Book Review: Snowflake
I love a play; I love that they’re a quick read, but a lot is packed into them. Drama waits for no man, and it’s also a chance to read different dramatic types and genres reimagined for the stage. Also, as a former theatre kid, it’s nice to keep in touch with my roots. This week’s play is a look at a father-daughter relationship, a gleaming look at a generational gap of opinions, ideas and attitudes to the opposite sex. Snowflake is a term that is now a few years old; I don’t think the current TikTok generation uses it nowadays. I’m not a hundred per cent sure if people my age were considered snowflakes because of how angry, upset or ‘overly dramatic’ we were about things going on… like poverty and Brexit (we are still mad about both!) And besides, this was before Covid, and I think the whole ‘snowflake’ malarkey went out of the window. So this play is very much of its time.
Andy is a dad of 43, and of a particular generation; his daughter Maya has not been home in years. In fact, she hasn’t even spoken to him in years. Andy has no idea why and no idea what he has done to drive his only child away. However, it is Christmas, and he is hoping for a miracle, and maybe one might be happening. Maya is coming home. It’s a chance. A chance to chat, to speak and clear the air. It’s a toss-up to see or hear how it goes. Nothing is as it seems, nor is it what is expected of Andy. That being said, I could see where this play was heading. It explored the idea of being a ‘snowflake’, which, according to ye olde reliable ‘Urban Dictionary’, is “A very sensitive person. Someone who is easily hurt or offended by the statements or actions of others” and once upon a time, à la 2018, this was probably true. It was a whole thing; if you were at university, school or college at the time, then if you dared to show any sort of emotion, you were immediately dubbed a ‘snowflake’. What a time to be alive. I’m also glad it’s over. A lot of things have happened since. Like, you know… a global pandemic and people were dying. But yes, I’m a SnOwFlaKe.
Can I say that this is the best play I have ever read? No. I found the character of Andy kind of a 3-D-printed man containing all the stereotypes of men from that generation. I was searching for depth. But what I do like about Andy, which is where I think he differs, is that he is open to conversation. He is open to wondering what he did wrong. A lot of men his generation would have been like ‘Oh, so I’M the BAD GUY’. Maya is fine. Could kinda relate but not really. I do remember being that young and idealistic, but it gets old pretty quickly as you move through life, and therefore her idealism kinda made me mad. But I wouldn’t call her a snowflake; maybe Andy. But not Maya.
Take it or leave it, this play was alright. I don’t see it coming back to the West End anytime soon, but I do see it being studied in a GCSE drama class. And I mean that in a good way.