The Snow Queen

The Snow Queen by Michael Cunningham          Audio Book: 6 hours, 47 minutes       Hardback Book:  272 pages                   

Barrett, a gay man struggling with his emotions over another failed romance sees a vision while walking through Central Park.     He was a non-believer all of his life but the vision he saw made him feel like some God like presemce was letting him know he was not alone, that some supernatural presence was keeping an eye on him.   It changed Barrett’s life, helping him through his heartache.   He was not fearful he was instead assured that there was spiritually more than this existence on earth.  He felt comforted.     Barrett’s older brother, Tyler, is going to marry his girlfriend, Beth, who has terminal cancer.     Tyler is a musician, currently down on his luck, but, he spends most of his time caring for Beth, who is in stage 4 and reeling from her chemo treatments.    Barrett  lives with them, helping to care for Beth.   Beth loves both men and the living arrangement is a content one for all three of them.   Barrett gets to go outside himself by helping to care for Beth, feeling like her other “husband” and helping his brother, Tyler to be able to get away from the constant caregiving in order to get back to his songwriting now and then and getting to do the ocassional gig to bring in some money.   They all 3 ignore the looming death shadow in the apartment and often share laughter to lighten things up.   Liz is Beth’s best friend, an older lady who has a take charge persona and looks after Beth, too.    Much more to the story and there are ties in this modern day version of the Hans Christian Anderson story, “The Snow Queen.”    Having  adjusted to Beth’s illness and making plans for the wedding – things take a weird twist when Beth goes into remission after Barretts’ sighting of the translucent light of God he saw in the park that night in November.     More people are brought into the three’s life bringing joy and more weirdness at times.    Life becomes surreal for all of them as Beth adjusts to remission, Barrett reconciles himself with this God presence in his life and Tyler, who had always enjoyed drugs gets heavier into them to unleash his creativity or is it something more?     An interesting read.    Bittersweet, funny at times, like an ever moving snake burrowing through the snow looking for warmth as the characters journey out on a zigzag bridge.   Families come in all shapes and types.   The dynamic of this three person family is encompassing and illuminating as it shines a bright light like the one Barrett experienced in the park, on what was and is and is to come.