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White Bird in a Blizzard
When Katrina Connors' mother walks out on her family, Kat is surprised but not shocked; the whole year she has been "becoming sixteen" - falling in love with the boy next door, shedding her babyfat, discovering sex - her mother has been slowly withdrawing.
As Kat and her impassive father pick up the pieces of their daily lives, she finds herself curiously unaffected by her mother's absence. But in dreams that become too real to ignore, she's haunted by her mother's cries for help.
Finally, she must act on her instinct that something violent and evil has occurred - a realization that brings Kat to a chilling discovery.
240 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1999
About the author
Laura Kasischke
41 books393 followersLaura Kasischke is an American fiction writer and American poet with poetry awards and multiple well reviewed works of fiction. Her work has received the Juniper Prize, the Alice Fay di Castagnola Award from the Poetry Society of America, the Pushcart Prize, the Elmer Holmes Bobst Award for Emerging Writers, and the Beatrice Hawley Award. She is the recipient of two fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, as well as several Pushcart Prizes.
Her novel The Life Before Her Eyes is the basis for the film of the same name, directed by Vadim Perelman, and starring Uma Thurman and Evan Rachel Wood. Kasischke's work is particularly well-received in France, where she is widely read in translation. Her novel A moi pour toujours (Be Mine) was published by Christian Bourgois, and was a national best seller.
Kasischke attended the University of Michigan and Columbia University. She is also currently a Professor of English Language and of the Residential College at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan. She lives in Chelsea, Michigan, with her husband and son.
Her novel The Life Before Her Eyes is the basis for the film of the same name, directed by Vadim Perelman, and starring Uma Thurman and Evan Rachel Wood. Kasischke's work is particularly well-received in France, where she is widely read in translation. Her novel A moi pour toujours (Be Mine) was published by Christian Bourgois, and was a national best seller.
Kasischke attended the University of Michigan and Columbia University. She is also currently a Professor of English Language and of the Residential College at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan. She lives in Chelsea, Michigan, with her husband and son.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 188 reviews
November 27, 2023
This book was so much more than I thought it was going to be. I wasn’t fully prepared for how suspenseful or how beautifully written this novel would be.
Katrina Connors is sixteen when her mother walks out on the family. Leaving no trace to where she went. Oddly Katrina isn’t at all shocked. Her family has always been a little different. Her mother has always wanted more and her father is what most people would consider a push over. As time passes Kat and her father start putting back the pieces of their lives and moving on, while this occurs Kat starts having vivid dreams which start to make her question what exactly happened to her mother. Katrina is such an interesting character with amazing and poetic depth. She makes for a character worth reading. Her interactions with the side characters make for such an interesting dynamic for this book, and sets it aside from a lot of other books in it's genre. I loved that every character is built up so slowly and steadily so that by the time you get to the end of the book the characters you thought you knew so well turn out to be nothing
like what your mind created. White Bird will have you questioning everyone and everything.
White Bird in a Blizzard best asset is that it starts off as a coming of age story and then eventually transitions into a mystery thriller. It has a read out and feel so much like Gone Girl that it made getting wrapped up in the plot just as easy as it did for the characters. I would usually comment on the fact that Laura’s writing does get very detailed on every aspect, and usually I would think this is too much but with this novel it just works. The metaphors and turn of phrases she uses fit perfectly into every situation, helping paint the most vivid pictures. Laura has it so that she is dropping hints left and right about what is actually going on, but still leaves you questioning every detail. Though it does take about 70% of the book to really pick up, it is more than worth it for the ending you just won’t see coming. This book leaves you hanging until the very last moment with an ending that will forever have me wanting more.
Shortly after reading this I was able to watch the movie, and it was absolutely amazing! So beautifully filmed and the acting is stunning. 100% a must see.
Katrina Connors is sixteen when her mother walks out on the family. Leaving no trace to where she went. Oddly Katrina isn’t at all shocked. Her family has always been a little different. Her mother has always wanted more and her father is what most people would consider a push over. As time passes Kat and her father start putting back the pieces of their lives and moving on, while this occurs Kat starts having vivid dreams which start to make her question what exactly happened to her mother. Katrina is such an interesting character with amazing and poetic depth. She makes for a character worth reading. Her interactions with the side characters make for such an interesting dynamic for this book, and sets it aside from a lot of other books in it's genre. I loved that every character is built up so slowly and steadily so that by the time you get to the end of the book the characters you thought you knew so well turn out to be nothing
like what your mind created. White Bird will have you questioning everyone and everything.
