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Snow-Eyes #1
Snow-Eyes
Snow-Eyes' absent mother returns as a servitor to the goddess Trost and calls her, against her will, to the same service.
223 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published September 1, 1985
2 people are currently reading
62 people want to read
About the author
Stephanie A. Smith
28 books109 followersStephanie A. Smith holds a PhD from UC Berkeley and teaches American Literature at the University of Florida. She studied fiction with both Ursula K. Le Guin and Michael Cunningham, and is the author of six novels, including the recent WARPAINT Trilogy (Thames River Press) and two books of criticism, along with numerous essays, chapters, reviews and short stories.
http://www.stephanieasmith.net for more!
http://www.stephanieasmith.net for more!
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
June 7, 2018
Just reread this old favorite of mine. Snow-Eyes is the daughter of a carpenter and a demigoddess, more or less. What I love about this book is the combination of the down-to-earth and the mystical; the social structure of the Kields, the farming and carpentry and cooking and cleaning, the mythology and the hints at more, the focus on family and family frailties. The social structure is egalitarian, no gender roles assigned: nothing is made of this, it's just background.
Another fantasy novel from the 80s where the dark-skinned protagonist is shown on the cover as a white woman.
Another fantasy novel from the 80s where the dark-skinned protagonist is shown on the cover as a white woman.
April 15, 2012
Well. Of course I love it.
July 29, 2019
Raised in near-poverty by her father, older brother and sister, Snow-Eyes has never known her mother, until a strange woman appears to sweep her away into an entirely different life and a mystical service to the Lake Mother it seems Snow-Eyes has no choice but to accept.
While the world of Gueme and the servitors of the Lake Mother are interesting, I found it hard to connect with the characters. The writing style and the tone are constantly putting distance between the reader and the characters, even Snow-Eyes, the protagonist. Snow-Eyes is also so very young for most of the book, and reacting to things in a childish, ego-centric way. I didn't hold this against her, but it made it difficult to root for her.
Ultimately, this book feels like the first third or fourth of a novel. It's not a complete story unto itself in any way, shape or form, and because of that, reading it is a very unsatisfying experience. I was troubled by the enduring and often repeated theme of forgiving and reconciling with your family members no matter what because they are your family. While I believe in forgiveness and I believe in family bonds, I also think if your family members do truly awful things to you and never even express regret at doing the thing (just over the "way it happened" or the consequences), you don't have any obligation to reconcile with them.
While the world of Gueme and the servitors of the Lake Mother are interesting, I found it hard to connect with the characters. The writing style and the tone are constantly putting distance between the reader and the characters, even Snow-Eyes, the protagonist. Snow-Eyes is also so very young for most of the book, and reacting to things in a childish, ego-centric way. I didn't hold this against her, but it made it difficult to root for her.
Ultimately, this book feels like the first third or fourth of a novel. It's not a complete story unto itself in any way, shape or form, and because of that, reading it is a very unsatisfying experience. I was troubled by the enduring and often repeated theme of forgiving and reconciling with your family members no matter what because they are your family. While I believe in forgiveness and I believe in family bonds, I also think if your family members do truly awful things to you and never even express regret at doing the thing (just over the "way it happened" or the consequences), you don't have any obligation to reconcile with them.
March 25, 2018
I really loved this book as a drama about female relationships. The idea of females serving the land, keeping balance, granting wishes, is powerful but sometimes confusing. Some of their service seems overly ritualized and pointless, and I couldn't tell what their geographical range was supposed to be. However, the idea of women working together and passing down their heritage and goals to the next generation speaks to me.
I was troubled at first that the book seemed to want me to want the girl to become one of the servitors, even though it didn't seem like it was in her best interests nor did it seem to fit her personality. What I liked about the story was that in the end it DIDN'T need me to want her to change. It called on the characters and the reader to question the basis for the relationships and try to see them for what they were instead of what they were ritually supposed to be. And relationships didn't magically heal. And in the end the girl was allowed to remain herself and not suffer for her mother's mistakes. She wasn't forced to abandon her past for some strange servitor future.
