Snow

by Marcus Sedgwick

Of all weathers, snow is the one that has always affected Marcus Sedgwick the most. While many people's idea of the perfect holiday involves sun, sea an sand, he instead makes trips to cold, snowy parts of the world: Russia, Scandinavia or the Arctic Circle. A few years ago he bought a mountain home, an old chalet d'alpage high in the Haute Savoie, and for the first time he began to understand what it is to live in an environment where extreme snowfall is frequent.
Like the six sides of a snowflake, the book has six chapters, each exploring the art, literature and science of snow, as well as his own experiences and memories, asking whether it really did snow more during his boyhood in Kent and whether changing climate patterns might mean, that for some areas of the world, snow may become a thing of the past. He also wonders why snow is so powerful for our imagination, so transformative and as fundamental as our response to darkness, to sunlight.

Genres: Nonfiction, Nature, Memoir, Science, Biography, Natural History, Audiobook

103 pages, Hardcover

First published October 6, 2016

About the author

Marcus Sedgwickwas a British writer and illustrator. He authored several young adult and children's books and picture books, a work of nonfiction and several novels for adults, and illustrated a collection of myths and a book of folk tales for adults.

Reviews

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

Snow. That weird substance that isn’t quite ice, and isn’t quite rain. Its appearance in winter brings screams of delight from the young and young at heart. Other people are equally happy to see the back of it. It is an icy blanket that smothers and softens the spiky winter skyline, bringing an ethereal and transformative silence to the landscape. It is this substance that has captivated Sedgwick since his childhood. He has bought this obsession into adult life too preferring the colder parts of the world over sun kissed beaches, so much so that he is the owner of a chalet high in the Alps.

You like snow? Yes, we said. He blinked a couple of times, then frowned, deadly serious. I hope you do, he said

In six chapters, mirroring the perfect shape of the snowflake, Sedgwick looks at the way that snow has inspired art and literature through the ages, before clearing the paths to discover the science that creates these little marvels of symmetry. There are few legends that have snow as an element, but those that do are powerful and deep in their meaning. It is a unique substance, that can bring death and destruction, and life too as he describes the wonders of a material that whilst cold, can also keep you warm. Softly falling snow has the ability to silence everything and walking out in it will touch every sense that you possess.

Today is one of those days when it appears that it has been snowing since time began

Snow is a short, intense, beautifully written and perfectly formed book, each word carefully chosen for maximum effect. It is a lovely mix of fact, myth and personal stories as Sedgwick tells of his deep passion for the white stuff. He makes us rethink our memories of winter days long gone, of snowball fights, of the wrong kind of snow and school days missed. But, it is also a warning; the effects of climate change means that some people may never see snow in any quantity again. It is a wonderful read and a real gem of a book.

[Bettie · Rating 4 out of 5]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b085t3f4

Description: Five years ago, he and his wife moved to an old chalet d'alpage high up in the Haute-Savoie (an alpine department of the eastern France bordering both Switzerland and Italy). Here for the first time he understands how snow can really shape the rhythms of daily life and during his first full winter in the mountains, he appreciates the hard daily labour involved in clearing proper alpine snow from the path outside his house.

Snow Talk: Today he remembers the snowy winters of his childhood in Kent and muses on the many different words that describe snow.

A Little Science: Marcus considers the science of snow and what 'makes' a snowflake and the phenomenon of 'diamond dust'. He also remembers the snowy winters of his childhood in Kent and the infamous cold of 1963.

The Art of Snow: Marcus explores how snow has inspired artists, musicians and filmmakers looking at the vividly 'cold' paintings of Bruegel, Schubert's beautiful but bleak Winterreise, and Werner Herzog's Of Walking in Ice created as he walked from Munich to Paris in late November to visit the dying Lottie Eisner.

Exposure: his new home prompts him to recall explorations of other snowy landscapes including his own trip to the Arctic Circle and that of the great explorer Scott as he headed for the South Pole.

In this final episode, he studies the nature of its 'whiteness' and welcomes in the spring thaw.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

This Little Toller book is, at just over 100 pages, the perfect read for a wintry afternoon. It’s a lot like The Snow Tourist by Charlie English, though that book is travel-based, whereas for this one Sedgwick stayed put at his home in the Haute-Savoie, an alpine region of eastern France (and was even snowed in for part of the time), and wandered in his memory instead.

