THE BLURB
Father and Son, Landyn and Vale Midwinter, are men of the land. Suffolk farmers. Times are hard and they struggle to sustain their property, their livelihood and their heritage in the face of competition from big business.
But an even bigger, more brutal fight is brewing: a fight between each other, about the horrible death of Cecelia, beloved wife and mother, in Zambia ten years earlier. A past they have both refused to confront until now.
Over the course of a particularly mauling Suffolk winter, Landyn and Vale grapple with their memories and their pain, raking over what remains of their fragile family unit, constantly at odds and under threat of falling apart forever. While Vale makes increasingly desperate decisions, Landyn retreats, finding solace in the land, his animals – and a fox who haunts the farm and seems to bring with her both comfort and protection.
Alive to language and nature, Midwinter is a novel about guilt, blame and lost opportunities. Ultimately it is a story about love and the lengths we will go to find our way home.
Publisher; Corsair Author Website; https://fionamelrose.com/ Quick Links to Buy; Amazon UK Hive.co.uk – buy online and support your local bookstore Book Depository Waterstones MY REVIEW This is a stunning looking book and one of those stories that slowly creeps into your soul as you watch over these 2 men who are struggling to come to terms with grief and the loss they both feel.The father and son aspect worked really well as the story tells of how they both deal – not very well! – in their lives with so many emotions bubbling up after the loss of their loved one. They’ve tried to avoid their feelings over the years and it reaches a point where their relationship is suffering as they both take their anger out on the wrong people.
Not only are they struggling with their personal lives, but they’re struggling in their work lives too on the farm and this book really captures the hard times they both face and how they need to confront the sadness and work together to keep a hold of their lives and sanity.
I found this took a little while to get into but once I’d learnt more of the characters I was soon under the spell and it was often a brutal but heart wrenching read made more fascinating by the emotions of men, not used to sharing their feelings, being explored. Stunning and beautifully written read. Advertisements Share this:
