Review: The Snow Spider

The Snow Spider by Jenny Nimmo
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Read for Bookclub December 2016 | Suggested by Laura.

I feel I would have enjoyed this a great deal more if I hadn't previously read Susan Cooper's writing. This attempts a very similar storyline and concept, but the writing in 'The Dark is Rising' series is in my opinion of a higher caliber, the characters more complex and human. Regardless this is still good and I enjoyed it. It is more simplistic in style and not as realistic as Cooper's series - not as believable. I think this is intended for a younger audience.

I liked the friendly Snow Spider, so often feared by young children, here she becomes a protector or guardian figure, weaving its webs of wonder around bedroom to reveal glimpses of the other world where his sister resides. The magic seemed a little far fetched to me. It didn't have the same mythological background as other children's books I've read, and there wasn't an explained 'magical system' as such, it was more abstract. I loved the eccentric witchy Grandma figure of Nain, who seemed to be the guiding force for young Gwyn, with his emerging wizardly powers - the descriptions of her house swathed in scarves, pot plants and cascades of books closely resembles my idea of a dream living space! I imagined her as a Vali Myers type figure.

Gwyn's father was a miserable old wretch. The transformative figures in the story were all female - the spider Arianwen, Nain, Gwyn's mother and sister, - despite the lineage of wizards being male. I like close knit rural fantasy, and this ticked a lot of boxes, though ultimately not as rewarding or complex as The Dark is Rising series, it is none the less an enjoyable and intriguing read. There are many unanswered questions here, and I would certainly try the next two in the series to find out more about Bethan, the strange white world she arrives from, Nain and the adventures of Gwyn himself.

View all my reviews