Snow is “a form of nostalgia” for him, bringing back childhood days off school when he could just stay home and play – he loves it for “the freedom it represented.” He asks himself, “did it snow more when I was young, or is it just my desire and recreated memory?” Looking at weather statistics from Kent, he is able to confirm that, yes, it really did snow more in the 1960s and 70s.

Sedgwick briefly considers the science, history, art, and literature of snow, including polar expeditions and film, music, and paintings as well as Thomas Mann’s The Magic Mountain et al. He also likens the blank page to a snow-covered field, such that writers should not be daunted by it but excited by the possibility of creation.

A favorite passage: “Warm but cold, beautiful but terrifying. Minute but enormously powerful. Such opposites, such contradictions, are what snow is all about.”

Note: I was delighted to discover the other day that the Bookshop Band have a never-recorded song about this book, “A Memory of the Magic Stuff.”

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

Snow is my favourite weather, it brings back memories as a kid sat eating my breakfast listening to the radio as the DJ reads out the list of schools that are closed because of snow, and the cheer as my school was read out and then the day of fun playing in the snow…now that I’m a parent the school closures give a different response :-). Every year I take December off work in the hope of a good snow storm and the chance to explore.

This little book is only just over 100 pages long but it is crammed full of information…just like snow Sedgwick has packed it down to fit on the pages. There are 6 distinct chapters where Sedgwick investigates snow, it’s science, etymology, art, history, literature and mythology are all explored. Mixed in amongst this info are his personal experiences of snow, he shares that he lives in the Alps and gets the full-on snow experience, the shovelling of snow multiple times a day to stop it building up and he shares just how much joy he still gets from the first snow fall of the year.

When I purchased this book I didn’t realise it was a Little Toller Monograph, surely it isn’t going to be any good being so small? I thought…but it was the perfect length. Sedgwick covers just enough books and art to wet your appetite and he goes deep enough into the science and etymology to not confuse and bore you. The shared personal experiences give you the longing for some snow so you can get out there and see how the world has been transformed overnight. This book totally works, the monograph idea is a brilliant one and this reader is hooked and must have them all!

Blog review: https://felcherman.wordpress.com/2021...

[Kirsty · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found the lovely little hardback edition of Marcus Sedgwick's Snow whilst browsing in the library, and added it to the already large pile weighing down my arms.  I have read a few of Sedgwick's novels to date, but had never encountered his non-fiction work, and was suitably intrigued to start reading it as soon as I returned home.  It was the perfect addition to my seasonal reading pile, which I like to collate as soon as every season begins to shift into the next.

Sedgwick has always been fascinated by snow, and has travelled to many cold parts of the world in order to get closer to it.  After moving from Kent to a mountain chalet in France's Haute-Savoie region, which borders Italy and Switzerland, 'for the first time, he truly understood what it meant to live in a place where snowfall shaped the rhythms and boundaries of life.'

Snow is split into six sections, a number which has been selected to represent the six sides of a snowflake; a nice touch, I feel, and it is certainly an approach which works well.  In each of these chapters, Sedgwick explores 'the art, literature and science of snow', and places these alongside his own experiences.  Alongside this, he explores the wider implications of snowfall.  The blurb comments that Sedgwick also looks into 'climate change for himself, asking if snow could become a thing of the past' - rather a scary thought.

From the outset, Sedgwick's descriptive writing really helps to set the scene.  He writes from his new home in France, commenting: 'Looking down the valley now, between the humps of the nearby hills that lie like a line of vast migrating mammoths, the tip of the summit of Mont Blanc is making one of its rare appearances sans chapeau - without a hat - above the cloud that almost perpetually envelops the peak.  But yesterday the snow laid down its marker for the season, made its opening move, letting us know it's on its way in earnest.  It is October 16.'  

He opens with a fascinating section on the origins of different words for snow and their usage, before moving on to explore the scientific elements which will determine which kinds of snow will fall.  I admit that the science geek within me loved revisiting facts such as the following: '... the six-armed star shapes, known as dendrites, are not the only kind possible.  It's also possible for snow to fall as needles, columns, hollow columns, six-sided prisms and plates.'  Sedgwick goes on to write: 'Once snow lands, drifts, accumulates, thaws, refreezes, slides and so on, it develops even more intricacy, even greater wildness, but that's another matter again.'

Sedgwick reminisces throughout the book about the winters of his childhood, and how they awakened his great love of snow; of 'snowmen, snowball fights, icicles as dashers or as ice-dragon teeth, the snow seems to me now to have been a (literally) brilliant canvas for the imagination.'  His vision of the future is nowhere near as rosy as his reminiscences for years gone by, but his stark comments sadly feel realistic.  He comments: 'At some point in our future then, there will be no more snow, no more ice...  Real snow - fresh, natural, ephemeral and almost supernatural - that will be gone.  Icicles like dragons' teeth, lakes to skate on: these will be gone too.  The temperature of the world will have risen to the point where such things will live only in the memory of those old enough to remember, and then snow will take on itself an even deeper symbolism; it will become even more magical, mystical.  It will stand then for what we have lost.'

First published in 2016, and coming in at just over 100 pages, Snow would make a wonderful gift, or serve as a lovely choice for something a little different to read during the winter months.  It is a tome by a prolific but quite underrated author, and feels quite different from his other work which I have read to date.  One can see, however, in novels like My Swordhand is Swinging and Blood Red, Snow White, the influence of the winter.

Snow is absorbing, and the scope which Sedgwick has achieved within such a short book is admirable.  He continually notes how the weather is in the Haute-Savoie, and also beautifully captures how whole communities have come to live within, and rely upon, the snow.  He explores the myths and legends based around the snow - surprisingly few of them exist - and reinforces the power and reach of the snow as a weather phenomenon.  For a slim book, there is certainly a lot packed in, and much to consider.

[Elli (The Bibliophile) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such a nice read for winter! I have been living in England since October and one thing I have missed about home (Montreal) is the snow. I have to admit this was one of my motivations for picking this book up! Also, I bought a signed edition at a cute bookstore in Ely. I loved how this book touched upon science, philosophy, literary tropes and the author's own experiences with snow. It was really well written and overall really interesting and philosophical. I would recommend this to anyone interested in essays.

[Wanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

2 JAN 2017 - a nice listen-to regarding snow. Listen here - http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0868w4h

[Margaret · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a beautifully presented and thoughtful little monograph. Always fascinated by snow, Marcus Sedgwick now lives in the Haute Savoie, where snow in winter is a daily reality. He's come to appreciate that there is far more than one kind of snow, and that some of it is 'the wrong kind', getting in the way of the everyday lives of those who are very accustomed to snow of all kinds. He wanders discursively through science, literature, art, and personal anecdote to build up a vivid picture of this fascinating substance which exercises such a grip on our imaginations and our daily lives when we encounter it. A book to read, to savour, and to continue to dip into from time to time.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

From BBC Radio 4 - Book of the Week:
Following a move to a chalet in the Haute Savoie, author Marcus Sedgwick revisits childhood memories of snowy winters in Kent and asks why snow is so powerful to the imagination.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b085t3f4

[Meg · Rating 5 out of 5]

She, then, like snow in a dark night,
Fell secretly. And the world waked
With dazzling of the drowsy eye,
So that some muttered 'Too much light',
And drew the curtains close.
Like snow, warmer than fingers feared,
And to soil friendly;
Holding the histories of the night
In yet unmelted tracks. - Like Snow, Robert Graves

“Is snow, in some way, a form of nostalgia?”

“For a writer however, white means one thing above all else: the empty page. I only see now how, as a child, the blank canvas of snow provided the perfect vacuum into which to pour a fertile imagination. We tumbled through the snow without a thought as to how and why we were creating worlds from inside, planting them in the ‘real’ world around us.”

“…Not so eloquent, for a writer, but Maureen later told me she started to fall in love with me then, simply for feeling the same way she does about nature, and its power. And being speechless before it, as before some kind of god. I have never been one for deities in the heavens, but if I were to worship anything, it would be something as magnificent and celestial as a mountain, of the sun. Of the snow.”

