House Under Snow: A Gripping Literary Family Drama – Women's Coming of Age Story of Betrayal

by Jill Bialosky

A novel by an acclaimed American poet, House Under Snow is a story of mothers and daughters, of sexual identity, of a family slowly disintegrating after the premature death of its patriarch. Anna Crane, soon to be married, reflects back on her childhood in Ohio during the 1960s and '70s with her two sisters and her charismatic, self-destructing mother. Evoking the claustrophobia of small-town life, Anna's first passionate love affair with a troubled boy who works as a groom and trainer at a horse track, and her mother's endless stream of suitors and a failed marriage, the novel races toward a chilling conclusion when Anna is betrayed by the two most important figures in her young life.

Not since Alice McDermott's That Night has there been such a telling portrait of first love. And not since Mona Simpson's Anywhere But Here have we witnessed the destructive, seductive nature of a mother who insists on competing with her children. An unforgettable tale of the power and vulnerability of sex and family, history and the past, House Under Snow is a lyrical and brilliant fictional debut.

Genres: Fiction, Coming Of Age, Audiobook, Literary Fiction, Family

248 pages, Paperback

Published June 1, 2003

About the author

Jill Bialosky was born in Cleveland, Ohio. She studied for her undergraduate degree at Ohio University and received a Master of Arts degree from the Writing Seminars at The Johns Hopkins University and a Master of Fine Arts degree from University of Iowa Writer's Workshop.

Her collections of poems are Subterranean (Alfred A. Knopf, 2001) and The End of Desire (1997). Bialosky is also the author of the novel House Under Snow (2002) and The Life Room (2007) and co-editor, with Helen Schulman, of the anthology Wanting A Child (1998).

Her poems and essays appear in The New Yorker, O Magazine, Paris Review, The Nation, The New Republic, Kenyon Review, American Poetry Review among other publications.

Bialosky has received a number of awards including the Elliot Coleman Award in Poetry. She is currently an editor at W. W. Norton & Company and lives in New York City.

Reviews

[Nazneen Firfirey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This author uses such beautiful and lyrical prose to describe the narrator's tough life of not being mothered by a mother that is incapable of loving anyone or anything due to her all-encompassing grief. This is a narrative of loss, love, lust, abandonment and betrayal. It demonstrates so well how humans mould their 'selves' around the pain they experience in the absence of joy and love. Unfortunately it is pain that makes the narrator resilient and teaches her some of the harshest life lessons too early in her life.

[MBenzz · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a captivating read. One that was very difficult to put down. It's the story of love, loss, and abandonment, told through the voice of Anna Crane. The story is told in a series of flashbacks, some when she's a child, others when she's a teenager, and finally when she's an adult.

Anna and her two sisters live with their lost mother Lilly in Ohio. Their father was killed when they were very young and Lilly hasn't been the same since. She's very recluse, and quite, hardly ever leaving the house and only spending time with her three girls. Then one day she decides things need to change. She begins dating, and for the next three years, a steady stream of men are in and out of their home.

The girls (still only children) are not happy about this new arrangement and begin to lose respect for their mother. Years go by, along with a new step-father, and Lilly seems only to be sinking deeper and deeper into herself. The girls at this point don't know what to do with her. Ruthie, the oldest, leaves to live with their aunt, and Anna, and Louise (the youngest) are left alone with her. Meanwhile, Anna is struggling with her own demons in a very unhealthy teenage romance with her boyfriend Austin.

The story closes with her mother committing the ultimate betrayal against Anna, and her battle with herself to forgive, and look at her mother for who she is, a lost soul, floating from one day to the next never really aware of her actions. I definitely recommend this book. It's an enchanting look at what tragedy, death and loneliness can do the human spirit. I'll most certainly be keeping an eye out for more from this talented author.

[Diann Sullivan · Rating 1 out of 5]

Dumping this one after 57 pages. Started interestingly with a wounded mother, then trailed off into a high school romance-drama. Ladies, your memories of how you struggled with your first love affair are best shared with your BFF during a sleep-over.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sad, desolate and achingly real

[Kate Garvey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful prose, excellent character development, and wonderfully sad storylines in this author's first novel. A clear portrayal of life in the middle of the last century. A very enjoyable read.

[Ns · Rating 4 out of 5]

House Under Snow is a single narrative story that revisits Anna Crane's childhood which allude to a gradual disintegration of family, relationships and self-worth.

Despite a lack of multiple perspectives, Anna's words are compelling and hold enough weight to give each character individuality and presence. A series of flashbacks weaves through the past and earlier still gives voice to a younger Anna. There is Anna in the throes of innocence and naivete, and through adolescence and confusion and later through realization and responsibility. At the center of her young world is her mother Lilly, older sister Ruthie, younger sister Louise, and for a brief but monumental time, Austin Cooper, the boy she falls for. For Austin, there is no denying the passion she share for him, but love is another matter that she is uncertain about.

The most dominant and constant figure in Anna's life is her mother whose presence shapes and influence how Anna's views her relationship with other people and life itself. Anna's childhood is a coming of age in which Lilly is very much a part of. Though Lilly's sanity is never touched, responded to or identified in a tangible way, Anna's young voice allude to a mother whose sanity is questionable and challenged by the weight of her own grief and loss. Lilly's lost include a mother, father, husband, eventually her children and gradually her own sense of purpose and palce in life. Lilly's helplessness, and perhaps unknowing ruthlessness is as much a threat to her daughters as it is to herself.

Anna revisit a time in her life where everything changes and yet nothing changes. In the present her mother is still the same. It revisit a time when the bonds of an already strained mother and daughter's relationship is broken by betrayal. Her story tells of the power and destructive capabilities of love and the bonds that can hold or trap a family together.

[Sandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

It took me awhile to sink into this book. Written first person from a young girl's perspective (growing up the 1960s and 70s) it felt more like a memoir. It is a tale about three sisters and a Mother who gets lost in her misguided life. It also is about how her girls are affected directly - especially in their attempt to deal with their mother's inability to cope. I really enjoyed this aspect. Really tells a lot about that time for women. Lilly, the mom, has been raised to believe her beauty, sexual appeal to men, and her "housewifeness" are the only things she has to hold onto. When her husband dies accidently, her entire world is turned upside down. I related to this story in many ways - the mother's character and the middle daughter's character were both developed quite well. At times I felt jolts of honesty and familiarity with my own feelings about men and relationships. The only reason I am giving it 4 stars rather than 5 is because it would sometimes get confusing as to how the author weaves her stories of past and present. I like that idea though! I also identify with this way of experiencing time - to me, nothing feels linear...and this is how the story reads also.

[Delores · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a story told by Anna Crane, one of three sisters in the Crane family. Anna's dad dies unexpectedly at a young age. He leaves behind a rather young widow and family. From Anna's point of view, the story line bounces primarily between Anna as a child and Anna as a teenager. There are brief glimpses in the beginning and end of Anna as an adult.

The story is not necessarily uplifting. Over the years, Mom doesn't handle Dad's death well at all and the dysfunction within the family continues to escalate. It is really rather sad that Mom can't get her act together for the sake of her family and the girls were essentially robbed of their childhood. Very unfortunate that Mom has some serious issues and doesn't realize how her actions or lack of actions deeply affect her daughters. I would have liked to have known what how the sisters turned out as adults but the story really doesn't go there. This book reflects on themes of love, loss, depression, unmet expectations and the inability to let go of the past.

[Cathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the writing in this book, but the story was often confusing, alternating between time in a way that wasn't always clear. For example, the story went back to Anna Crane's early childhood, and different points throughout her childhood up through her late teens, but not in any particular order (certainly not chronologically), with different men coming in and out of her mother's life such that it wasn't always clear how old Anna was at the time of each man and event. I don't know if the author was trying to be as vague as possible to create a kind of timeless tale, but I found it confusing and unnecessarily baffling.

The metaphor of snow is used extensively throughout to show how Anna's home, headed up by her needy and distant single mother, seems to be buried in snow, frozen in time, since Anna's father's early death. I like the metaphor but in reading this, it felt almost like Cleveland was constantly buried in snow. It was a great metaphor but a bit overused, I thought.

[J · Rating 3 out of 5]

Giving this one 3, almost but not close enough to 4 stars. Probably liked most that i could relate to the time setting very close to my own age. Felt like nearly reliving experiences similar to the middle girl. There were not many things most women could resort to after the loss of a husband, so lilly (mom) seems quite real for the era. I found it disappointing that she doesn't eventually get a grip on some inner strength though. I don't think this one will be a winner with the YA group. Today's women and young girls don't rely so much on a man to "take care" of them.

[Maureen Foust · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book initially attracted me because it was set close to where I grew up. I read some complaints that it jumped around a bit too much but I didn't find that a problem until a little closer to the end. The ending was a bit unsatisfying and didn't really answer he question of why she was returning home to get married, but the dysfunction of the family and her journey through it was very interesting and captivating. It's no surprise that the author is a poet. Her turn of phrase in some passages is stunningly beautiful. I'm going with a solid 3.5 stars

[Patty · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a great story, but hard to follow. I couldn't put it down because i was hoping for it to all come together

[Deborah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Life was good until Anna's father unexpectedly dies. Her mother becomes mentally unstable and hopes to find another man to take care of her and her daughters. She neglects the girls and makes poor choices. The sisters are effected differently, but Anna is the main character the story follows. The books jumps back and forth to different points in her life. Then her mother betrays her. Decent story, easy read.

[Chloe · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is not a feel good book, but its depictions of flawed relationships and hurt humanity are gripping. Lilly is a character that continually self destructs and is painful to read, yet a character you need to keep reading about. Anna is character that you root for but also realize that her character has suffered so much — you just hope she makes it out at the end of the book.
Has some sensitive material

[Cannon Roberts · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked this book up until the last forty pages or so. It was one of those novels where it seemed like the author thought the ending was a surprise when the book was more about knowing what was coming but enjoying the journey. Had the narrator simply left after the incident we all expected, it would have been far more powerful.

