The Book Nook Chronicles

Erica’s Experience

Title: Snowflake

Author: Louise Nealon

Genre: Fiction

Page Count: 326

Publication Date: September 14, 2021

Interested? Buy Snowflake here

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Review

If Luna Lovegood could write an ode to the mental health crisis in Ireland, Louise Nealon’s debut novel, Snowflake would be it. Written with a raw whimsy that keeps you drawn in from the very first page, Nealon dives into a subject I have been fascinated by since 2015.

While studying abroad in Ireland, I took a course called “Sociology of Globalisation.” Sociology and globalization as subjects are fascinating on their own but imagine walking into this course as a complete foreigner. I knew my Irish folklore and generic stereotypes well enough, but modern-day Irish culture? I knew absolutely nothing.

During our lectures and tutorials (an hour-long peer discussion about the course’s topic for the week, consisting of about 10 students and a tutor), my classmates pulled from their experiences in Irish society during discussions. Not only was I getting to learn about globalization through a sociological lens; I was getting a crash course on the seedy underbelly of Irish society.

There is one tutorial that comes to mind every time I think about this class. We were in the midst of discussing healthcare and fell down the rabbit hole of mental health and addiction. Our tutor, who was standing, leaned back against his desk and said,

“We have so much work to do here when it comes to helping with addiction and mental health- especially with alcoholism. Most of the time, people are sent off for treatment and no one talks about it. They act as if that person doesn’t exist. And then they come back and everyone acts as if nothing has changed. They’re expected to be able to go back to the pubs and have a pint, like their cured or something. It just becomes a vicious cycle. And nobody talks about it.”

Well, someone is finally talking about it. Digging deep into the complexities of bipolar disorder, alcoholism, depression, and grief, Nealon takes a seemingly simple coming-of-age story and turns it into so much more. She creates an underlying mystic pessimism that embodies the Irish disposition perfectly. In a world so set in reality and logic, I still find it nice to know the Irish haven’t given up on fairies.

All of these heavy topics are circling Nealson’s main motif – the shittiness of the young adult, female experience. From candid internal debates about pubic hair removal to the sting of unspoken slut shaming, Nealon manages to cover all of the bullshit young women deal with on a daily basis.

With the international acclaim Snowflake has already seen, Louise Nealon might just give Sally Rooney a run for her money as the best Irish author of our generation. One thing I know is for sure—from now on, whenever someone asks me what Ireland was really like, I’m simply going to say, “You should read Snowflake.”

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You can purchase Snowflake by Louise Nealon here.