White Bird in a Blizzard best asset is that it starts off as a coming of age story and then eventually transitions into a mystery thriller. It has a read out and feel so much like Gone Girl that it made getting wrapped up in the plot just as easy as it did for the characters. I would usually comment on the fact that Laura’s writing does get very detailed on every aspect, and usually I would think this is too much but with this novel it just works. The metaphors and turn of phrases she uses fit perfectly into every situation, helping paint the most vivid pictures. Laura has it so that she is dropping hints left and right about what is actually going on, but still leaves you questioning every detail. Though it does take about 70% of the book to really pick up, it is more than worth it for the ending you just won’t see coming. This book leaves you hanging until the very last moment with an ending that will forever have me wanting more.
Shortly after reading this I was able to watch the movie, and it was absolutely amazing! So beautifully filmed and the acting is stunning. 100% a must see.
September 9, 2014
I expected more from this book. There is a story in here just dying to be developed. I don't need 3 paragraphs describing dirt and while there was a lot of internal dialogue there needed to be more external. It was very disjointed and all over the place. Also, it seemed like the author went so out of her way to disguise the ending that it became fairly obvious.
October 24, 2014
There are many, many things wrong with this novel.
First, there is barely a plot. The novel is a lot Kat's sexual escapades, a little her feelings, but mostly it's awful metaphor on top of awful metaphor. The novel is so thick with metaphors (like literally metaphors, not symbols, badly written metaphors) and similies that many chapters were hard to read. Here's an example from the first part of the book:
"Instead she planted petunias in our yard, and by July of every year they were dried out. Like complaints, or exasperation. Our house was stuck into some of the world's most fertile earth- black and loamy and damp- and anything could have grown there. A handful of it was as heavy as a heart, or guilt."
Calling dirt black and loamy and damp is beautiful. Saying it's as heavy as guilt is overwrought.
Secondly, this book is a prime example of why first person narration is only pulled off by the most deft of writers. Most of the time, first person narration just annoys me, but in the case of White Bird in a Blizzard first person narration actually causes plot holes. Actual plot holes. How does Kat know the exact inner workings of her mother's mind in times before she was born? Exact details of dates her mother went on before she met Kat's father that she never later talked about? Kat is apparently so connected to her mother that she not only speaks to her in dreams, but she gives her sections of memory that are completely unimportant to Kat.
And lastly, the atrocious ending that anyone could see coming a mile away.
The language in the novel had the potential to be beautiful, Kasischke definitely know how to write a beautiful sentence. But it is also further point that beautiful sentences do not a good novel make. In fact, too many beautiful sentences might just make a novel as awful as White Bird in a Blizzard.
First, there is barely a plot. The novel is a lot Kat's sexual escapades, a little her feelings, but mostly it's awful metaphor on top of awful metaphor. The novel is so thick with metaphors (like literally metaphors, not symbols, badly written metaphors) and similies that many chapters were hard to read. Here's an example from the first part of the book:
"Instead she planted petunias in our yard, and by July of every year they were dried out. Like complaints, or exasperation. Our house was stuck into some of the world's most fertile earth- black and loamy and damp- and anything could have grown there. A handful of it was as heavy as a heart, or guilt."
Calling dirt black and loamy and damp is beautiful. Saying it's as heavy as guilt is overwrought.
Secondly, this book is a prime example of why first person narration is only pulled off by the most deft of writers. Most of the time, first person narration just annoys me, but in the case of White Bird in a Blizzard first person narration actually causes plot holes. Actual plot holes. How does Kat know the exact inner workings of her mother's mind in times before she was born? Exact details of dates her mother went on before she met Kat's father that she never later talked about? Kat is apparently so connected to her mother that she not only speaks to her in dreams, but she gives her sections of memory that are completely unimportant to Kat.
And lastly, the atrocious ending that anyone could see coming a mile away.