[Peggy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book describes so accurately what it is like to be raised by a motherless mother. It took me many years of observaton in my counseling practice to glean this knowledge. This is such an interesting phenomena which Bialosky handles so sensitively and it's only one of the themes of this complex story.

[Bamboozlepig · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF. I wanted to like this one, I really did. But the non-linear narrative bounced around in the story's timeline so much that it was hard to follow. Gave it up a couple of chapters in. Bialosky does have a nice way with words, though.

[K2 ----- · Rating 3 out of 5]

Truly a powerful novel if you can grasp the impact being child of a Holocaust survivor and the heavy weight a survivor must carry. Emotional look at grief and mental illness writ large in this coming of age novel. Well-paced.

[Rae Wetzel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Complicated, sad lives in the 1960s and ’70s - a thought-provoking, repeated love and loss story, and at times hopeful. My heart ached for this family. I liked reading from the point of view of the narrator, Anna. I recommend this book, written in 2002.

[Donna Halloran · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just too darn sad. It is well written. An incredibly powerful story. Anywhere but here is a good comparison. Just too darn tragic

[Lynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rounded up.

[Dana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful!!! I read this book 20 years ago, do not remember the plot, but I own the book, and had written "Beautiful" and "2005" inside the cover, so I must have loved it.

[Molly]

1/9/13: By "read," I mean I only got twenty-some pages in (which is why there is no date on when I finished the book). I'm only tentatively starting to give myself permission to do this: not finish a book. Let it go in lieu of something that might hook me better. 2013 is the year where I'll look back on my read shelf and not have as many regrets about impulse reading.

I didn't see this as an impulse attempt though; I've enjoyed Bialosky's poetry and admire her career.

But the book had so many different shifts in time--each one seeming to be a false true start to the book, without really sinking into any real interest. None of the storylines seemed to spark, and with the conflict set up, I could almost predict the ending. And I didn't care for any of the characters--I don't need to love them (I hated Frank Bascombe, Richard Ford's failed sportswriter turned real estate agent, but he had a personality, that's for certain, which roused some level of curiosity to propel me through the book).

The writing, too, was disappointing. If the writing shines, then I can forgive just about any plot dullness or character issues. Again, Ford's writing was solid and I trusted it, which is how I could read a book I would otherwise despise in someone else's hands.

I don't know why, but I think to Elizabeth Strout's Amy and Isabelle and how good that was, or the title story in Inventing the Abbots or even, to stretch it somehow, to Revolutionary Road, and the writing in those just melted me.

I woke up this morning thinking I ought to give it another chance. Maybe I will, but right now, it's in a box to be donated, and once that box is full, the chance is lost.

[Kim Miller-Davis · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't like this book much at all. It started out with so much promise and the basic story was interesting BUT it lacked organization and clarity. The shifts in time were confusing--I could never tell where we were in the story because the author switched back and forth into so many different times without coming back to the present or making the past time period clear. Also, at the end, I needed to know what happened to her two sisters, who were a major part of the story but just disappeared at the end! I also needed to know the specifics of how the narrator ended up "ok" relationship-wise despite living with her mother for 16 years. It was incredibly ambiguous, which made it unbelievable. I'm sad---I really wanted it to be better.

[Brittany · Rating 3 out of 5]

Of all things to remember, I only remember the boyfriend's name was Justin...

I didn't necessarily enjoy the book; and yet I read it so there must be reason, no? I will say this, I greatly appreciated the language. Merely the words. I found myself underlining lines that seemed too poetic to be a part of such a novel: "The wind caused the branches of the tree outside our window to thrash like someone waking from anesthesia." The imagery was so vivid, I still remember that line, without needing reference; but alas, I cannot remember the story. If you're a poet, read it, otherwise...

[Jordan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book. It was a quick and easy read. The mother, Lilly, was a very interesting character. Her battle with despair and desire kept my attention. The narrator was a little bland, yet she had a very poetic perspective. I like Jill Bialosky's poetry. I'm looking forward to her new memoir, History of a Suicide (Feb 2011).

[Jen S. · Rating 1 out of 5]

Dissatisfying. While Anna's miserable childhood and youth with her unstable mother are interesting, I didn't understand why she returned home for her wedding. Try Jeannette Walls' Glass Castles for a nonfictional dysfunctional family.

[Anne · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very predictable. I knew before reading it what the big betrayal was going to be. It was passable, but not great. Plodded along and the author just kept bashing us over the head with heaviness. Can't recommend this one.

[Alison · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had my doubts about this story, but it won me over by the end. Some people insist on living in their own reality, and their family members have to deal with it. I liked how Anna was able to rise above the situation and learn to live independently.

[Emily · Rating 2 out of 5]

I admired the strong protagonist Anna, found utility in some of the takeaway messages, enjoyed the parallels with Wuthering Heights. Not the most action packed of plots, but a fast, breezy read that I liked overall.