A novel by Professor of Literature and Creative Writing Tina May Hall was recently published by Dzanc Books.
The publisher describes The Snow Collectors as the story of a woman who is “plunged into the mystery of a centuries-old letter regarding one of the most famous stories of Arctic exploration—the Franklin expedition, which disappeared into the ice in 1845,” calling it “suspenseful and atmospheric” as it “sketches the ghosts of Victorian exploration against the eerie beauty of a world on the edge of environmental collapse.”
Publisher’s Weekly said, “Hall seamlessly weaves dreamlike imagery with descriptions of police procedure and scientific inquiry ... This elegant account of a woman’s confrontation with a cover-up delivers historical intrigue and emotional depth.”
“Even though I thought I was writing a traditional romance novel, I was writing it in snippets,” Hall said at a reading at the Burke Library. “I enjoyed the fragmentation…Sometimes you can’t fight your nature.” Hall’s The Physics of Imaginary Objects won the Drue Heinz Literature Prize, one of the nation’s most prestigious awards for a book of short stories in 2010.
In her review, novelist Kamila Shamsie ’94 described The Snow Collectors as “eerie, atmospheric, and unexpected,” saying, “this gorgeously written book grips hold of you from the first page and doesn’t let go.”
According to Foreword Reviews, “The Snow Collectors is an unusual mystery whose quirks are worth giving in to.” It was named the book review website’s “Book of the Day” for Feb. 27.
In an interview featured recently on The Rumpus, Hall discussed the book and her creative process with Visiting Assistant Professor of Literature and Creative Writing Anne Valente.