The language in the novel had the potential to be beautiful, Kasischke definitely know how to write a beautiful sentence. But it is also further point that beautiful sentences do not a good novel make. In fact, too many beautiful sentences might just make a novel as awful as White Bird in a Blizzard.
September 3, 2014
Really interesting story that was ruined by too much writing. Not every sentence has to be a simile or metaphor.
January 25, 2013
Laura Kasischke writes SO beautifully, even about disturbing things I'd rather not think about. I felt more and more drawn in, even though I began to suspect we'd never find out what happened to the mother, and then we do, but at the last sentence. I wanted more, as I always do with her sudden endings.
June 1, 2015
Description: When Katrina Connors' mother walks out on her family, Kat is surprised but not shocked; the whole year she has been "becoming sixteen" - falling in love with the boy next door, shedding her babyfat, discovering sex - her mother has been slowly withdrawing. As Kat and her impassive father pick up the pieces of their daily lives, she finds herself curiously unaffected by her mother's absence. But in dreams that become too real to ignore, she's haunted by her mother's cries for help. Finally, she must act on her instinct that something violent and evil has occurred - a realization that brings Kat to a chilling discovery.
Opening: AM SIXTEEN WHEN MY MOTHER STEPS OUT OF HER SKIN ONE frozen January afternoon—pure self, atoms twinkling like microscopic diamond chips around her, perhaps the chiming of a clock, or a few bright flute notes in the distance—and disappears. No one sees her leave, but she is gone.
Only the morning before, my mother was a housewife—a housewife who, for twenty years, kept our house as swept up and sterile as the mind of winter itself, so perhaps she finally just whisk-broomed herself out, a luminous cloud of her drifting through the bedroom window as soft as talcum powder, mingling with the snowflakes as they fell, and the stardust and the lunar ash out there.
Her name is Eve, and this is Garden heights, Ohio.
Not so much. Next!
Opening: AM SIXTEEN WHEN MY MOTHER STEPS OUT OF HER SKIN ONE frozen January afternoon—pure self, atoms twinkling like microscopic diamond chips around her, perhaps the chiming of a clock, or a few bright flute notes in the distance—and disappears. No one sees her leave, but she is gone.
Only the morning before, my mother was a housewife—a housewife who, for twenty years, kept our house as swept up and sterile as the mind of winter itself, so perhaps she finally just whisk-broomed herself out, a luminous cloud of her drifting through the bedroom window as soft as talcum powder, mingling with the snowflakes as they fell, and the stardust and the lunar ash out there.
Her name is Eve, and this is Garden heights, Ohio.
Not so much. Next!
February 20, 2012
I absolutely loved this book. Laura's writing style is so beautiful, and the story is so captivating and enthralling.. one of those books you stay up into the wee hours of the night to finish. I highly recommend this to anyone that loves descriptive language and enjoys a good mystery.
December 17, 2022
5/5
I think this is becoming a Kasischke’s favourite of mine !
The writing is so poetic, rich, layered (all the metaphors ! the lexical field used circling around sex, and death, Eros and Thanatos ! The depiction of that awkward thing that is being a teenager !).
She is so talented at writing about teenagers. And the plot twists are always so well done and thought through.
I think this is becoming a Kasischke’s favourite of mine !
The writing is so poetic, rich, layered (all the metaphors ! the lexical field used circling around sex, and death, Eros and Thanatos ! The depiction of that awkward thing that is being a teenager !).
She is so talented at writing about teenagers. And the plot twists are always so well done and thought through.
November 24, 2016
White Bird in a Blizzard is one of those books that stick with you, long after being read. It haunts you as you go about your day or in your enigmatic dreams. I finished it and was left with a wanting.
As someone who has seen the movie first, I was somewhat familiarized with the story. However, as my theory goes, the book is always better and I wasn't disappointed. The ending of the book is much different from the ending of the movie, some might even say more predictable. It's interesting how that doesn't take away from the intense build up of what is yet to come.
White Bird in a Blizzard is about what it's like to be a teenager and to have your Mom disappear out of the blue one day. Left with your simple-minded father, you put a callous over your heart so as not to deal in reality. Kat is clearly in denial about what she suspects happened to her mother. Everyone, including Kat, wants to believe she took off. I found this odd because she doesn't take her purse. That alone is suspicious.
Kat has nightmares about her mother nightly and again, stuffs down her feelings and emotions about it, writing it off as nothing. Something is very wrong, off even, but her mind is not quite ready to deal with it until the end. That is when she discovers what happens to her mother, as she is led to her, slowly but surely.
In the book, Laura Kasischke, never outright tells us what happens to Kat's mother. She alludes to it and makes it obvious what it is and who is responsible. A very sad ending to a book about what happens when someone in your life goes missing. There's not always happy endings and rainbows and unicorns. Sometimes, the answer is right under your nose and chances are you knew it all along. Our mind tries to protect itself from horrible things and that's what this book is all about.
As someone who has seen the movie first, I was somewhat familiarized with the story. However, as my theory goes, the book is always better and I wasn't disappointed. The ending of the book is much different from the ending of the movie, some might even say more predictable. It's interesting how that doesn't take away from the intense build up of what is yet to come.
White Bird in a Blizzard is about what it's like to be a teenager and to have your Mom disappear out of the blue one day. Left with your simple-minded father, you put a callous over your heart so as not to deal in reality. Kat is clearly in denial about what she suspects happened to her mother. Everyone, including Kat, wants to believe she took off. I found this odd because she doesn't take her purse. That alone is suspicious.
Kat has nightmares about her mother nightly and again, stuffs down her feelings and emotions about it, writing it off as nothing. Something is very wrong, off even, but her mind is not quite ready to deal with it until the end. That is when she discovers what happens to her mother, as she is led to her, slowly but surely.
In the book, Laura Kasischke, never outright tells us what happens to Kat's mother. She alludes to it and makes it obvious what it is and who is responsible. A very sad ending to a book about what happens when someone in your life goes missing. There's not always happy endings and rainbows and unicorns. Sometimes, the answer is right under your nose and chances are you knew it all along. Our mind tries to protect itself from horrible things and that's what this book is all about.
September 11, 2014
Descriptions are gorgeous but they make up more than half the book -- the balance of plot, new information, movement, etc. just wasn't there. By the end of the book it felt I'd read so many pages just to get to a (fairly obvious) plot twist. That being said, I would have freaking LOVED this book as a short story or novella -- the atmospheric attention to eerie detail, the repeating images gaining layers of meaning...as novel, though, those layers were repeated a half dozen too many times, weakening the overall effect. Still a fun, fast read with some lovely language.
EDIT: After a couple weeks thinking about this book I have revised my formerly gentle opinion of the ending. I now find the ending COMPLETELY RIDICULOUS in a way that would have been kinda wild and badass in a short story and is cray cray in a novel.
EDIT: After a couple weeks thinking about this book I have revised my formerly gentle opinion of the ending. I now find the ending COMPLETELY RIDICULOUS in a way that would have been kinda wild and badass in a short story and is cray cray in a novel.
July 3, 2014
In my mind, some sort of lost classic.
A coming of age tale, told in the most poetic and gorgeous of language. Eventually moves into more "thriller" and "mystery" territory but never losing sight of the realism and emotion at its core. I also love that as the answers get hinted at us, they are never spelled out. You can figure out what is going on but you have to think a little bit.
Hopefully the upcoming movie results in a reprint. The cast list for it seems perfect (is Shailene Woodley actually clones of herself? How can she be every teenage character now) and I am a huge fan of Gregg Araki so I am excited for that.
A coming of age tale, told in the most poetic and gorgeous of language. Eventually moves into more "thriller" and "mystery" territory but never losing sight of the realism and emotion at its core. I also love that as the answers get hinted at us, they are never spelled out. You can figure out what is going on but you have to think a little bit.
Hopefully the upcoming movie results in a reprint. The cast list for it seems perfect (is Shailene Woodley actually clones of herself? How can she be every teenage character now) and I am a huge fan of Gregg Araki so I am excited for that.
August 27, 2014
I gave the book a shot since a movie is coming out and I usually likes books more, in this case I won't be reading another book by this author and I won't be seeing the movie. It was all to blah to me. No real intrigue at all. Not to mention it was predictable and the main character was a slut who only cared about herself.
June 28, 2016
Encore un roman très troublant de Laura Kasischke ! Une écriture très métaphorique voir poétique et toujours avec cet auteur un gros côté psycho/psychiatrique que j’aime tant !! Un roman glacial dans l’intimité d’une famille ...jusqu’à ce puting de dénouement qui m’a retourné !! Bref, j’ai adoré une fois plus l’ambiance intense et glacée que crée l’auteur autour de cette famille !! Une auteur à lire au moins une fois dans une vie de lecteur !!
http://www.ilestbiencelivre.com/1702/...
http://www.ilestbiencelivre.com/1702/...
January 7, 2014
The ending was unexpected and kind of "messed up" (just the way I like it.)
August 16, 2022
With lyrical prose this book starts out as a mystery , then morphs in to coming of age territory and ends like a thriller.
The novel has polarized reviews from readers , from ‘love it’ to ‘hate it’.
I personally liked it a lot.
The story revolves around Kat , whose mother suddenly disappears without a trace.
But, Kat is not sad , in fact she’s relieved that her mother is no longer around.
Little by little we find out the reasons for Kat’s odd behavior. We start feeling angry at Kat’s mother who used to body shame her own child. We start feeling sorry for Kat’s father.
But, then we realize things aren’t what they seem.
Laura Kasischke explores the sexual awakening of a teenaged girl through Kat.
She also paints a vivid picture of a middle aged woman , living in a loveless marriage , who finally decides to break free from the ties that bind her.
Where did Kat’s mother go ? Why did she leave ? Will she ever come back?
Do read the book to find out.
The novel has polarized reviews from readers , from ‘love it’ to ‘hate it’.
I personally liked it a lot.
The story revolves around Kat , whose mother suddenly disappears without a trace.
But, Kat is not sad , in fact she’s relieved that her mother is no longer around.
Little by little we find out the reasons for Kat’s odd behavior. We start feeling angry at Kat’s mother who used to body shame her own child. We start feeling sorry for Kat’s father.
But, then we realize things aren’t what they seem.
Laura Kasischke explores the sexual awakening of a teenaged girl through Kat.
She also paints a vivid picture of a middle aged woman , living in a loveless marriage , who finally decides to break free from the ties that bind her.
Where did Kat’s mother go ? Why did she leave ? Will she ever come back?
Do read the book to find out.
August 17, 2023
Nul tout simplement
March 19, 2014
The first Laura Kasischke book I read was The Life Before Her Eyes. I was left completely confused after I read it, watched the movie, thought "Oh.", and then thought "Huh". Now that wasn't an impressed 'huh', but more of a I-kind-of-get-it-but-I'm-not-overly-impressed 'huh'. My thoughts after reading White Bird in a Blizzard is...huh.
So White Bird in a Blizzard features the coming of age of a teenage girl after her mother mysteriously disappears. My main issue with this book is that I could care less about Kat's coming of age and was drawn more towards her mother Eve's plot line. I was desperate to know what happened to Eve. Did she really leave of her own volition or was there foul play involved? Kat trying to deal with her mother's disappearance was a total bore to me because Kat is an extremely cold and aloof character. I never got a real feel for her. All I know about her is that she's at that age where sex is at the forefront of her mind and apparently consumes her every waking moment and that she doesn't really miss her mom. The only time Kat was even vaguely interesting to me was when Kasischke was delving into her relationship with Eve. Everything else about Kat, I could(n't) care less about.
Here's the thing that I'm starting to sense about Laura Kasischke books. In my opinion, they tend to be just sort of average up until you reach the end and then you're left reeling. An explosive ending can make a difference between a three star rating and a four star rating. While the ending in White Bird in a Blizzard was somewhat explosive, I still kind of saw it coming. I think I realized what had happened about a few pages before Kat did (which isn't that bad since I tend to predict things correctly pretty early on) and my heart was pounding in anticipation about what would happen when she did eventually find out. However, I found the ending in this book to be somewhat abrupt. I would have loved it if the author would have given it at least a few more pages to wrap White Bird in a Blizzard a bit more coherently.
So overall I found White Bird in a Blizzard to be just okay. I wasn't planning on reading anymore of Kasischke's books after The Life Before Her Eyes, but realized that WBIAB was being adapted into a movie with one of my favorite actors, so I decided to read the book first. I say, maybe wait for the movie.
So White Bird in a Blizzard features the coming of age of a teenage girl after her mother mysteriously disappears. My main issue with this book is that I could care less about Kat's coming of age and was drawn more towards her mother Eve's plot line. I was desperate to know what happened to Eve. Did she really leave of her own volition or was there foul play involved? Kat trying to deal with her mother's disappearance was a total bore to me because Kat is an extremely cold and aloof character. I never got a real feel for her. All I know about her is that she's at that age where sex is at the forefront of her mind and apparently consumes her every waking moment and that she doesn't really miss her mom. The only time Kat was even vaguely interesting to me was when Kasischke was delving into her relationship with Eve. Everything else about Kat, I could(n't) care less about.
Here's the thing that I'm starting to sense about Laura Kasischke books. In my opinion, they tend to be just sort of average up until you reach the end and then you're left reeling. An explosive ending can make a difference between a three star rating and a four star rating. While the ending in White Bird in a Blizzard was somewhat explosive, I still kind of saw it coming. I think I realized what had happened about a few pages before Kat did (which isn't that bad since I tend to predict things correctly pretty early on) and my heart was pounding in anticipation about what would happen when she did eventually find out. However, I found the ending in this book to be somewhat abrupt. I would have loved it if the author would have given it at least a few more pages to wrap White Bird in a Blizzard a bit more coherently.
So overall I found White Bird in a Blizzard to be just okay. I wasn't planning on reading anymore of Kasischke's books after The Life Before Her Eyes, but realized that WBIAB was being adapted into a movie with one of my favorite actors, so I decided to read the book first. I say, maybe wait for the movie.
June 17, 2021
I'm not going to lie, I did check out this book because I enjoyed this film so much (wonderful film by the way, beautifully shot, incredible acting 10/10) - but, I can happily say, I am so glad I did! It was everything I was hoping it would be and more. Haunting, suspenseful and just, overall, a really enjoyable reading experience. It's some bizarro mix of a coming-of-age story and a murder mystery and it works SO WELL. This story is dark, but it's more a dark beneath the surface than in your face and I like that. It's got so much realism and depth that it's like your right there the whole time. If I wasn't so busy these past couple of days I would have devoured it in one sitting.
I just want to take a moment to worship Laura Kasischke's writing style. It was beautiful. I've never wanted to curl up among the sentences and marry prose so badly in all my life!!! The metaphors, descriptions, it was all so thought provoking and created intense imagery and the perfect backdrop. And that ending, oh boy. I've never hung on to a final sentence so much.
This book is more of character study than plot driven (all though there is plot and IT IS good and developed and concluded) the 200+ pages build up this family of multi-dimensional characters who are simultaneously loveable and loathable, which is something you rarely get in a first person narrative. The novel gives you something new to learn about the character's right until the very last line so that they're constantly growing and adapting as you get to know them.
The novel is told from Kat's point of view. A teenager who's mother seemingly upped and left out of nowhere, at least it looks that way, until Kat is forced to look back and review everything she's ever known about her parents and their marriage and the people she's grown up with. We quickly come to realise that Kat's life isn't the typical suburban dream and there is so much more than meets the eye.
This is definitely a builder rather than twists and plot drops around every corner. I would recommend this to everyone, but especially those who enjoy beautiful language and the focus on character and life development.
I just want to take a moment to worship Laura Kasischke's writing style. It was beautiful. I've never wanted to curl up among the sentences and marry prose so badly in all my life!!! The metaphors, descriptions, it was all so thought provoking and created intense imagery and the perfect backdrop. And that ending, oh boy. I've never hung on to a final sentence so much.
This book is more of character study than plot driven (all though there is plot and IT IS good and developed and concluded) the 200+ pages build up this family of multi-dimensional characters who are simultaneously loveable and loathable, which is something you rarely get in a first person narrative. The novel gives you something new to learn about the character's right until the very last line so that they're constantly growing and adapting as you get to know them.
The novel is told from Kat's point of view. A teenager who's mother seemingly upped and left out of nowhere, at least it looks that way, until Kat is forced to look back and review everything she's ever known about her parents and their marriage and the people she's grown up with. We quickly come to realise that Kat's life isn't the typical suburban dream and there is so much more than meets the eye.
