Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience.

I did not enjoy this book at all, it was listed as a children's book but I felt it was inappropriate.

I did find this book a little hard to follow at timws but i am so glad i managed ti read it. It was such a nice read and it did make you think.

This short novel was a thing of delight. It speaks of life and death, love and loss, faith and friendship, sacrifice and resilience in language that is simple yet devastatingly effective. The ending is bittersweet and utterly perfect. I fully expected to be left cold by this fable as I normally find overtly allegorical works tedious but this was just so exquisitely executed, so steeped in meaning and emotion that I was actually deeply moved. Just a gorgeous piece of writing.

This beautiful little story is about Mary, a young girl born into a city of stunning gardens and fluttering kits however, when she is small circumstances introduce her to Lanmo the snake one afternoon in the garden and the shining golden snake forms a bond with the little girl,

Throughout her childhood and into adulthood Lanmo visits Mary and through their eyes we see the change in her city as war effects all around them. He see's the harsh realities that her family has to make finally leaving their home and as Mary fall's in love he is aware a time will come when he will no longer be able to see Mary and he questions the reality and pain of friendship,

This is a stunning interpretation about the life we lead and the decisions and paths we chose to traverse it. It shows the strength and resilience of a little girl growing up during a time of war and the strength she gains from family members and those she loves.

What I loved about this story was the magic and beauty of A L Kennedy's writing, she makes you feel like you are indeed a fly on the wall and I felt it as compelling and all encompassing as The Book Thief, I would highly recommend it and will definitely look out for other works by this author.

Much has been made of the similarities between this title and Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s ‘The Little Prince’. I read ‘The Little Prince’ recently enough to make a direct comparison and in many ways they are very different books.
I was originally going to say that in reality, there little to compare: ‘The Little Snake’ is very much its own story and in no way follows a similar plot to Saint-Exupéry’s title. However, the more I considered the subject matter: understanding human nature and the need to love and be loved, and how we approach and deal with mortality, I started to realise there is much to compare. That and the concise, direct, child-like prose and the fact that it falls between ‘adult’ fiction and ‘children’s’ fiction (or possibly simply is neither) adds to the comparison.

But that does not take away from the fact that it is a beautifully told, lyrical fable that has much to impart to the reader. But it is possible that adults are likely to become frustrated with the deceptively simple prose and yet indeed in many respects the book it is not really suitable for children (but you will have to make up your own mind on that one). But I have to say I thought it was a more complete, complex and satisfying story than ‘The Little Prince’ – it is simply beautiful.

'The Little Snake' is a fable with an unspecified but modern setting, where the snake in question is a magical creature, a bringer of death, who learns about humanity - the good and the bad, but in a simplified way, distinctly polarised morally as is the way with fables - by way of a friendship with Mary, who he first meets as a young child, then periodically throighout the course of her life.

The writing is effective and can be quite beautiful, the story holds attention and is touching at times......yet, it's really nothing original and I can't see myself ever buying it as a gift or even using the copy I have to stimulate discussion with teenage students.

The Little Snake is very different from other books I have read by this author. At first, it seems like a children’s fable, but develops into so much more. This deeply thoughtful tale of the human condition has appeal for all ages; deceptively simple and beautifully written.
Thanks to Canongate and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was an odd read.

It follows a magic snake who becomes friends with a girl. However there is very little characterisation of any people within the story
It was also quite judgemental - e.g the girl is good, most of the other people in the city are greedy and bad.

I didn't think there was really any plot.

I enjoyed this little book it had an interesting premise and a good follow through. I a modern fairytale with meaning and intent behind it

This little book is an allegory, a fairy tale and a beautiful contemplation of life and death. But also it is a lovely story which could be read by any age and each would get something different from it. Mary is a little girl in a world with very little and a snake called Lanmo comes to befriend her. As the book progresses, the girl with very little ends up with less but she is always happy and looking for the best. But this isn't simplistic or dismissive, it is instead challenging and thought provoking but so well written you might not know that. I like Ms Kennedy's writing and this was right up there with her best.

Recommended if you're becoming a bit jaded with reading the same old stuff and want a quick fable to jangle your reading stupor.

I was given a copy of this book by Netgalley in return for an honest review.

In only 144 pages this book manages to encompass a plethora of emotions from love, loss, family and friendships found in the most unlikely of places. A little book with a massive heart!

A dark fable for adults and children alike it is a magical read that will touch your heart and retain a special place inside.

The book blurb is pretty extensive covering the story’s plot so I won’t go into that any further and let you read and discover it for yourselves. I went into this book with no prior knowledge of the author and read no reviews and I personally think discovering it for myself enhanced my enjoyment of this little gem of a book.

So a small review for a small little book but a book that I would highly recommend and one that can be read time and time again without loosing any of its magic.

