Snowflake
A Novel
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Narrated by:
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Louisa Harland
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By:
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Louise Nealon
About this listen
"Mad and wonderful. I thought I was reading one thing, then discovered - several times - that I was reading a different, even better thing.” (Roddy Doyle)
“Snowflake is a wonderfully inventive, deeply felt novel full of the best kinds of surprises.” (Margot Livesey)
An exquisitely talented young Irish writer makes her literary debut with this powerful and haunting novel - a tale of love and family, depression and joy, and coming of age in the 21st century.
Eighteen-year-old Debbie was raised on her family’s rural dairy farm, 40 minutes and a world away from Dublin. She lives with her mother, Maeve, a skittish woman who takes to her bed for days on end, claims not to know who Debbie’s father is, and believes her dreams are prophecies. Rounding out their small family is Maeve’s brother, Billy, who lives in a caravan behind their house, drinks too much, and likes to impersonate famous dead writers online. Though they may have their quirks, the Whites’ fierce love for one another is never in doubt.
But Debbie’s life is changing. Earning a place at Trinity College Dublin, she commutes to her classes a few days a week. Outside the sheltered bubble of her childhood for the first time, Debbie finds herself both overwhelmed and disappointed by her fellow students and the pace and anonymity of city life. While the familiarity of the farm offers comfort, Debbie still finds herself pulling away from it. Yet just as she begins to ponder the possibilities the future holds, a resurgence of strange dreams raises her fears that she may share Maeve’s fate. Then a tragic accident upends the family’s equilibrium, and Debbie discovers her next steps may no longer be hers to choose.
Gorgeous and beautifully wrought, Snowflake is an affecting coming-of-age story about a young woman learning to navigate a world that constantly challenges her sense of self.
©2021 Louise Nealon (P)2021 HarperCollins PublishersListeners also enjoyed...
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Miranda's sister Kerri has a new boyfriend. He's a handsome charmer who seems to dote on Kerri. But Brendan isn't the man he says he is. Miranda should know. She broke off her own affair with him just a few weeks ago when she found him reading her diary.
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I want my 9 hours back
- By Ashley on 07-19-23
By: Nicci French
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I Couldn't Love You More
- A Novel
- By: Esther Freud
- Narrated by: Niamh Cusack
- Length: 10 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
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A sweeping story of three generations of women, crossing from London to Ireland and back again, and the enduring effort to retrieve the secrets of the past.
By: Esther Freud
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I Know You
- By: Annabel Kantaria
- Narrated by: Nan McNamara
- Length: 9 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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A recent transplant from sunny California, life in the London suburbs is not what Taylor Watson expected. Far from the West End shops and city lights she imagined, she finds herself pregnant and lonely, with a husband frequently away on business and only social media to keep her company. It’s only after Taylor joins a book club and a walking group, that she finally starts to make some real-life friends. Before long, Taylor’s hanging out with Anna, Sarah, Simon, and Caroline, but, as her pregnancy progresses and her friendships blossom, a sense of unease develops.
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slightly suspenceful
- By Karen T on 03-16-22
By: Annabel Kantaria
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The Darkest Secret
- A Novel
- By: Alex Marwood
- Narrated by: Beverley A. Crick
- Length: 12 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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Real estate mogul Sean Jackson is throwing himself a splashy 50th birthday party, but trouble starts almost immediately: His ex-wife has sent his teenage daughters to the party without telling him; his current wife has fired the nanny; and he's finding it difficult to sneak away to his mistress. Then something truly terrible happens: one of his three-year-old twins goes missing. No trace of her is ever found. The attendees of the party, nicknamed the Jackson Associates by the press, become infamous overnight.
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Wow
- By Christina on 09-14-16
By: Alex Marwood
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Conversations with Friends
- A Novel
- By: Sally Rooney
- Narrated by: Aoife McMahon
- Length: 8 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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Frances is a cool-headed and darkly observant young woman vaguely pursuing a career in writing while studying in Dublin. Her best friend and comrade-in-arms is the beautiful and endlessly self-possessed Bobbi. At a local poetry performance one night, Frances and Bobbi catch the eye of Melissa, a well-known photographer, and as the girls are then gradually drawn into Melissa's world, Frances is reluctantly impressed by the older woman's sophisticated home and tall, handsome husband, Nick.
