Review: Melancholy, Funny & Beautiful
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 05 6, 2014
I was planning on writing a long, hopefully well-done review of this book. One that really showed my appreciation of Rose Christo's beautiful writing. First I was waiting for all the feels I was experiencing to die down so I could be halfway coherent. Then I just forgot to write it. And now it’s been a while so here’s my halfway forgetful review:I love this book. You should read it. Enough said.Okay, maybe not.Shawn Wapaw is a young, blind, grumpy pants Innu Native American who's not quite agoraphobic, but rather chooses to live in almost complete isolation. He's extremely sarcastic and can be unpleasant. You may think so, anyway, and I agree, but I also love him. In his attempt to cover his vulnerability (he does a good job of it) and his attempt to get people to leave him alone, his chosen weapons are absolutely hilarious. But maybe I've just got a weird sense of humor.Though funny, this book is as melancholic as Shawn himself. Some have described it as "maudlin." I don’t agree with that and Shawn’s melancholy is something I absolutely adore. He experienced several scarring events in his childhood (not just his blinding) and so he has excellent reasons for his Mr. Grumpy Pants demeanor. Actually, calling it by that label is probably pretty dismissive of me. I don't mean it that way, though. What do I mean by it? I don't know...give me a sec....Ok, I guess I mean just what I said above - Shawn can be a jerk, but he has several understandable reasons for his jerkery.Also, and more to the point, anything maudlin or melancholic you may find in this novel is there for a reason. Again, Shawn experienced a lot of horrifying events (not rape or anything, but hurtful) - but it's not faux-angst. He wasn't dumped by a boyfriend. He wasn't separated from a loved one (or boyfriend again) for years over some silly misunderstanding or continued miscommunication. If done well (like by Josh Lanyon), such events are fine, but written by a poor author, which Christo most definitely is not, such faux-angst really sucks poop.This is not MM Romance, but rather Gay Fiction. As such, the romance is a secondary plot. He meets and *eventually* falls in love with his neighbor, Kenneth, and his neighbor’s adopted daughter, Melanie. (Who, yes, is precocious, but I found I didn’t want to run her head into a wall like I do with some fictional kids). It’s Melanie he forms a friendship with first (she doesn’t understand the term “eff off”—and no, Shawn doesn’t actually say that – but that’s what he means when he tell her leave him alone). She’s very curious about his tribal background and he tells her all sorts of Innu stories and myths. It’s beautiful the way he lives with these myths as well. He lives in the “white” world, but – I don’t know, they’re not myths to him. He breathes them in and they strengthen him.The action starts when a woman on the online forum he takes part in (no one on it sees him as the “blind Indian kid”) starts asking about the best way to commit suicide. Shawn, for very good reasons, is seriously opposed to anyone taking their own life. Even if they’re alone, like he is. He convinces (or maybe they convince him – I can’t quite remember) his neighbors, Kenneth & Melanie, to drive him maybe a thousand miles away (also can’t quite remember) so he can help this woman. Hopefully, save her.I say “action,” but this is not an action packed novel. Nobody’s murdered. Nothing blows up. They don’t run over a reindeer. "Snowblind" is a character driven story, so if you need a book with lots of “events” (and I’m not criticizing, I like actiony books as well), this book may not be for you. This is the story of how mainly one character, Shawn, leaves his isolation behind and joins the world. Somewhat, anyway, he at least opens himself up to Kenneth, Melanie and the suicidal woman. He’s at least willing to believe in love again (sound so clichéd, but I’m not quite sure how else to put it). You can’t conquer all your demons, after all.So. To reiterate. I love this book. You should read it. Enough said.(Okay, one more thing. It's only $2.99. C'mon people that's less than you'll spend on coffee or an alcoholic beverage. You can also borrow it if your part of Amazon Prime. So give it a go!)