"It's the transformation that occurs on that morning each winter when the first snow arrives. It's what draws us so strongly when, as Llewellyn Powys wrote: 'we hear that it is snowing, to cross our fire-lit rooms and glance between the curtains out of the window. The deep, deep silence that has moved in is the creation of the new landscape around us. It's hard not to feel that special sense of otherness that snow produces. Given a heavy fall of snow, in no time at all the world around us appears to change its very essence. Slipping on coat and gloves, we move out into the frozen world in a kind of waking dream - as in a dream, the familiar has become unfamiliar."

[Jackie Law · Rating 5 out of 5]

“we live in a world of over-simplification. Few people have the time, energy or desire to see the world as any more complex than they can cope with.”

Snow, by Marcus Sedgwick, is the latest addition to the publisher’s monograph series – beautiful books which explore aspects of the natural world and the rich variety of places in which the authors live. Echoing the six sides of a snowflake, the six chapters in this highly readable study delve into the science and art of snow – its impact on literature, folklore, exploration and scientific progress, on those who have experienced its power to trigger awe and fear.

The author now lives in the French Alps but spent his childhood in rural Kent where he remembers there being more snow than typically falls today. Despite its ability to throw travel plans into disarray he associates it with freedom. A deep covering would have prevented him and his brother from attending their hated school leading to fun and imaginative play. The transformed world offered a blank canvas, an empty page on which to create. The muffled silence and crisp cleanliness belyed the potential dangers. He goes on to discuss this in some depth.

Music and literature use snow as a backdrop to terror. Historic explorers have been trapped, frozen or maimed. Snow has physically shaped the mountains and valleys. The modern world is impotent when a heavy fall cuts off communications.

The author looks not just at the physical but also the emotional impact of snow on the human psyche. He talks of ancient stories, mythical figures, and the powerful forces an accumulation of these flakes can unleash. There is much to consider and take in.

The quality of the writing ensures that the ideas are never difficult to process. As befits the subject, it is a captivating read.

“Snow ranks amongst the greatest forces in the natural world […] the result of the humble snowflake, tiny and almost weightless. Minuscule, intricately beautiful too”

Snowfall has transformed the world in many ways. This book will enable readers to look at its arrival this winter through a newly polished lens.

My copy of this book was provided gratis by the publisher, Little Toller.

[Karen M · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a gem of a read - particularly as we are in the middle of snow and ice. Not like Sedgwick’s snow in the Haute-Savoie however which has a far more magical and fearsome edge to it. From the Robert Graves poem on the first page , through language and science to poetry again with Muller’s Die Winterreise and Schubert’s music, Thomas Mann - who I have tried and failed with before and then jumping me to half remembered episodes from Lawrence and Shelley and Steven King. This chapter made me explore and engage and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Finally the Snow Queen and Jadis herself both of who equally terrified and enthralled me as a child , and Sedgwick explores myths and legends linking and threading ideas through stories and characters. Lovely.
The book itself is a tactile little gem , small enough to fit in your hand , about the same weight as a well made snowball. Just six chapters to reflect the six branches of a snowflake...

[Colin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this in the spring, but decided that I wouldn't read it until the first snowfall of the year. 30 November was a bitterly cold day of swirling, settling snow and seemed just right to start this beautiful little book, one of a new series of nature monographs produced by the estimable Little Toller Press.
Marcus Sedgwick's survey takes in the science, nature, art and literature of snow, and the experience of living with snow (Sedgwick and his family live in the Haute-Savoie, fulfilling a life long dream sparked in childhood winters to spend as much time as possible in snowy environments). It's a beautifully designed book and I'll look out more of the Little Toller monographs.

[Dawn Tyers · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this little monograph, it’s the perfect mix of fact, myth and personal experience. The author’s memories of building his own igloo brought back recollections of my own snowy experiences from childhood. I really did have to dig my way down the steps of our front garden to reach the pavement beyond. And I too remember the painful burning sensation in fingers so cold I thought they’d never recover. And I particularly like his evidence that it really did snow more frequently here in the UK fifty years ago than it does today. If you love the beauty of a bright, snowy landscape you’ll love this book.

[Sophy H · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

A short but impassioned book about the different aspects of snow. Sedgwick lives high up in the French Alps and explains how his life is truly linked with and influenced by this weather phenomenon. He delves into the psychological side of snow and its impact on humans and the use of snow as setting in literature.

Very well written and some thoughtful insights here too.

For a weather lover like myself, this was a good book.

[Riley Schmidt · Rating 5 out of 5]

A broad and absorbing discourse on a fascinating topic. It's not a complete resource on the many facets of snow, but nor does it pretend to be. It touches on science, but mostly provides examples of snow's influence on mankind, culture, and on the author personally.

I'd never heard of snowdogs prior to reading this! I'll definitely read it again in the winter.

[Else · Rating 5 out of 5]

I truly enjoyed reading this book. Filled with facts and thoughts about snow, it made me see what a miracle snow is and how life on earth would not be the same without it. The author looks at snow from many aspects—from linguistic origins to science to art. A great little read for a snowy afternoon.

[Callum McLaughlin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Essentially a collection of essays on our connection to and fascination with snow, Sedgwick writes beautifully about the landscape. There were moments, particularly in the final chapter, where he leaned into the kind of thing I was hoping to get from this, but sadly too many of his points felt meandering and tenuously linked to the central theme.

Neither personal nor wide-ranging enough, the book exists in a strange middle ground, where it struggles to really form any concrete conclusions. As such, I don't feel I came away from it with any greater understanding of Sedgwick or, indeed, snow.

[Stewart Monckton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful book - a blend of science, art, travel, and personal reflection.

Just about perfect.

SM

[Richard Newton · Rating 3 out of 5]

A pleasant enough read - a small book packed full of interesting facts and ideas all centred around the theme of snow. Nice and clearly written, there is plenty to like here, but somehow whilst the individual elements were interesting it did not hang together as a whole for me. I found it to be a slightly random assortment, even though it does has this theme of snow.

I like small books. But there can be a problem. The problem with such a small book is that many of the interesting ideas were touched upon, and then moved on from as if the reader is being quickly shown a series of images, but not long enough to really appreciate them. Perhaps if the writer had included less and written more about it then I might have enjoyed it a like a more. But I can see many others enjoyed this book tremendously, so as always with such books, its a matter of taste.

[Gill · Rating 2 out of 5]

Snow, by Marcus Sedgwick, is one of the beautifully produced monography series published by Little Toller. They are books which explore aspects of the natural world and the rich variety of places in which the authors live. This was ok but enjoyed it being read on Radio 4 much more. Think it may also be related the fact that I've had a surplus of this type of nature writing or misery memoir with redemption coming from nature.

[Pedro L. Fragoso · Rating 4 out of 5]

Snow is a small book, and it knows it. An essay, literate and cultured, on a theme treated without strain, allowed to unfold into something quietly consequential. Sedgwick trusts the material, and the reader, enough to let snow remain snow — object, symbol, interruption. It ends up mattering more than expected. A winter book, for the fire, for the season.

[Anya B · Rating 4 out of 5]

Marcus Sedgwick was of my favourite childhood authors, his fascination by snow is evident in a lot of his books and this is a concise collection of his captivating reflections on how snow has influenced art and culture both widely and on a personal level. Perfect winter reading.

[Jonna Gjevre · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you love snow as much as I do, you will find this monograph fascinating.

[Camille · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely loved this short story.

[Meddlesome Wretch · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was expecting a story as I love some of his books but this was more like a boring documentary. Couldn't get into it.

[Wsclai · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fast read. Some very interesting information about snow but having lived in the sub-tropical for my whole life, I don't really have enough experience to relate to the author's experience. Yet, imagining the scenes is already quite some thing.

[Kate Moore · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lot of this resonated with me, and I found my mind wandering in other parts. I must say, there are too many beautiful things in this monograph to give it less than four stars.

I found it hard to grasp some scientific facts because I'm not a sciency kind of person, but the intricacy of snowflakes and their infinite number of changing conditions is fascinating. Snow is magical, and this book reinforces its dreamlike qualities.

Marcus Sedgwick is very poetic and philosophical, and I connect with that. He is a captivating writer who wears warm layers of nostalgia in the cold.

[chris tervit · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a gorgeous gem, one to read at wintertime. A meditation on all things snowy. May well re-read (something I never do) next winter.