Cover Image: Snow

Snow

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We’re 1957 in rural Ireland. In the mansion of protestant colonel Osborne, the body of a catholic priest is found in the library. The house friend has been stabbed and gelded. From the start, there’s pressure from the archbishop’s palace to treat the whole thing very discreetly and classify it as an accident (he fell from the stairs) and the details that must not come out, imagine the scandal and the neighbours.
It’s DI Strafford; a member of the same aristocratic minority who is dispatched from Dublin to handle the inquiry. He has the feeling as if he’s landed in a theatre play with everyone in the house an actor, dressed up to say their lines. Will he give in to the pressure from the omnipresent Catholic Church or will his quest for the truth kick against some holy shins?
With a snow storm brewing up, everybody is cooped up inside apart from Strafford’s (with an R) assistant who’s gone missing.

It starts out as a classic murder mystery. How much closer can you come than a body in the library of a remote country house amidst a snow storm? It has a very slow pace as befits the period but it doesn’t take itself too serious with several references to Agatha Christie and Poirot.
Strafford is an enigmatic figure. He’s a man who feels uncomfortable with his place and role in this life. He became a policeman to rebel against his father but asks himself now if he would have been happier if he’d become a barrister as his dad wanted. He also recently split up with his girlfriend and stands very uncomfortable in life. He thinks things through and through but doesn’t relate well to people. They make him feel awkward. He’s an outcast for the gentry but also a weird element in the police force. I couldn’t feel very much sympathy for this aristocrat despite him having a very strong moral compass. I think he’s a rather sad man. Because of his thinking he’s always on the outside looking in but not being part of what’s going on. Well, that’s how I see him, someone else might think differently.
To 21st century readers, a dead castrated priest means usually just 1 thing, and points to a very distinct motive. But here we are in 50’s Ireland where the church influences and holds power over almost every aspect of everyday life. A murdered priest just does not happen, let alone one mutilated in this manner! As an historical and social document, it paints a bleak picture of post-civil war Ireland, where the Catholic Church had its claws on politics, press, police and anything else you can think of. And how they condoned abuse and swept it under the carpet. That is when the people dared to make a complaint as most didn’t dare to speak out against a priest. Such things were common knowledge but no one would speak publicly about it. The best outcome would be that the offender was placed in another parish, where he’d go his merry way again.
I’ve always wondered how the correlation between pedophiles and priests (of any denomination) works. Do they become priests in order to get in contact with children because they’re pedos or is it the other way round and do they discover this perversion only when they’re already priests? No matter what the answer is, YOU DON’T TOUCH CHILDREN!!! And for those who say that they can’t help those feelings. Well, that’s the lamest excuse of every rapist and killer. You don’t have to act on those feelings. Seek help. So many people have feelings that they don’t act on. They know very well that what they do is out of order or they wouldn’t try covering up their crimes. I don’t want to call for vigilante justice, but the courts should be able to order compulsory castration after serving prison time.
I want to say that there are no graphic descriptions of these crimes. It’s told very tastefully with the act self, told off screen. This is in stark contrast with the minute descriptions of people, surroundings, and landscape that can be found in the rest of the book. You could almost draw (well, those with a talent for sketching can) the people when Banville describes someone’s peculiar face or the clothing they wear or put on. It’s really beautifully worded. So it certainly fits into the literary fiction box as well as being a police procedural and a murder mystery. It’s a fairly simple straightforward story with subtle layers of historical social comments that’s written in a very beautiful language.
I thank Netgalley and Faber & Faber for the free ARC of this book the provided; this is my honest and unbiased review of it.

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Thank you Net galley and Faber and Faber for allowing me to read this in advance.
John Banville has a great talent for bring characters to life and injecting a little Irish wit into a very good whodunnit.Colonel Osborne ia an aristocratic Protestant figure in 1950ish catholic lreland. Living in the 'big house' with his weakwilled much younger wife Sylvia,son Dominic and daughter Lettie with the proverbial Irish cook downstairs . When a priest Fr Tom is murdered Strafford with an r is called in . He is Protestant detective in a country with a mostly Catholic gardai. Everyone in the house must be questioned and this includes Fonsey a tall broad awkward man who helps on the estate. He lives in a caravan far in the woods and keeps many secrets which slowly come out.
Its a very Irish story . Loved the Irishness of the time and the Catholic,Protestant vibe which must have been very prominent at the time. It is based on the church paedophile scandal which is hinted at all the way through but in the second last chapter it becomes very very graphic which I found horrific. This is why I dropped stars. I loved the whole concept and just found it spoiled it for me!

