The Snow Queen

Barrett Meeks, who has just lost another love, finds himself adrift in a new book by the award-winning author of The Hours. While crossing Central Park, he finds himself suddenly inspired to look up to the sky, where a pale, translucent light seems to stare back at him in a distinctly divine way. Meanwhile, his older brother, Tyler, a drug-addicted musician, tries in vain to write a love song for his fiancée, Beth, who is gravely ill. Barrett, haunted by that light, unexpectedly turns to religion. Tyler, for his part, becomes increasingly convinced that only drugs will be able to unleash his deepest creative verve. And while Beth tries to face death with as much courage as possible, her friend Liz, an older woman—cynical yet wickedly maternal—offers her assistance. Guided by Michael Cunningham's sublime storytelling, we follow Barrett, Tyler, Beth, and Liz as they follow distinctly different paths in their collective quest for transcendence. In subtle and lucid prose, the author demonstrates a deep empathy for his conflicted characters, as well as a unique understanding of what resides at the core of the human soul.