The Snow Queen

The author of The Hours scales back in this chamber piece about two brothers: Tyler, a drug-addicted songwriter caring for his ill girlfriend, and Barrett, a middle-aged romantic who turns to religion after seeing an apparition. You can always expect gorgeous prose from Cunningham, and his latest is a keenly perceptive story of family, aging, and the inexplicable. But for fans of his writing, it’s like a stopgap between more satisfying works. B