Many thanks to the author A.L. Kennedy, publishers Canongate Books and NetGalley for my copy in exchange for an honest, independent review.

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An enchanting fable that deserves to become a classic

Mary is a wise, clever, lonely little girl who lives with her parents in a cramped flat with a small rooftop garden. All around her is a fascinating, bustling city that fires her imagination, a city filled with all kinds of wonderfully diverse people, yet the divide between rich and poor is starkly apparent. Into Mary’s tiny garden one day comes the little snake, a beautiful golden creature with red eyes like jewels. Although he is proud and boastful, Mary strikes up a friendship with him and names him Lanmo. The little snake, in turn, becomes intrigued and eventually fiercely protective of her, constantly returning to visit her and converse with her as she grows up.

Lanmo had never thought much about humanity before Mary: he acted simply as an agent of death when people’s time had come. However, the little snake’s friendship with Mary gradually changes his perspective, teaching him about the nature of love, his own ability to love, and the capacity for good in human beings. Over the years, as the world crumbles, and the gulf between rich and poor widens, the little snake will always watch out for Mary, always come back to her, even if one day it may be for the last time.

Combining the magical essence of a fairy tale and the elemental morality of an Aesop fable, The Little Snake has all the hallmarks of a literary classic. Written in a captivating, almost poetic prose style that works on many levels, it will have an ageless appeal to children and adults alike. The story and its themes brilliantly encompass a spectrum of searing observations about the human condition. Many of the little snake’s encounters are examinations of the darkness of man’s heart, exposing humans’ greed, cruelty, callousness, selfishness, hypocrisy, and lust for power. Yet Mary and Lanmo’s journeys are moving, poignant and heartfelt revelations of the light which is at the core of humanity as well: kindness, generosity, selflessness, sympathy, empathy, compassion, joy, optimism – and, above all, love, which transcends all.

The author acknowledges a debt to Antoine de Saint Exupéry, and the influence and inspiration of the marvellous The Little Prince is evident. But The Little Snake can easily stand alongside Saint Exupéry’s masterpiece. Its deceptively simple, dark and devastating depictions of deprivation, injustice, and man’s inhumanity to man are both timely and timeless. However, at the same time, the power of love, beauty, faith and imagination are so vividly expressed – and often with such delightful wit and humour – that the reader cannot help but feel uplifted, leading to a powerful ending that is both heart-breaking and hopeful. A lovely gem of a book.

Arwen Evenstar

Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review

Mary is a little girl living in an unspecified but not entirely perfect city. The city is lovely – there are flowers and kites flying – but there is great inequality and Mary has just a tiny patch of rooftop garden to play in. It is there she first meets Lanmo, who is golden, beautiful and clever. He is, however, a snake and thinks Mary should be afraid of him: she is young and fearless and has not yet learned to be scared. They become good friends and learn much from each other. The snake, whose role in the world is to present at the time of death, learns love and respect for humanity (well, some of it – he retains the right to notice those who don’t deserve such love or respect…) and Mary has to learn that her world isn’t as safe and wonderful as she thought. But she also learns that Lanmo will always love her (even though he has to share her love with, first, her family and, later, with a boy. When the city becomes too dangerous for Mary to live in Lanmo returns to guide her to safety.

This is a lovely book which reads as if The Little Prince had been reimagined for adult readers. Mary is a loving and innocent child who is battered by a cruel world but retains her inner beauty. Lanmo is a wise cracking witness to inevitable death who absorbs some of Mary’s essential humanity. We, hopefully, gain both wisdom and compassion from their story.

I'm not sure what I was expecting from this little volume but it blew me away, I out and out sobbed reading it and both wanted to find out what happened and wanted to read the book as slowly as possible to remain under its spell for as long as possible.
It is a simple tale that manages to be light and deep at the same time, is beautifully written and really played in my mind like a film as I read it.
Wonderful.

This is an unusual sidetrack for A L Kennedy. It is a children’s fable, written for adults, along the lines of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry‘s Le petit prince (The Little Prince), which Kennedy says influenced her in the writing of this book.

Our heroine is Mary, a young girl, when we first meet her. The city she lives in seems to be somewhat divided. There was the very rich part of the city, where people had swimming pools and larders as big as living-rooms and living-rooms as big as meadows. Then there was the poor part of the city, often cold, too dry or too wet and with listless electricity. Because they had access to the sky, they flew beautiful kites from their roofs. Mary and her parents live between the two. They have a garden on the roof, they were not too squashed and the pipes did not leak too often. The city itself did not have parks and was quite expensive.