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Interesting point of view; glad I listened!
- By Amazon Customer on 08-23-17
By: Sally Rooney
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Our Tiny, Useless Hearts
- By: Toni Jordan
- Narrated by: Caroline Lee
- Length: 9 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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Henry has ended his marriage to Caroline and headed off to Noosa with Mercedes' grade three teacher, Martha. Caroline, having shredded a wardrobe-full of Henry's suits, has gone after them. Craig and Lesley have dropped over briefly from next door to catch up on the fallout from Henry and Caroline's all-night row. And Janice, Caroline's sister, is staying for the weekend to look after the girls because Janice is the sensible one.
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Caroline Lee enhances every story she narrates
- By stella on 12-02-18
By: Toni Jordan
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Trumpet
- By: Jackie Kay
- Narrated by: Cathleen McCarron
- Length: 9 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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The death of legendary jazz trumpeter Joss Moody exposes an extraordinary secret. Unbeknown to all but his wife Millie, Joss was a woman living as a man. The discovery is most devastating for their adopted son, Colman, whose bewildered fury brings the press to the doorstep and sends his grieving mother to the sanctuary of a remote Scottish village. Winner of the Guardian Fiction Prize, Trumpet by Jackie Kay is a starkly beautiful modern classic about the lengths to which people will go for love.
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Beautiful and True
- By Colin on 05-24-17
By: Jackie Kay
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The Other Side of the Door
- A Novel
- By: Nicci French
- Narrated by: Imogen Church
- Length: 11 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
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When Bonnie Graham arrives at her boyfriend’s apartment in London, she is horrified to discover a dead body in a pool of blood on the floor. But she doesn’t call the police. Bonnie hides the corpse and then carefully wipes away any evidence she was ever there. Bonnie is a music teacher who spent a long, hot summer in London rehearsing with a band to play at a friend’s wedding. It was supposed to be fun, but the band members find the complicated knots of their friendships - some old, some new - unraveling as the days themselves unwind.
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Pass
- By Jessica Tenorio on 04-29-21
By: Nicci French
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Just My Luck
- By: Andrea Bramhall
- Narrated by: Rachael Beresford
- Length: 8 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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Genna Collins works a dead end job, loves her family, her girlfriend, and her friends. When she wins the biggest Euromillions jackpot on record everything changes . . . and not always for the best. When Abi Kitson fell in love she always knew it would go unrequited. The woman of her dreams was so close yet seemingly untouchable for so many reasons. Reasons like—they are best friends, or the big age gap, or the 'other' woman, nevermind Abi's own baggage.
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Good
- By Wendy Davidson on 10-25-24
By: Andrea Bramhall
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99 Red Balloons
- By: Elisabeth Carpenter
- Narrated by: Sarah Ovens, Victoria Riley, Maggie Ollerenshaw, and others
- Length: 10 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
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Eight-year-old Grace is last seen in a sweetshop. Her mother, Emma, is living a nightmare. But as her loved ones rally around her, cracks begin to emerge. What are the emails sent between her husband and her sister? Why does her mother take so long to join the search? And is there more to the disappearance of her daughter than meets the eye?
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I was waiting for soooo much more.....
- By Listening Queen on 07-17-18
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The Perfect Lie
- By: Emily Barr
- Narrated by: Jilly Bond, Penelope Rawlins, Julia Franklin
- Length: 11 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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For Lucy Riddick, Venice has always been the dream destination, the ideal place to lose herself. And now she needs to do just that. The secret she's been keeping has finally caught up with her and Lucy needs to disappear - fast. But what if, when she sets foot in Venice, Lucy finds the one thing she has been running from?
