Moon of the Crusted Snow by Waubgeshig Rice
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
**4.5-stars**
Waubgeshig Rice’s post-apocalyptic novel, Moon of the Crusted Snow, is a perfect Winter read.
Listening to this audiobook, while out walking my dog in the dark, with nothing but a headlamp guiding our way through barren conservation lands was eerie and thrilling.
The narrator for the audiobook, Billy Merasty, did an incredible job; I felt transported into the story.
For me, Rice’s writing style is a great example of good ole’-fashioned storytelling. It’s blunt and straight-forward. There’s never any struggling to figure out what’s happening, or losing brain cells trying to decipher the plot.
This narrative follows a small, isolated Northern Anishinaabe community as they lose all communication with the outside world at the start of Winter.
Initially they don’t think much of it. It seems to be just the internet and cable, but soon things get worse.
Now without power and no idea as to why, the community must band together to wait it out. They have no idea if supplies from the South will be coming and as more time goes by, people are on the brink of panic.
It feels cold, dark and desperate; much like my heart.
Reading this post-the COVID lockdowns that we have all been dealing with over the last couple of years, made this story hit extra hard.
Rice did an incredible job building the feelings of despair and anxiousness. I was starting to get really anxious as the community’s resources began to dwindle. It’s a slow burn, but extremely well executed.
I liked getting to know this community; watching how they came together and dealt with their horrifying circumstances. It’s a great cast of characters overall. I particularly felt connected with Evan and Nicole.
As mentioned above, I did enjoy the way Rice built up that feeling of dread. It was a great atmosphere. I just wished he would have sunk his teeth into that aspect even more. Gone a bit farther to push that feeling on the Reader. I wanted just a little more.
With this being said, this is a super interesting and well written story. It was definitely a memorable reading experience for me. I look forward to reading more from Waubgeshig Rice in the future!