A.L. Kennedy

Charming lessons in life, death and kindness . . . Hugely moving' Observer This is the story of Mary, a young girl born in a beautiful city full of rose gardens and fluttering kites. When she is still very small, Mary meets Lanmo, a shining golden snake, who becomes her very best friend. The snake visits Mary many times, he sees her grow and her city change, as bombs drop and war creeps in. Lanmo wonders, can having a friend possibly be worth the pain of knowing you will lose them?

The Little Snake

A. L. Kennedy

"Some time ago, perhaps before you were even born, a young girl was walking in her garden. She may have been called Mary - that's what most of the stories say. Mary was a little bit taller than the other girls her age and had brownish crinkly hair. She was quite thin, because she didn't always have exactly enough to eat. She liked honey and whistling and the colour blue and finding out." This is the story of Mary, a young girl born in a beautiful city full of rose gardens and fluttering kites. When she is still very small, Mary meets Lanmo, a shining golden snake, who becomes her very best friend. The snake visits Mary many times, he sees her city change, become sadder as bombs drop and war creeps in. He sees Mary and her family leave their home, he sees her grow up and he sees her fall in love. But Lanmo knows that the day will come when he can no longer visit Mary, when his destiny will break them apart, and he wonders whether having a friend can possibly be worth the pain of knowing you will lose them.

maitha mana

Heartwarming and short read of a snake that befriends a young girl, and accompanies her throughout her life stages, offering his view on humans, love, and war.

A magical, charming and deeply moving fable about the journey we all take through life, how we live in this world, and how we leave it

ivan

The Little Snake is a book that transcends age barriers in a sense. It's short and well woven that you could read this in bits and pieces as a bed time story, or to keep yourself awake during a commute. If you do the latter, proceed with caution, as it's hard to keep your emotions after reading this.

Telling a tale between a very clever girl named Mary and her very beautiful, one of a kind best friend, Lanmo, it does not shy away from life, death, loss, and love (all forms of it). It's beautifully told and in a way that keeps your attention throughout every single page. The only thing I didn't enjoy about this is that I did not prepare myself emotionally beforehand.

Suffice to say, it was beautiful. I loved it. So here's a few quotes that made me scream (in my head. Couldn't do it to a hospital waiting room)

"[...] sometimes magnificent lies are much easier to believe than boring truths [...]"

"why should you be guilty when I have forgiven you and I would like you to stay" I don't know, but I think that is how being guilty works."

"Love is a terrible thing."
"So it seems."
"But it is also wonderful."
"Perhaps."

Moray Lyle McIntosh

For one thing, the concept is not new. While Lanmo's physical form is original the idea behind his character forming a friendship with a human, in this case a child called Mary, has been done many times before. On the surface it's a sweet story that addresses love, friendship and death but I found its very simplicity problematic.
 
The fable format can be very powerful but its tendency to cast the world in black and white means that it requires some delicacy to avoid becoming dogmatic and prescriptive. I found this to be both. While I share the fundamental views of AL Kennedy about wealth, big business and the state of our schools, presented in this story they become too simplistic and no room for subtlety and the same happens to the characters. Wealthy People are Bad, Attractive Girls are Uninteresting Bullies, Schools are only interested in Correct Answers. I'm exaggerating but only a little. Lines such as "'Ffuh,' said the Very Attractive Girl. We won't bother with her name. She isn't nice." and "You will find that all of the girls like you now, although you will discover that most of them are boring to speak with and quite unpleasant" made me wince.

The Little Snake

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