This is definitely a builder rather than twists and plot drops around every corner. I would recommend this to everyone, but especially those who enjoy beautiful language and the focus on character and life development.
August 3, 2015
I decided to give this book a read whenever I saw the movie trailer. It appeared to be something that I would be interested in, but I always try to read the book first if given the opportunity.
At around 13% or so, I thought about marking the book DNF and just going to watch the movie. By this point in the book, I was already tired of the too long descriptions about things that didn't make a bit of difference to the story. There's a line between well written and overly descriptive and boring. White Bird in a Blizzard crossed that line. However, not one to give up so easily, I decided to stick with the book a little longer to see if something would grab my attention. Unfortunately, that never happened. While I did finish the book, there was never a point where the story took off and truly became interesting.
The story was not only boring, but was disjointed and all over the place. I felt like too much attention was paid to things that were inconsequential and not enough attention was paid to things that would have brought this book to the next level. And although this was a coming of age story about a teenage girl after her mother's disappearance, I didn't really care about Kat. I was much more interested in Eve and her disappearance. Perhaps that's where my main disappointment in the book comes from. It focused much more heavily on something that I didn't care about.
On a side note, very shortly after I finished this book, I watched the movie. I enjoyed it slightly more than I enjoyed the book. I attribute this to the ending of the movie which is slightly different than the ending of the book. So, while I'm not inclined to recommend the movie or the book, if I had to make a choice between the two, I'd say go for the movie in this case.
At around 13% or so, I thought about marking the book DNF and just going to watch the movie. By this point in the book, I was already tired of the too long descriptions about things that didn't make a bit of difference to the story. There's a line between well written and overly descriptive and boring. White Bird in a Blizzard crossed that line. However, not one to give up so easily, I decided to stick with the book a little longer to see if something would grab my attention. Unfortunately, that never happened. While I did finish the book, there was never a point where the story took off and truly became interesting.
The story was not only boring, but was disjointed and all over the place. I felt like too much attention was paid to things that were inconsequential and not enough attention was paid to things that would have brought this book to the next level. And although this was a coming of age story about a teenage girl after her mother's disappearance, I didn't really care about Kat. I was much more interested in Eve and her disappearance. Perhaps that's where my main disappointment in the book comes from. It focused much more heavily on something that I didn't care about.
On a side note, very shortly after I finished this book, I watched the movie. I enjoyed it slightly more than I enjoyed the book. I attribute this to the ending of the movie which is slightly different than the ending of the book. So, while I'm not inclined to recommend the movie or the book, if I had to make a choice between the two, I'd say go for the movie in this case.
June 16, 2015
Decided to pick this one up after watching the trailer for the upcoming movie (half-way through the trailer I somehow knew it *had* to be based on a book). Was pulled in very quickly and read it over the weekend. Kasischke uses a lot of language and phrases I really enjoyed. Every once in a while it gets a little too metaphor-heavy, but most of the language does a great job of snowballing into a very creepy, tactile sense of icy doom. Overall, would recommend to almost anyone who likes mysteries/creepy vibes. Still definitely want to see the movie...
August 29, 2014
She has created interesting characters, but spends a bit too much time trying to elaborately describe each and every moment. The visual descriptions set a pretty backdrop, at first, but are overused. If you pay close attention, you can pull out the dynamics of Kat's relationships with the other characters - by far the most interesting part of the book. However, what starts out as the focus of the book (her mother's disappearance) seems to be largely forgotten about until the final chapter. This, then, feels very disjointed. As if the author suddenly remembers she needs to provide an ending, and then races to a conclusion that seems at odds with the rest of the book.
December 30, 2014
I can't think of one good thing to say about White Bird in a Blizzard. There was little to no plot development, and the outcome of the "mystery" was obvious. The writer's style is very unappealing~~roses that smelled "like an angel's miscarried fetus"!!!! (and this book is full of these gems) What does that even mean?? The narrator, a teenage girl whose mother is missing, can apparently read the thoughts of all the other characters in the book, as she gives the reader verbatim quotes directly from their thoughts. Finally, I found much of the characters' actions to be totally unbelievable.
Do yourself a favor and skip this one!
Do yourself a favor and skip this one!
February 3, 2015
Endless descriptors, similes and metaphors, oh my!
