If I haven’t earned the title of depression, then neither has she. Because she is a lot less miserable than I am. Or she certainly ought to be.”

Though seemingly unable to escape comparisons with Sally Rooney, this book is in an entirely different register from Rooney's work. While Rooney is interested in philosophical questions about our place in the world and how relationships work, Nealon's work is much grittier and down-to-earth. This is not a slight on either author: I've really enjoyed both of their work, but I think the similarities between them are superficial. Though Nealon's novel begins with Debbie going to university, this story is rooted in the world of a rural dairy farm. The world of Dublin and of Trinity college are secondary to the beating heart of the novel, which is Debbie's immediate family: her mother, Maeve, and her uncle, Billy. The family is loving, but struggles to function: Billy blames himself for his mother's death, and drinks heavily, while Maeve seems constantly on the point of breakdown. Debbie also uses alcohol to cope: it's all she's learnt. Though she was alienated at school, she also feels dislocated in university, and struggles to find her place, though she befriends the privileged but depressed Xanthe. This book is also an indictment of the struggling mental health systems and of clueless therapists, as characters try to seek help and meet bureacratic walls.

Aside from the two main reasons I bought this book – supporting Irish authors and keeping up with the zeitgeist – I genuinely thought this might actually hit my buttons. I too was once a sheltered country girl going to the big city for college and feeling horribly lost from day one. However, right from the start I lost sympathy with Debbie. Snowflake hat mich in vielerlei Hinsicht positiv überrascht. Am Anfang dachte ich, es wäre die typische Geschichte einer jungen Frau vom Lande, die völlig naiv an die Uni kommt, sich dort zurechtfinden muss und dabei kaum Unterstützung von zu Hause erhält. Das ist es zum Teil auch. Allerdings ist dies nur der äußere Rahmen, denn die Geschichte geht viel tiefer.

What I loved: This book is full of great things- beyond the lessons and educational elements, there are lovely illustrations with animals, diverse children, and plenty of the little snowflake. The text is also rhyming, making it fun to read aloud and listen to. There is also a nice addition of the full cycle at the end of the book that lays out all the text in even simpler terms. While toddlers may not fully understand the process, this makes it easier to grasp and is a great introduction!

Little Critter—My First I Can Read!™: What a Good Kitty

Even I wasn’t this much of a dope. The ‘exceptionally smart’ Debbie also doesn’t realise she has to register for her course online and has to ask directions to Trinity. From Grafton Street. Um, okay. But really, [Alice] shouldn’t belong to anyone, least of all Lewis Carroll. She exists independently of him.’ First, thank you GR friend Peter for reviewing “Snowflake” by Louise Nealon and gushing over her honest representation of the country/farm folk in Kildare County 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. I inspect what I just squirted out of myself before I flush it away. Foam fizzed on top of the watery gold like froth on a pint.” Hoci to má dlhý rozbeh, tak za polkou to ide šialene dolu kopcom. A koniec! Vločkin koniec bol také pohladenie na duši, kde cítite dobrý pocit z toho ako sa to celé vyvinulo. Proste také ukončenie som potrebovala.