That is why I liked this book. I just saw that there is a sequel. I want to read it.
I was troubled at first that the book seemed to want me to want the girl to become one of the servitors, even though it didn't seem like it was in her best interests nor did it seem to fit her personality. What I liked about the story was that in the end it DIDN'T need me to want her to change. It called on the characters and the reader to question the basis for the relationships and try to see them for what they were instead of what they were ritually supposed to be. And relationships didn't magically heal. And in the end the girl was allowed to remain herself and not suffer for her mother's mistakes. She wasn't forced to abandon her past for some strange servitor future.
That is why I liked this book. I just saw that there is a sequel. I want to read it.
September 24, 2025
This is a fantasy book I like. It feels like a collection of my neighbourhood pals liked it, too, but maybe not. It's just one of those things you might have remembered from when you were smaller. Right?
July 25, 2023
An interesting coming-of-age, expectations vs. dreams and desires story. Slow-moving, but it does allow for a fair bit of story and character development.
February 16, 2013
Like others here, I recently re-read this little novel after remembering having enjoyed it as a young person. I hoped that (unlike some awesomely bad 1980's films) it would still prove to be as captivating now. In many ways it was.
The story is quite simple and almost sparse. Yet, the author has a true gift for lovely and memorable imagery. Only a few things bothered me. The first was when the protagonist first views the murals on the nidules that represent the Lake Mother. I thought the choices of color, and the phrases underneath, to be slightly ambiguous; I had hope that more on that would be explained later, but it wasn't.
The other was that the ending seemed quite abrupt, and it felt like a few loose ends could've been tied up a little more pleasingly. (I actually had to go back and read the last few pages to remember exactly how it did end. Must not have been too memorable. Or perhaps I was very tired. :) )
Overall, a book I highly recommend to a young or grown adult as an intriguing, smooth-reading novel.
The story is quite simple and almost sparse. Yet, the author has a true gift for lovely and memorable imagery. Only a few things bothered me. The first was when the protagonist first views the murals on the nidules that represent the Lake Mother. I thought the choices of color, and the phrases underneath, to be slightly ambiguous; I had hope that more on that would be explained later, but it wasn't.
The other was that the ending seemed quite abrupt, and it felt like a few loose ends could've been tied up a little more pleasingly. (I actually had to go back and read the last few pages to remember exactly how it did end. Must not have been too memorable. Or perhaps I was very tired. :) )
Overall, a book I highly recommend to a young or grown adult as an intriguing, smooth-reading novel.
March 21, 2008
I think I may have read this in middle school, so I grabbed it to find out. I will keep you posted.
ETA: Yep, this is the one I remembered! Nice, slow moving for the first half of the book before sudden scene and pace change. Has a slightly sparse quality, in the style of LeGuin, although perhaps she just comes to mind because she's given a blurb on the cover. Definitely YA, but as such, not bad.
ETA: Yep, this is the one I remembered! Nice, slow moving for the first half of the book before sudden scene and pace change. Has a slightly sparse quality, in the style of LeGuin, although perhaps she just comes to mind because she's given a blurb on the cover. Definitely YA, but as such, not bad.
October 12, 2012
I liked it even if it was dark and the story basically are about a girl who are abandon by her mother who disappoint her on one way after another in the whole story... first her mother, who Snow-eyes havn't meet before, returns to take her with her, from her family, against her will. Soon Snow-Eyes discover that her mother are "The Lake Mother" who is a lore-spun woman who guides the souls to Death and grants wishes... and she begin her training to be one of The Lake Womens servitudes...
November 9, 2007
This book is about a little girl who is named Snow Eyes and her father always dresses his youngest child in black.Her eyes are as black as her clothes too. She always gets abused by her oldest sister and Snow Eyes tells her father but her father doesnt believe her.
November 4, 2012
A childhood favorite. I must have read Snow Eyes a dozen times when I was 12. Good for some literary comfort food even now.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews