Where We Dig the Secrets out of the Snow

The snow man by George Sand
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed this novel, and I may have some criticisms, but I thought it did all that it should do. 5 stars.

I have only read one other book by George Sand, and I liked it some. I expected about the same, but this was a lot more to my liking. Set in 18th century Sweden, in a remote manor, it's not the Paris I was expecting. The main character is a likable twenty-something man raised in Italy by his adopted parents, and he has a lot of questions about his past. He's made his own way in the world in a variety of ways, but when the story opens is providing for himself with a puppet theater, and he's scheduled to perform at the manor. Like many such novels, he starts to discover clues to secrets and mysteries in the snowed-in nobleman's retreat, and some of the clues seem to point to his own past.

This could have been a Sir Walter Scott novel, which is my usual yardstick. If you had switched covers, you could easily have fooled me. The historical setting; the very powerful sense of place; the family secrets coming to light; the importance of lawyers and documents and courts; the men and women of honor facing powerful enemies; the positive contributions of minor characters, especially servants and the lowest class of workers; and the feeling of destiny hanging over the whole thing. That's Scott all over. Oh, and like many Scott novels, it's got a real Gothic vibe, with a partly ruined manor across the frozen lake from the new manor with secret rooms and maybe ghosts, and I love it.

(BTW: there are many differences between this and Scott's novels, and I could probably summon a paragraph describing them, but let's just pretend I went to all that trouble. Clearly Sand is her own writer, not a mere imitator, with her own style, and I'm enjoying it.)

Though there's plenty of action here, both of the novel-of-manners type (rich people in drawing rooms type of stuff) as well as the physical kind, including bear hunts, sleigh crashes, and fighting, it isn't packed. Like so many 19th century novels, are long stretches of exposition that modern novels tend not to include, and if you're used to that and expect it, it's all good. (I am. I do. It was.) For example, Christian recounting his life's story to the lawyer, M Goefle, takes a lot of pages. (I counted. About 80. Is that a lot?) It's fine in context, but would be weird in a modern bestseller.

There's a lot of great characters. The rotten earl hosting the Christmas party is a very bad guy and his henchmen are quite dangerous. The good guy has a bunch of people on his side from all walks of life, people ready to lend a hand, and he has a great love interest. The kindly lawyer who becomes Christian's biggest support is really cool, kinda old but up for a lark. And the seeress who hints at solutions to all the secrets is fun (and another nod to Scott). Nice cast.

And I liked the ending.

As always, if this is your thing, you'll like it, and if it isn't, you won't. I liked it. I'm eager for more George Sand, and hope she has more like this.

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