One day, in their garden, Mary suddenly noticed a golden bangle around her stockings. She started talking to the bangle, which turned out to be the eponymous little snake. The snake was somewhat surprised that Mary was not afraid of him, but she wasn’t. Moreover, the snake did not look like any snake she had even seen in books. That is because it wasn’t. It eventually tells her that its name is Lanmo.

We soon learn that the snake seems to have two functions. Its prime function is as the Angel of Death. It appears to people who are clearly not nice people and then kills them. We see this almost immediately when it appears in the very large basement (which it had taken two hundred imported Bolivian miners a year to excavate) of the very rich Mr. Meininger He thought smiling was a foolish waste of effort. He was also the third or, possibly, the fourth richest man in the world. I cannot take everything you have. The snake paused. . . . I will only take everything you are, says the snake and proceeds to kill him. Mr. Meinginer is not the last person we see the snake killing.

Most people cannot see the snake. Normally, only two kinds of people can see him: those who are about to die and special, good people, like Mary. Again, Mary is not the last person in the second category to see him.

The snake befriends Mary. Indeed, they seem to be best friends, at least till Mary is older and has a boyfriend, Paul. It helps her at school, where she has trouble with the posh, rich girls and the teacher. It will continue to help Mary.

During the course of the book, the snake will come and go. Sometimes it visits Mary quite frequently. Sometimes there are long gaps between the visits. Each time it does come, the snake finds conditions for Mary and her family have deteriorated. For adults, this is a very political book, with Kennedy damning the rich and powerful. We have, for example, a political leader, known as the Great Man Who Loves the People, who likes war. I like to think he is based on Tony Blair or perhaps George W Bush or perhaps a combination of the two. No matter which one he is based on, he pays the price.

The snake has big problems with anger management and it is Mary who is able to help him, though he is aware of his problem. However, he is aware of love. Lanmo recognises different types of love: Some of them love places and some of them love things and some of them love themselves and some of them love other people but it is the love of other people that matters and it is that that Mary has, which makes her special in Lanmo’s eyes.

Lanmo does not fully understand humans. When he tries to eat Mary’s kittens and Mary objects, he accepts this without fully understanding it. He cannot understand why, when there is such a huge disparity between the rich and the poor, it would not be fully justified for the poor to steal from the rich. Mary disabuses him.

Things get so bad and that Mary, Paul and her family have to leave the city and finds pastures new which, with Lanmo’s help, they do. As this is a children’s fable, there is, more or less, a happy ending.

While I would not want to make a habit of reading children’s fable for adults, I enjoyed Le petit prince (The Little Prince) and I enjoyed reading this, though I shall look forward to Kennedy returning to her usual style of writing. It makes its political point, it tells an enjoyable tale for children and never descends into the mawkish or trite.

I was sent a copy of A Little Snake by AL Kennedy to read and review by NetGalley.
Well I wasn’t expecting that! It turns out that this little book is actually a modern day fable. Lightly written it is the delightful tale of Mary and the Little Snake and how they help each other to be kind and good, happy, optimistic and just a little bit adventurous. Too slight a book to go into more detail and not spoil the story for potential readers. A refreshing change!

Oh what a special story this is. It is very difficult to pigeonhole, but I suppose my best description would be a beautifully written fable.
It is whimsical, but never twee, and full of home truths told simply and elegantly.
I loved it!
Thank you so much to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC

I received an early copy of this book for my independent honest review.
What an intriguing and clever concept. I didn't really know what to expect going into this. On the surface it's a fable about a girl and her snake, however this has so many underlying levels that it is so much more. It reads like a classic fairy tale which is very reminiscent of my early childhood in the 60s. This makes it suitable for a younger audience. However the underlying themes and important issues it raises are most certainly aimed at adults. You can delve as little or as much as you want into this and not be disappointed.
Don't discard this lovely little book thinking it isn't your usual genre. I am not a usual reader of fables, fairytales, magical realism, however I loved this.
It is one of those books which the reader will notice something different every time they read it.

My thanks to Canongate Books for an eARC of ‘The Little Snake’ via NetGalley.

Mary is a young girl who befriends a beautiful golden little snake in her family’s garden. He is a magical creature able to talk (among other things). Their friendship over the years transforms both. The true nature of the snake and its task in the world is quite understated though clear.

‘The Little Snake’ is told in the style of a fable. At the beginning it reminded me some of a Neil Gaiman or Roald Dahl story as it initially portrays Mary’s world in terms that are quite comic and slightly surreal. As the story continues it moves into darker territory exploring themes of greed, poverty, violence, and war. Yet there is also love, friendship and loyalty to balance the scales.

A delicate, charming and bittersweet story and hopefully one that will move some readers to a greater sense of compassion.

Rich in symbolism it was a delight to read from start to finish, though it also made me think. I cried a bit at its ending. One that I shall likely reread and given its themes and potential for discussion recommend as a reading group selection.