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The Silence of Falling Snow
From an innovator of autofiction comes a meditation on grief, care, Buddhism, and artmaking.
'This is a story. It is a story about someone accompanying another to the last gate.'
Years ago, Kristjana Gunnars took her husband back to his home in Oslo to die. Through the dark, cold days, she tends to his needs as she feels her own self disintegrating. Later, as she looks back to this slow departure of the man she loved, she weaves together threads from her own life, reflections on the thoughts of Gautama Buddha, discussions of Renaissance art, and considerations of contemporary artists.
Engaging with thinkers as varied as Ingmar Bergman and Jacques Derrida, Henry David Thoreau, and Ursula K. Le Guin, Gunnars — one of the earliest practitioners of "autofiction" — crafts a new kind of hybrid text, with elements of memoir, lyrical essay, Buddhist teachings, poetics, art theory, and meditation.
The Silence of Falling Snow is a deep dive into grief, the way we circle around it, dipping in and out of the pain, finding comfort in art and philosophy and religion where we can. It’s an intellectual cabaret, a Buddhist primer, and a pointillist portrait of grief – above all, it’s the consoling and invigorating reflection we need in this moment.
'This is a story. It is a story about someone accompanying another to the last gate.'
Years ago, Kristjana Gunnars took her husband back to his home in Oslo to die. Through the dark, cold days, she tends to his needs as she feels her own self disintegrating. Later, as she looks back to this slow departure of the man she loved, she weaves together threads from her own life, reflections on the thoughts of Gautama Buddha, discussions of Renaissance art, and considerations of contemporary artists.
Engaging with thinkers as varied as Ingmar Bergman and Jacques Derrida, Henry David Thoreau, and Ursula K. Le Guin, Gunnars — one of the earliest practitioners of "autofiction" — crafts a new kind of hybrid text, with elements of memoir, lyrical essay, Buddhist teachings, poetics, art theory, and meditation.
The Silence of Falling Snow is a deep dive into grief, the way we circle around it, dipping in and out of the pain, finding comfort in art and philosophy and religion where we can. It’s an intellectual cabaret, a Buddhist primer, and a pointillist portrait of grief – above all, it’s the consoling and invigorating reflection we need in this moment.
240 pages, Paperback
Published September 30, 2025
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January 5, 2026
This is not what I expected it to be but it is quite interesting. It is essentially meditations on Buddhism, inspired by art and philosophy while the author cared for her husband in the last few months of his life. It reads like a series of stream of consciousness journal entries as the author moves from one thought or idea to the next, triggered by her husband’s condition to remember pieces of art or writing that seem relevant to her in the moment. It’s a very personal work that might be especially meaningful to others who are experiencing grief or those who are interested in Buddhist philosophy.
Displaying 1 of 1 review