Snake-Eater by T. Kingfisher

Book Review

Pauline Morgan

It is easy to imagine that spirits exist in unexpected places like forests and deserts where the mark of mankind has barely touched. Even in these places, modern folk would probably dismiss the idea. Selena is a city woman suddenly plunged into a place where spirits exist. Believing in them is not easy.

            Selena has been in controlling relationships her entire life and has come to believe that she is worthless. Her mother is so totally immersed in religion that anything Selena does that is wrong, or that she doesn’t approve of, is influenced by the devil, frequently telling her daughter she has a demon inside her. Selena did manage to get away from her control by going to college, going home as little as she could get away with. When she took up with Walter, the relationship seemed to work well at the start – he appeared to understand her. He always said that he was correcting her because he wanted to help her be better. It sapped her confidence, making her socially awkward.

            The turning point comes when Selena’s mother dies. She has to go and make all the arrangements for the funeral. She is on her own, except for her dog, Copper. It gives her a taste of freedom, and instead of going back to Walter, she gets on a train to visit her Aunt Amelia.

            Amelia lives in an historic town of Quartz Creek on the edge of the Sonoran desert. She has very little money, no way to get back home again, and discovers that her aunt died a year ago. She doesn’t know what to do, but is told that as next of kin, she can stay in Amelia’s house, which has the strange name of Jackrabbit Hole House. She thinks she is only going to stay until she can find a way of getting enough money for her train fare. She is befriended by Grandma Billy, her nearest neighbour, and Father Aguirre, the town’s catholic priest. While she keeps telling herself she is not staying, Grandma Billy encourages her to plant the garden with squashes. Gradually, she realises that there are strange things in the desert, and a squash spirit starts visiting the garden. Most of these spirits are harmless. Snake-eater isn’t.

            Snake-eater is a spirit that has the form of a roadrunner. It is not a cartoon character but resembles a small dinosaur. Selena is unsettled by the bird watching her, then leaving rattlesnakes on her doorstep. It attacks her, trying to get into the house. Reading Amelia’s journals, she discovers something of the relationship between her aunt and snake-eater. With Grandma Billy and Father Aguirre’s help, she has to unravel the reasons for the spirit’s behaviour and find a way to stop it.

            The three of them, Grandma Billy, Father Aguirre, and Selena are delightfully off-beat characters. None of them are entirely what they seem to be. Selena in particular grows during the novel, finding a confidence in herself that has been suppressed for so long. There are horror elements, but they add to the development of the plot being scary rather than blood splattering. This is a beautifully crafted novel and a step away from Kingfisher’s usual retelling of fairy stories. It is powerfully written and highly recommended.