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Everything that I didn't like about this book my mum loved. After much thought and discussion we have come to the following conclusion:

There is nothing in the time or the place that I can relate to so little things like the detective just picking up and wearing boots he found by the door pushed me too far into unbelievable territory whereas the same detail pushed my mum the other way and she was delighted that that was included because it brought back memories of her doing the same thing.

I think the plot is pretty obvious,

It is really well written and the imagery it conveys at times is wonderful.

I've gone with my mum's rating because I think she is more the target audience.

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Thank you to NetGalley for an advance copy of this book

A whodunnit in the Agatha Christie mode complete with a body in the library combined with Banville’s delicious prose and dense characterisation, Snow is a delight from start to finish. The first half outlines the murder in a country house and our Poirot is an unlikely Protestant Garda – Strafford not Stafford as he needs to repeatedly remind everyone. However as our victim is a Catholic priest and our setting is mid 20th century Ireland it doesn’t take long before the story takes a turn towards Ireland’s murky clerical past, complete with the inclusion of Archbishop John Charles McQuaid as a supporting character in the drama.

A cast of characters are skilfully drawn and as usual Banville’s language is a joy to behold: ‘reflected light on the cheek of the teapot seemed to wink at him in spiteful mirth’, ‘he would be wearing a dead man’s boots – no end to life’s grotesqueries’ not to mention the ‘snow falling heavily in flabby flakes the size of communion wafers’.


For the combination of whodunnit with a final twist reserved for the last pages and Banville’s mastery of language, this is a perfect read for a dark winter’s evening – Banville at his best.

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This is part Agatha Christie pastiche (' 'It's a library,' he muttered incredulously to Hendricks. 'It's an actual fucking library, and there's a body in it!' ') and part dark uncovering of Ireland's troubled history with scandalous priests and Catholic Church cover-ups. It's pretty obvious where the book is going from the opening pages and Banville doesn't change direction.

It's a slightly odd combination: the 'cosy' elements of Christie such as the dysfunctional family in the 'big house', complete with a daughter called Lettice (a very Christie name) mingled with traumatic events including multiple suicides as well as murders. I'm not quite sure what to make of it, to be honest - it subverts the cosiness but also taints it with this modern-ish overlay.

Banville's writing is always elegant and he keeps things moving more briskly than in some of his books - but expect upsetting and disturbing things to happen cocooned in a structure that can accommodate them but only by distorting itself.

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I really enjoy John Banville's writing and have read a lot of his novels, so was pleased to see that I could request his latest novel, Snow, from NetGalley.

Detective Inspector St. John Strafford has been summoned to County Wexford to investigate a murder. A parish priest has been found dead in Ballyglass House, the family seat of the aristocratic, secretive Osborne family. The year is 1957 and the Catholic Church rules Ireland with an iron fist. Strafford—flinty, visibly Protestant, and determined to identify the murderer—faces obstruction at every turn, from the heavily accumulating snow to the culture of silence in this tight-knit community. As he delves further, he learns the Osbornes are not at all what they seem. And when his own deputy goes missing, Strafford must work to unravel the ever-expanding mystery before the community’s secrets, like the snowfall itself, threatens to obliterate everything.

I started reading Snow as a straightforward murder mystery set in a classic isolated (physically and by the constant snow) country home. It did strike me as strange that John Banville hadn't published it under his preferred pseudonym for his crime novels, and also that it was remarkably cliched. The knowing references to 'the body in the library' and 'Poirot'; the inclusion of the weary lonely detective (who also happens to be 'top drawer a la Ngaio Marsh'), the local yokel police force, the dysfunctional posh family and the suspicious doctor and priest were all just too obvious as characters. And the plot outcome is not difficult to predict - SPOILER ALERT - suffice to say, there is a priest, that he used to work at a boys' correctional home, and you can probably write the rest yourself.

Snow was a confusing read for me. The writing was gorgeous, Banville is as always a lyricist and a wordsmith. But I kept wanting more. Maybe I was missing something. I would still recommend but it isn't one of my favourite Banville novels.

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I really enjoyed this book a lot. The characters were clever and engaging, and getting to spend time with them was a treat. I liked the writing too - it was descriptive without ever veering into flowery territory, and I would certainly be interested in reading more work by this author. The cover is great too!

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I love Banville’s ability to describe characters and scenes. I’m put-off by authors that try too hard to tell you what a character looks like or how he/she behaves, usually preferring the opportunity to imagine some of it for myself. With Banville, though, his language creates superior images than I could come up with and he does it in a way that isn’t distracting.

Reading Snow reminded me of watching old episodes of Poirot. The stories are set in Ireland post-civil war and society is very much transfixed on whether or not a person is a Catholic or Protestant. This division of people into groups is a theme throughout the book and the main character Strafford is the go-between as he travels back and forth and among the people of this small village to solve a murder at the home of a prominent family.

