Our Lady of the Snows

Callaghan, Morley

ISBN 10: 0312590547 / ISBN 13: 9780312590543

Published by St Martins Pr, 1986

About this Item

First Edition. First US edition. Publicity slip laid in. DJ with mild edgewear or bumping. Light shelf wear. Else clean and tight.

Seller Inventory # mon0000123772

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Our Lady of the Snows
• Publisher: St Martins Pr
• Publication Date: 1986
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0312590547
• ISBN 13: 9780312590543
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: 1st Edition
• Condition: Very Good
• Dust Jacket Condition: Includes dust jacket.

About this title

Synopsis

In a story set against the backdrop of a seedy but glamorous Toronto hotel, the author focuses on an extraordinary woman whose life has a profound impact on the lives of everyone she meets

Reviews

Those familiar with the author's previous books (including The Enchanted Pimp, which inspired this slim but character-crowded novel) will find the curiously flat tone here a disappointment. But even when writing at less than his best, Callaghan is still an effective storyteller. The title (taken from Rudyard Kipling's description of Canada) refers to a prostitute whose base of operations is a Toronto hotel where all elements of society mingle: affluent, "respectable" people patronize the bar; ladies of the evening cruise the lobby for pickups. Among the latter, Ilona Tomory is a mysterious Hungarian refugee whose aura of distinction and elegance is epitomized by the full-length mink coat she wears. Ilona has what one character calls the "ancient gift" of compassion and tenderness; the men she selects as her clients find the experience almost sacramental. Fascinated by Ilona, the neighborhood crime boss, Edmund J. Dubuque, decides he will be her manager and introduce her to a classier clientele. As a fable about a whore with a heart of gold and a touch that sanctifies and heals, the story compels interest. Ultimately, however, it eludes credibility; in addition, the descriptive passages are sometimes pedestrian, and the elements of mysticism incongruous. January 27
Copyright 1985 Reed Business Information, Inc.