When the Two Girl Book Party chose this book for their December book club, I was surprised to learn it had been a Pulitzer Prize finalist and I'd never heard of it. It ended up being the perfect wintry read; a great book to cozy up with and feel its warmth while outside may be cold and dreary.

Set in 1920s Alaska, Mabel and Jack are an older married couple looking for solitude after tiring of Pennsylvania society amid personal loss and all the questions and pitying looks that come with it. What they find on their Alaskan homestead is unexpected: a chance at happiness they thought would never come, its foundation built upon what may very well be magic. The couple and the reader must grapple with truth, and have faith in a world in which not everything can be known.

Ivey does such a wondrous job of creating beautiful atmosphere and scenes for her characters--people I came to love as if they were real. And cannot love exist even if the object of love does not? I think this is central to Ivey's story, that love is necessary and can take many forms, though we may not recognize it as such while it's happening, or how much we needed it.

The novel is based on an old Russian fairytale of the same name, and its existence in the book is referenced. It was interesting to see the events of a fairytale set among the realism of the Alaskan wilderness. It works so well! Ivey threads a loving story with suspense that kept the pages turning, and allows magic to seep in and take hold--if you believe. I adored this book, and gave it to three family members over Christmas, hoping they will find the magic, too.