Q&A with Eowyn Ivey
Can you describe your book in 10 words or less?
A story of love, hardship and enchantment in Alaska's wilderness.
Where did the idea for the book come from?
I work as a bookseller here in Alaska. Several years ago, on a winter evening, I was shelving books when I came across an illustrated children's story. It was a retelling of the Russian fairy tale Snegurochka. I had never heard of it, and it was a revelation – a fairy tale set in a landscape that could be my own backyard! As I researched it, I discovered beautiful depictions of the story in art and books, even opera and ballet.
The Snow Child is your first novel. Have you always wanted to be a novelist?
For as long as I can remember, I've thought of myself as reader and a writer, but I wasn't always sure how to pursue it as a career. I received my degree in journalism and worked for many years as a newspaper reporter. While this was a wonderful training ground, my heart wasn't in it. I've always loved fiction. Eventually, I left the paper and went to work as a bookseller. That's when I found I had the time and energy to pursue writing novels. I actually had nearly five years invested in a different novel, one that remains unfinished, when I came across the idea for The Snow Child.
Which writers do you think influenced you?
This is such a challenging question for me. Books have been so much a part of my life, and I would love to think that they all influenced me in one way or another. Writers like Laura Ingalls Wilder and Madeline L'Engle were probably the first authors who lit up my imagination. Later I discovered Toni Morrison, Cormac McCarthy, Louise Erdrich, Larry McMurtry, Charles Frazier, Marilynne Robinson... so many more than I have room to list, and they all filled me with the desire to be a better writer.
What are you currently reading?
It seems like I always have at least two books on my nightstand – right now they are the novel Then We Came to the End by Joshua Ferris and Lions of the West by Robert Morgan. I read Then We Came to the End several years ago, but I'm rereading it with my book club and am finding just as much humor and tender insight as the first time. Robert Morgan's novel Gap Creek is a favorite of mine, but Lions of the West is a nonfiction history looking at some of the explorers who shaped America. It's fascinating and particularly timely for me as I work on my next novel.
What is your favourite book?
Oh, to choose only one is so very difficult. But if forced to, I would have to say Love Medicine by Louise Erdrich. I first read it in college and was stunned by it. It so purely captured something about humanity and the natural world that I was longing to express myself – a beauty and sadness that can also be terrifying. Now it's a book I keep on my desk and open when I need to remember why I love fiction.
What are you working on now?
I'm writing another novel, and it shares some similarities with The Snow Child – it's set in historic Alaska and has some fantastical elements. But I'm imagining this story to be more epic and adventurous in scope. I was awarded an artist grant here in Alaska as party of my research for this next novel, and my husband and I spent five days rafting a section of the remote and wild Copper River. It was a truly spectacular experience.
