wasn't sure, if it was caused/enhanced by the timing of the read (a week ago)

The family moments were what left most impression. (Along with some tangent thoughts from the icy setting and the scarce mentions of language).

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

Hard agree

[aPriL does feral sometimes]

I am becoming more engrossed the further I read. It's good.

[George]

I am about 25% through this and really enjoying it. I was a little worried it would be all over-the-top with First Nation list of grievances, which are legitimate, but overwhelming if character development and plot get short shrift as result. But I am gratefully reassured that the First Nation stuff is a backdrop to a masterful story.

The pacing and voice feel a lot like the classic, Earth Abides, and I am just flipping through the pages waiting to see what happens next and how this fiercely independent community will roll with whatever is happening around them.

[Jerry-Book]

I concur with the reference to “Earth Abides”.It does have some similarities to that classic but also “Alas, Babylon”. I think it is hard to do something totally original when so much has already been written in post apocalyptic literature.

[Bonnie]

I'm only on the first chapter. Came over to see others' early responses when the guy drags the bloody carved-up carcass into the shed with HANGING HOOKS.

OK i am exaggerating a bit for effect :)
Getting good October vibes following The Buffalo Hunter Hunter last week. So far, some sentences seem turgid and overwritten in detail; also though, I am vividly picturing everything and feeling the winter stillness, along with a few tiny tingles of dread.