Snowdrops (novel)
{{short description|2011 thriller by A. D. Miller}}
{{italic title}}{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2023}}
Snowdrops is a novel by A. D. Miller which was shortlisted for the 2011 Man Booker Prize.{{cite web|url=http://www.themanbookerprize.com/prize/thisyear/shortlist |title=Man Booker 2011 Shortlist |publisher=Themanbookerprize.com |date=2011-09-06 |accessdate=2012-01-04}} It was also shortlisted for the CWA Gold Dagger,{{Cite news |last=Flood |first=Alison |date=2011-08-19 |title=Males in the frame as Gold Dagger shortlist revealed |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2011/aug/19/gold-dagger-shortlist-revealed |access-date=2023-04-10 |issn=0261-3077}} the Los Angeles Times Book Awards,{{Cite web |last=Kellogg |first=Carolyn |date=2012-02-21 |title=2011 Los Angeles Times Book Prize finalists announced |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/blogs/jacket-copy/story/2012-02-21/2011-los-angeles-times-book-prize-finalists-announced |access-date=2023-04-10 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}} the James Tait Black Memorial Prize{{Cite web |title=Literary prize winners announced |url=https://www.ed.ac.uk/news/all-news/james-tait-black-250812 |access-date=2023-04-10 |website=The University of Edinburgh |date=13 April 2016 |language=en}} and the Galaxy National Book Awards.{{Cite web |title=Galaxy National Book Awards |url=https://www.galaxynationalbookawards.com/ |access-date=2023-04-10 |website=www.galaxynationalbookawards.com}} It was the first novel to be nominated for both the Booker and the Gold Dagger. It was translated into 25 languages.
Plot
The novel is set in Moscow in the early 2000s and is written in the form of a first-person narrative by the protagonist, Nick Platt, a British lawyer based in Russia. Nick meets two young women, Masha, with whom he becomes romantically involved, and Katya. The liaison sees him drawn into the underworld of Russia. Miller has described Snowdrops as a "moral thriller", because the reader knows that something bad is going to happen, but is not exactly sure what or how.{{Cite web |title=Q & A with A.D. Miller |url=http://www.snowdropsthenovel.com/book/snowdrops/about |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110122044349/http://www.snowdropsthenovel.com/book/snowdrops/about |archive-date=2011-01-22 |access-date=2023-08-07 |website=Snowdrops}}
Reception
The book received generally positive reviews, with The Guardian writing: "Snowdrops is...a powerful warning of the dangers of staring at something so long that you stop noticing what you're seeing".{{Cite web |last=O'Connell |first=John |date=1 January 2011 |title=Snowdrops by AD Miller – review |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2011/jan/01/snowdrops-a-d-miller-review |access-date=7 August 2023 |website=The Guardian}} The Financial Times described it as a "superlative portrait of a country in which everything has its price", which "displays a worldly confidence reminiscent of Robert Harris at his best".{{Cite web |last=Turpin |first=Adrian |date=8 January 2011 |title=Snowdrops |url=https://www.ft.com/content/f3d22cde-19e7-11e0-a8d8-00144feab49a |access-date=2023-04-10 |website=Financial Times}} The Sunday Telegraph called it "disturbing and dazzling".{{Cite web |last=Evans |first=Benjamin |date=9 January 2011 |title=Snowdrops By AD Miller: review |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/8241449/Snowdrops-By-AD-Miller-review.html |access-date=2023-04-23 |website=www.telegraph.co.uk}} The novel was selected as a 'book of the year' for 2011 in the Financial Times,{{Cite web |date=3 December 2011 |title=Tales for under the tree |url=https://www.ft.com/content/f4d060dc-1780-11e1-b00e-00144feabdc0 |access-date=2023-04-23 |website=Financial Times}} the Observer{{Cite news |last=Flood |first=Alison |date=2011-12-04 |title=Books for giving: thrillers |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2011/dec/04/books-christmas-presents-thrillers-reviews |access-date=2023-04-23 |issn=0261-3077}} and the Spectator,{{Cite web |date=2011-11-12 |title=Books of the Year |url=https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/books-of-the-year-12-november-2011/ |access-date=2023-04-23 |website=The Spectator |language=en-US}} among other publications.
References
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Category:British thriller novels
Category:Novels set in the 2000s
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