There are two chapters in the book written from the point of view of different characters. Normally, I like multiple points of view, but I did find the switch to these other characters abrupt. I know what he’s trying to do here, but it seems more like a plot device than a necessary part of the storytelling.

Strafford is a likable character with idiosyncrasies and behavior that seems out-of-the-ordinary, but he isn’t without feeling. His social confusion and self-analysis add to his charm and set him apart from other detective characters.

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Snow, by John Banville, is a historical police procedural, set in midcentury Ireland, a land indepedent of Great Britain, while still exhibiting many class and prejudicial differences between Catholics and Protostents. This is not, however, without its very dark and disturbing moments. Perhaps I should have seen them coming, since the victim is a Catholic priest, but I clearly didn't think that through. Very much worth the read, but this goes beyond the procedural and into cultural commentary - one that is needed and well handled. Recommended.

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A well-crafted Irish mystery in which we encounter Lt. Strafford the detective from the big city [Dublin], and a host of characters - odd and unusual. The local priest has been murdered, in a most grisly way. It's winter, and the snow falls daily to obliterate any overnight activity. An unexpected conclusion.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Faber & Faber and Net Galley. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. pub date 10/01/20

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I would like to thank Netgalley and Faber and Faber Ltd for an advance copy of Snow, a stand-alone police procedural set in County Wexford in 1957.

Detective Inspector St John Strafford is called out to Ballyglass House, home of the Osborne family, where a priest, Father Tom Lawless, has been murdered. His task is made more difficult by the secrets the family is reluctant to divulge.

I enjoyed Snow which is an atmospheric novel, full of hints and half glimpsed secrets. I hesitate to say it’s a profound novel because it covers old ground and doesn’t delve too deeply but it certainly isn’t a superficial covering of events. It is told mostly from Strafford (with an r)’s point of view so the reader sees what he sees, mostly, as I said, hints and innuendo hidden behind a veil of reticence. This reticence comes more from the fact that priests and their conduct were not discussed in 1950s Ireland than an innate secretiveness, even Strafford gets a not so veiled warning from the Archbishop. The snow and the Church’s long reach give the novel an oppressive feel, as if they’re conspiring against him.

The novel is set up to give the appearance of a Golden Age mystery, country house, limited number of suspects, treacherous conditions to disallow strangers, detective as the outsider and a body in the library and then it changes. This novel has far darker themes and a more descriptive level of violence. It is clever in that what is done to Father Tom points the reader towards a potential motive.

Nearer the end of the novel there is a chapter where Father Tom looks back over aspects of his life. This is extremely well done in its pseudo reasonableness. It is self serving and, quite frankly, horrifying but captures his mindset perfectly. It adds nothing to Strafford’s investigation as he doesn’t learn of it but it illustrates the prevailing attitude of the Church, not that that will be much of a surprise to readers.

Snow is an interesting read as, while it has a murder and a detective, its preoccupation is more about the mores of the time and how the characters relate to it. It is strangely compulsive in parts.

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Snow by John Banville
A treat of a tale based in winter in Southern Ireland in the late fifties. Featuring the local police DI Strafford who comes to investigate the murder of a local priest who has been staying with Colonel Osborne in his big country estate Ballyglass House, outside Dublin.. With the limited list of suspects from the household including a wayward daughter, a mentally unstable wife and a young stablelad who lives in a caravan in the woods, the story unfolds nicely as we suspect one then another as things from the past are gradually revealed. Similarity to the Benjamin Black books are confirmed with the occasional reference to Quirke the pathologist who features in them.
A great read -highly recommended

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A priest is murdered, a missing policemen, a drugged up wife and a cast of over the top characters. It would all point to an enjoyable whodunnit. Unfortunately the sum of the parts did not add up - there were patches which seemed to drag and other parts where I struggled to work out whether the characters were of interest or just passing by.

It was OK but not as exciting as I had hoped.

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John Banville seemed to have turned out the lights in the snowy winter in a county of Wexford. But that is already not what's going on. The authorial voice has arranged things to give a sense of Ireland and its Catholics. That there is a problem about a Catholic visitor is agreed by the people in the house to see about horses. But the problem is part of a complex of complexes. The way out masks a very open masculinity. This is remarkably dark for someone whose imagination can seem to be peeled away. Not only is this dark, but it remains a difficulty for several of the members of an old house. I am trying to watch the pile-ups of bad behavior. The book is a nasty turn, from the dead priest whose body announces a new kind of dealing with hosts and guests, and general visiting. I found it difficult, in the ways that difficulty works silence.

You may find this book hard going. Certainly, one problem is that the women are (as so often) stuck with husbands they can't change. There's a great deal of blood.

