The Snowman's Children

by Glen Hirshberg

Book Overview

The Snowman's Children is a moving, psychologically intense first novel that tells the story of an incident from one man's childhood in the 1970s, when a serial killer called The Snowman stalked the streets of suburban Detroit.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0786710829
• ISBN13: 9780786710829
• Release Date: October 2002
• Publisher: Carroll & Graf Publishers
• Length: 324 Pages
• Weight: 1.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.4" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

For my money, five stars +

What is it you're looking for in a good read? If it's a goose-bumpy tale about a serial killer which includes severed body parts, you won't find it here. However--if you're looking for a tale well told, a fully engrossing story, characters that are rich and alive and flawed and struggling and three-dimensional, buy this book. Trust me, there will be goose-bumps--but of a far more subtle nature; they're not the look-out-he's-in-the-alley kind. They're the type you get as Mattie climbs those stairs knowing Theresa is somewhere up there and he's about to discover what she has become years after the catastrophic events that led to his alienation from her. Hirshberg is amazing in his deftness with language and characters. He executes the time sequences flawlessly, switching back and forth from Mattie's childhood tale to the drama unfolding in his adult years. As a reader, I don't appreciate a heavy hand with metaphors; Hirshberg adds in just enough to give his prose a savory flavor, not so much as to overwhelm. In the last four sentences of the first chapter, Hirshberg tosses a tiny bit of chum into the water--and then hits the accelerator of the boat so that we follow frantically after. I began this book just after a fresh snowfall... and hardly put it down until I finished. Great read. Period.

Three gems from 2002

Each year brings a new crop of first novels, many of which are, quite predictably, substandard in terms of quality. Every so often, however, a first novel appears that sets itself apart from the pack; as readers, we experience that special thrill of recognition that announces, "Here is something special." 2002 was unique in that it saw the publication of several novels that provoked such a reaction, among them Alexander Irvine's A Scattering of Jades, Dale Bailey's Fallen Angels, and Glenn Hirshberg's The Snowman's Children. The best of the three is Irvine's gripping secret history of the United States, which opens with the great New York fire of 1835 and ends in Mammoth Cave circa 1843. In between, it relates the story of newspaperman Archie Prescott who seemingly stumbles on the story of the century, one that centers on the mad ambitions of con man Riley Steen. Believing that great power and influence will accrue to him as a result of his schemes, Steen implements a plan to resurrect the Aztec god Tlaloc. This plan's first step is to animate Tlaloc's avatar, a Mesoamerican mummy known as the chacmool. Once revived, however, the chacmool proves to have a mind of his own, embarking on a journey of death and destruction. Having witnessed the chacmool's bizarre rebirth, Prescott follows the deadly creature across America, eventually coming to realize that their destinies are intertwined. Masterfully weaving period detail, historical fact, and compelling characters both fictional and real (Edgar Allen Poe, Aaron Burr and P. T. Barnum all make cameos), Irvine creates an absorbing tale whose historical elements are as intriguing as its more fantastic elements. Irvine's imaginative energy brings the period to life in all its gaudy, dirty splendor, detailing a 19th century America whose glorious promise is diminished by the petty schemes and ambitions of the mere mortals who inhabit it. His greatest accomplishment, however, is to have made this tale of the fantastic a very human one, focusing on the passions, ambitions, strengths and failings of his expansive and variegated cast. Dale Bailey's Fallen is another winner. Set in the isolated mining town of Saul's Run, Pennsylvania, it tells the story of Henry Sleep, a young man who returns to his hometown to bury his father, whom the local police believe took his own life. Not willing to accept this conclusion, Henry begins poking around in his father's affairs. Suspense builds as Bailey artfully raises the stakes, plunging Henry into an investigation that uncovers unwelcome childhood memories and the fantastic secret of a town whose inhabitants almost uniformly live long, untroubled lives. Although Bailey trods familiar ground in his debut (there are smatterings of works as diverse as IT, Ghost Story, and The Killer Inside Me), he does so with such confidence and bravado that similarities to other books are easily overlooked. At heart a mystery, the book's satisfying payoff is

Refreshingly original

If you're expecting a serial-killer thriller, you're better off looking elsewhere. THE SNOWMAN'S CHILDREN is more concerned with the impact of the murders on children growing up in Detroit during the time the Oakland County Child Killer prowled the streets in search of his pre-teen victims than with lowbrow titillation. Glen Hirshberg, who grew up in Detroit during the time of the murders, loosely based this novel on Tommy McIntyre's WOLF IN SHEEP'S CLOTHING: THE SEARCH FOR A CHILD KILLER. In this fictional account, the main character Mattie Rhodes returns to Detroit, seventeen years after the murders, in search of his boyhood friend, Theresa Daughrety. During the year the Snowman was on the prowl, Mattie, his friend Spencer Franklin and Theresa went through various traumas, some related some unrelated to the murders. The three are gifted students who compete in Mind Wars, a kind of up tempo Trivial Pursuit, to see who is the sharpest. Theresa usually puts the other two to shame. The game is run by Theresa's father, Dr. Daughrety, who is unduly taken with his daughter's intelligence. On their own, the three play "Murder in the Dark", where one player stalks the other two in a pitch-black basement. The Snowman's depravities are a backdrop to the everyday travails of eleven-year-olds until Theresa, who is showing increasing signs of mental distress, becomes directly involved. Theresa is the most interesting character of the three; apparently, while the other children have been shaking in their boots, she's been on the trail of the Snowman, despite her emotional shakiness. Mattie worships her, probably because of her seeming indifference to the popularity game most kids worry about. For comic relief, Glen Hirshberg adds some quirky elements, such as Sergeant Ross's addiction to licorice sticks; Mattie's little brother's apparent hatred for Mattie; Mark "the Bird" Fidrych's pitching exploits, and Mattie's Blue Grass singing wife. I found it a bit hard to get into the book at first because Hirschberg doesn't tell us a whole lot until well past midpoint and because Hirschberg jumps back and forth from 1994 to 1976. Mattie's reactions to just about everything are also overly emotive. His heart jumps into his throat when his cereal is cold. Hirschberg also loves similes, unfortunately only two out of three hit their mark. Despite these minor foibles, I highly recommend the book. Hirshberg has talent to burn as is evidenced by the following description of Mattie's teacher who'd been in a traffic accident: "She looked frail, like a china plate someone had broken and glued back together, minus one or two tiny but unnoticeable chips."

this new book deserves a read

This novel kept me looking for those spare minutes to read. It is moving, scary overwhelming and too close to home if you have children. Though the events occured in the 70's, we are always concerned for the whereabouts of our children. And do we remember being children ourselves? Many times we do not understand their actions and don't give our loved ones the benefit of the doubt because we are scared, and being a good parent is hard work and luck. This book made me blue,laugh, cry and think. A good book to discuss at a book club.

An Unusual Surprise From a First Time Novelist

Glen Hirshberg shows great promise with this release of his first novel The Snowman's Children. The story focuses on a suburb of Detroit and three intellectually gifted sixth grade students - Mattie, Spencer and Theresa. Told from Matties perspective, the novel moves between the past winter of 1977 when a serial child killer roamed the streets of his town to 1994 where as an adult Mattie is trying to rid his life of old ghosts. An eerily wonderful coming of age story almost everyone can relate to - your past as you want to remember it and your past as a harsh reality. This book was hard to put down and will not be easily forgotten.