A decent story, if you can get through metaphor after simile after metaphor AND if you can forget that this oh so flowery language is supposed to be coming from a teenager. Though once all of that is out of the way, you're left with an unimaginative "mystery" short story that may be 80 pages long. Max.
Don't get me wrong, not a few of the metaphors sparkled. It has more to do with the sheer number of them that made this an irritating read that I couldn't wait to get through... all the while hoping it had a more imaginative ending than the one I saw coming. Something to make it worth all the convoluted prose. It didn't.
A decent story, if you can get through metaphor after simile after metaphor AND if you can forget that this oh so flowery language is supposed to be coming from a teenager. Though once all of that is out of the way, you're left with an unimaginative "mystery" short story that may be 80 pages long. Max.
Don't get me wrong, not a few of the metaphors sparkled. It has more to do with the sheer number of them that made this an irritating read that I couldn't wait to get through... all the while hoping it had a more imaginative ending than the one I saw coming. Something to make it worth all the convoluted prose. It didn't.
October 20, 2015
I went into this book blind, meaning I read the synopsis long enough ago that I completely forgot what it said. I saw an author I love post a picture with a copy of this book on Facebook and she seemed so freaking excited to actually own a copy I needed to find out what all the fuss was about. Boy am I glad I did.
This book is poetry.
I know a lot of people don't like books with a lot of metaphors, but I happen to be one of those people who love it. I was enthralled from the beginning and this book what not at all what I expected it to be. I'm not going to give anything away but you should read it.
This book is poetry.
I know a lot of people don't like books with a lot of metaphors, but I happen to be one of those people who love it. I was enthralled from the beginning and this book what not at all what I expected it to be. I'm not going to give anything away but you should read it.
September 8, 2016
I liked the characters and the plot a lot. I wanted to give this book four stars, but there were moments when I found myself actually irritated by how many metaphors and similes there were in the book. The author seems very enchanted with her own descriptions of things, and I just wanted her to cool it. There were entire pages where two thirds of the text was comparing one thing to another and then the last third were flowery descriptions. Despite all that, though, I remained interested in the story until the end -- an ending that I really enjoyed.
August 8, 2016
One of the best books i've ever read about the dark side of suburbia, and coming of age as a teenager. It nails emotional abuse and the portrayal of impotent masculinity.
EDIT: On a re-read of this, and having seen the movie 4 times, I think the movie did a far better job than the book did on several points, especially clarifying the ending. I don't think the end of the movie was what Kasischke intended, but I think the movie adapted the book extremely well and the changes made were for the better. I still love this book, but I love what the movie did more.
EDIT: On a re-read of this, and having seen the movie 4 times, I think the movie did a far better job than the book did on several points, especially clarifying the ending. I don't think the end of the movie was what Kasischke intended, but I think the movie adapted the book extremely well and the changes made were for the better. I still love this book, but I love what the movie did more.
March 23, 2015
I think this may be my least favorite book. In my opinion, the author used WAY TOO MANY descriptive words and phrases, and a lot of the time they didn't even make sense. Absolutely nothing happened it the book between the main character's mother disappearing and the very last page. Maybe a little character development for the lead character but nothing worth paying attention to. It also took me four months to finish because it just wasn't that interesting. All of this, of course, is only my opinion. :)
November 9, 2014
The best thing about this book was the raw, unabashed way the author depicted the characters. Through their sexuality, confusion, fear and body image the reader sees more of them than most books show.
The writing was pretty but overwrought and the mystery element wasn't that mysterious at all. Since the author sometimes made Kat know more than a first person narrator reasonably should, I would have liked to have seen more of the investigation.
The writing was pretty but overwrought and the mystery element wasn't that mysterious at all. Since the author sometimes made Kat know more than a first person narrator reasonably should, I would have liked to have seen more of the investigation.
March 11, 2015
Wtf did I just read. I have never read a book with no plot before. This literally had none. Dora the Explorer has more of a plot than this! Oy! Don't get me wrong, her style of writing is beautiful.....until you take seven pages to describe what dirt smells like. I feel like I need to go wash my eyes out with soap.
I apologize, I have never been so annoyed over a book before. Just warning future readers to avoid their aggravation.
I apologize, I have never been so annoyed over a book before. Just warning future readers to avoid their aggravation.
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