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Thanks NetGalley, Faber and Faber Ltd and John Banville for a free copy to review.
As one of the characters exclaimed early in the book ( Jesus Christ, will you look at this place? Next thing Poirot himself will appear on the scene!). I couldn't believe this book is written in 2020, it's a classic British mystery as if you are reading one of Agatha Christie books all with a body in the library of all places! Though I have to admit Agatha Christie might have discussed twisted human behavior but I don't believe she portrayed a murder scene like our late priest!
I found it a little difficult for me to get the religious and Irish references. I enjoyed lots the writing style.
It is my first book by John Banville but I will seek the rest of his work.

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Veteran Irish novelist John Banville is best remembered as the winner of the Booker Prize in 2005 for his reflective journal “The Sea” and he also writes successful crime novels under the pen name Benjamin Black.

DI St John Strafford is called from Dublin to investigate the murder of a popular parish priest at Ballyglass House, the County Wexford seat of the Osborne family. Like the family, Strafford is also of a posh, aristocratic upbringing, albeit Protestant, which brings about tension from the locals during the investigation. But Strafford continues doggedly in his pursuit of the truth and while the snow continues to fall, the Ballyglass local residents continue to keep tight lipped.

Although written in an easy readable style and is wonderfully descriptive, I found this book very difficult to get into and quite slow if not plodding at times. I am sure there are many who will love the murder mystery aspect of the novel and no-one can deny that John Banville is a master of his trade, but this one really wasn’t for me I’m afraid.

My thanks go to NetGalley and Faber and Faber Ltd for the ARC

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Really enjoyed this book. Have read many of the John Banville/Benjamin Black Quirke books and this in the same vein. Such lovely evocative language. Really captured rural Ireland of the time and the most definite separation between the Irish and the Anglo- Irish and most importantly the power of the Catholic Church. Banville is one of my favourite authors. Not as straightforward a plot and one might think and readers who think they have sussed out ending are in for surprises.

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The only other book I have read by John Banville was The Sea so I had no idea what to expect from him writing a murder mystery (that he has done others you can google for yourself in addition to how to pronounce St John if for the remotest reason you are unsure-this is a book review so I won't bore you with the blurb either)
Banville is clearly a talented writer. The book is set in 1957 and the past, as they say, is another country and they did indeed do things differently then. Some of the things if found in a 2020 set police procedural would you have you howling but somehow they did fit with the book's ethos. A well crafted book, Slow paced. I did understand the interlude, I found it very effective at demonstrating the enormous turmoil within. You won't win any prizes for guessing the killer/s as it's fairly obvious but that isn't the point of the book in my opinion. I feel it has a greater tale to tell about the whole issue of Catholicism and the way that abuse was rife and swept under the carpet. There is a little bit about Irish politics but mostly religion dominates. I'm wondering whether the epilogue was meant to shut down suggestions of a sequel. If so I think very wise. This book should be allowed to stand alone. It's more than capable.
I might well read more of his mysteries and see how they compare
I have one note for the publisher

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“The body is in the library,” Colonel Osborne said. “Come this way. “


From the first line we are transported into the well known territory of the classic British mystery. Except that we’re not in Britain, we’re in post-war Ireland, in a small village around Christmas time. The body of a priest is discovered at the bottom of the stairs, but the nature of his injury leaves no doubt as to whether it was murder or accident.

The house belongs to a formerly well-off Protestant family and the Catholic priest, weirdly enough, was a frequent visitor. St John Strafford, the detective sent from Dublin to investigate, is also from the Protestant aristocracy, but to say that it helps him get to the truth faster is not really the point. Without a winter coat or boots, the detective seems fully unequipped to confront the blizzard, just as he seems awkward and uncomfortable to interview the suspects.

Frankly I struggled to understand what the author wanted to achieve with this book. It is well written (John Banville) and very atmospheric (John Banville / Benjamin Black) and I liked Strafford, who is both lonely and lost (forever wishing he was somewhere else doing some other job). I enjoyed the ending too, which I won’t spoil, obviously.

But if you come for the mystery, even by cozy standards, you’re in for a disappointment, because the whodunnit (and why) is rather easy to guess. And if it’s about the social commentary, then it’s hardly groundbreaking. What remains is the atmosphere and the clever literary allusions to the classics, but in my mind it’s not enough to make a great mystery. I still prefer a good ol’ Dr. Quirke novel.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley. I received a free copy of this book for review consideration.

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Banville has led a double-life as a writer. Under his own name he has written literary fiction, netting the Booker; under the pen-name Benjamin Black he has written crime novels and netted a larger audience. With Snow, he wears both his artist and craftsman hats at the same time.

Pacier read than normal., even if the killer's motive was obvious from the off. If not the equal of his two masterpieces, The Book of Evidence and The Untouchable, it's highly enjoyable.

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