Silent Snow, Scret Snow

by Conrad Aiken

As Paul gradually withdraws from reality, he sees his world engulfed and muffled by a deep, peaceful snow, one that exists only in his mind. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 087191963X
• ISBN13: 9780871919632
• Release Date: January 1983
• Publisher: Creative Education
• Length: 48 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Age Range: 11 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 6 and higher

Customer Reviews

HE'S GOING DEAF

Many people see this story in terms of psychological, emotional terms,while ignoring the glaringly obvious and practical interpretation--that the boy is going DEAF but doesn't know it. He thinks he's hearing "snow", but it's more like white noise that muffles everything else. I'm not saying there aren't a lot of psychological issues going on here. A boy as intelligent as this one KNOWS what deafness is, but because of his desire to withdraw from the world, interprets the symptoms of deafness as "snow"--insular, remote, quiet, sleepy.

A Spiral into the Depths of Darkness

This enigmatic short story relates a young boy's discovery of his own imagination, which for him, it is not a pleasant discovery. He gradually imagines a buildup of snow around his neighborhood and becomes obsessed with picturing, feeling and relating to the pretended snow. Obsessive thoughts lead him into a darkening, quieting, cold and suffocating world. The descriptions are beautiful and details fascinating and there is a masterfully subtle escalation of suspense, but this story leaves a reader feeling emotionally drained and closed, lost in this little boy's collapsing world, the nature of which remains a mystery at the end of the story.

Still vivid after 35 years

I read this 35 years ago as a college freshman, and when a friend described her son, recently, as "between autism & depression" I immediately had to try to find a copy of it. Aiken weaves a fascinating story of a beautiful and yet terrible place that occupies more and more of the subject's world. Aiken only slowly reveals that this is not truly a snowy day in the real world. I have no experience as a professional in this area, and have only briefly read about autism, slightly more exposure depression. But "SS,SS" left me wondering if it might be an accurate glimpse into that secret, hidden world.