Snowblind (GLBT)

Snowblind by Rose Christo
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

4.5

How to begin this, I'm still reeling, my thoughts and emotions feel tumultuous regarding this story. Hmm, if any of you are familiar with Rose Christo's blog and her posts, you know that she never really mentioned her books. It was all about her interests but particularly it was about getting the word out there about indigenous issues-touching primarily on the the loss of their children. That is the premise of this novel.

Shawn Wapaw is a 22yr. old who lost his sight as a young boy at the hands of his foster parent. He has spent the last few years in self imposed isolation. Having the financial means to do so, he has lived a hollow and frozen existence until a cheeky brazen 9 yr. old stumbles into his life with the gentility of a sledgehammer. Although reticent at first-actually he tries to buy them out of their home-Shawn slowly builds a friendship with Melanie. Being Innu he feels a sort of kinship with her as she is also a fostered child from the Chippewa tribe. On one of his internet ventures he discovers that a member in the forum plans to commit suicide; seeking help doesn't work so he takes steps to stop it, even if he has to make the trip himself. Circumstances leave him with no choice but to accept Melanie's and her father Kenneth's help and the 3 of them set out together. For Shawn the trip turns into a journey of self discovery, leaving him no choice but to face his worst fears.

Melanie is an outgoing and outspoken child for her age and she takes to Shawn, quickly learning that his prickly and acerbic attitude is just superficial. Although she misses her real family she loves her Pops and is happy with him.

Kenneth is a man with his own physical scars, product of an automobile accident. Extremely kind, he is a gentle man who is just trying to be a good father and make his daughter happy. His relationship with Shawn begins on shaky ground but the trip brings them together in an unexpected way. Shawn said it best. 'Only a blind man could look at him without seeing those scars. My blindness, in turn, made me horribly selfish. And only a selfless man could look at me and see someone worth knowing.'

The idea that people would not only actually push a person to go ahead with suicide but to actually tell them to do it live is sickening, but it's also tragic that a person can feel so alone and lost that they think it's the only way to escape. Shawn made it a little hard to like him at first, but as you gradually get to know him it's easier to understand him and his ways. Melanie is just a wonderful girl, her Pops lets her get away with a lot; it's a good thing Daddio (Shawn) helps out.

I've come to realize that with Christo's stories I can expect a warmth in my heart, but that's after she's made it bleed. This one rings a little harder than her previous works because there where certain times while I read that I felt it wasn't really Shawn but her talking at me. It felt like her pain, loss, and helplessness was imbued in the pages. Another winning story for me.


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