It's a pleasure to read a book about snow during the humid months of summer, and when the book is Orhan Pamuk's fascinating novel about a poet's return to a snowy city in Turkey, the pleasure is sharply heightened. There are many strands of story in "Snow", including the failed marital relationship of Ka and Ipek, the wearing of head scarves in Turkey, and the larger issue of a citizen's response to political domination and change. All are woven into a tale which features Pamuk's humor and wonderful use of language. Somehow, though, I think that the sensual descriptions of snow - its softness, its peacefulness, "the large snowflakes floating so elegantly through the air... the silence of the snow-packed side streets... the beautiful snow-covered Russian houses and the oleanders..." will linger long after other aspects of this story have faded. (SR2007)