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Fun and Absorbing
- By Jen Griffin on 10-15-15
By: Emily Barr
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The Brightest Star in the Sky
- A Novel
- By: Marian Keyes
- Narrated by: Caitriona Keyes
- Length: 17 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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The Brightest Star in the Sky follows seven neighbors whose lives become entangled when a sassy and prescient spirit pays a visit to their Dublin townhouse with the intent of changing at least one of their lives. But what will this metamorphosis be and who will the sprite choose?
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Terrible sound quality, worse narration
- By Jan on 02-23-10
By: Marian Keyes
What listeners say about Snowflake
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Katina C.
- 10-03-21
Amazing
Each word is a lyrical journey so subtle yet powerful , you are transfixed and deeply moved. Maybe the BEST book I have read in some time.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Barbara S
- 09-22-21
Fantastic debut!
First, thank you GR friend Peter Boyle for reviewing “Snowflake” by Louise Nealon and gushing over her honest representation of the country/farm folk in County Galway in Ireland. According to Peter, who hails from that area, there is little literature reflecting the lives of the people in that area. One main reason I read is to learn about something I did not previously been acquainted. I wanted to give this novel a shot because I was very curious.
The story revolves around Debbie, the narrator, who is embarking on her university years. She’s leaving the dairy farm for the sophisticated Trinity College in Dublin. This is a coming-of-age story in that Debbie has been protected at the farm, with little city involvement. She’s intimidated by not only moving to university, but also navigating the big city. This is the story of her finding her place in the world, learning what other lifestyles there are other than dairy farming.
At University, Debbie befriends Xanthe, who comes from a wealthy Dublin family. From her friendship with Xanthe, she learns how different her life is versus one who grew up in the city. Debbie is funny, in a deadpan way. Xanthe, like so many modern young adults is a vegan. She is aghast that Debbie drinks milk and eats meat. She asks Debbie if she uses Oat Milk, to which Debbie deadpans “I grew up on a dairy farm”. Xanthe suggests that Debbie meditate. Debbie replies, I do, it’s called milking cows. I’m not giving Debbie credit for all her witty one-liners. I chuckled quite a bit while I listened to the audio.
Debbie isn’t the only funny one. She comes home drunk, and her Uncle Billy gives her one glance and tells her he needs to teach her how to drink. Billy takes her to the local pub, and the lessons are hilarious. This is a quirky story laced with serious themes.
In an interview with the Irish Times, author Louise Nealon provided the roots of the novel as being personal. When she was 18, she awoke in the middle of the night convinced she was dreaming someone else’s dream. This was immediately dismissed as delusions. In Ireland, psychiatry is not thought of as being necessary, although it’s improving. Nealon wanted to write a story about the silence of mental illness in Ireland because for her, psychiatry didn’t help her, but reading literature did.
When Nealon had those dreams, she began to write them down, and in her writing, she discovered the characters of Debbie and Uncle Billy. In this novel, Nealon incorporates mental illness, especially ones involving dreams. Both Debbie and her mother, Maeve, are plagued with these sorts of dreams. Maeve makes it worse for Debbie, and it is this reason that Uncle Billy wants Debbie to go to university to get away from her mother. Debbie finds the move, from the comfort of her home to the mysterious city, difficult in defining herself, and navigating her way through life. We feel Debbie’s uncomfortable feelings, and we root for her success.
Nealon tells the Irish Times, “The title, ‘Snowflake’, addresses my generation who are often referred to as snowflakes in a disparaging way. A snowflake is a rare and wonderful thing. The six arms of a snow crystal reflect the internal order of water molecules. Like human cells, it reflects nature at its best. Snowflakes are also flawed. They are irregular in structure—evidence that nature is capable of failure, not just humans, which is a relief.” Debbie, of course, loves snowflakes, as does Uncle Billy.
I listened to the audio, narrated by Louisa Harland. I wanted to get an authentic Irish voice to match the narrator of the novel, Debbie. In my opinion, Harland was perfect in narrating Debbie, in her deadpan ways. I highly recommend the audio, although I think the novel itself would be an amazing read. I believe this will be on lists for the “Best of 2021” in fiction.
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3 people found this helpful
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- Grace 12345
- 01-14-23
Not for me
Tedious. I got about a third of the way through and just couldn't read anymore. Boring.
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