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3.75 AVERAGE
3.75 AVERAGE
dark
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Pedophilia
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
While this is full of atmosphere - set in the Artic circle in the 17th Century, amid scattered settlers and Sami hovering between Christianity and shaminism, the story is firmly in the crime genre, presenting us with a small group of suspects, all with various intrigues and motives (enough twists so that there are always some you haven't seen coming). The exploration of this moment in time is also very enjoyable, maybe more so because the author lets her characters experience, rather than critique, it. I enjoyed it a great deal, and was quick to pre-order the next one.
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Really gave me Damnation Spring vibes by Ash Davidson with alternating main character perspectives but Ekbäck's writing style is a bit less descriptive, ethereal, and mystical. Ekbäck's writing is almost too vague to the point where I found myself missing important plot points and had to double back and re-read. I did enjoy the setting and theme as it was the first book that I've read that's set in a Scandinavian country in the 1700s.
I was approved an ARC of this book by the publishers via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This review in its entirety was originally posted at eclectictales.com: http://www.eclectictales.com/blog/2015/11/03/review-wolf-winter/
The atmosphere of the novel definitely reminds me of Hannah Kent’s Burial Rites: that sense of isolation and stillness, the haunting mysteriousness of the cold landscape. Maija and her daughters endured much over the course of that winter, on top of the mystery concerning the mysterious and eerie death of Eriksson. It’s the perfect setting for a mystery and a character drama.
The story itself had a bit of a slow start despite of its powerful opening of finding Eriksson’s lifeless body as the relationships of the characters and their respective situations were established. It was interesting in order to understand where these characters are coming from–especially as the story progresses–but I felt it meandered a little too long before turning back to the main story. It’s a tale of twists and turns, with political maneuverings and hints of the supernatural playing a role in Maija and Frederika’s respective investigations into Eriksson’s mysterious death and its effect on the community. Interwoven throughout is the changes happening within Maija’s family as Paavo goes off to work at the coast for the winter and Frederika is transitioning to adolescence and Maija finds herself unable to keep up with the changes.
These are all excellent story threads and kept me turning the page–the reveal about the priest, Olaus, was unexpected–and provided complexity to the mystery of Eriksson’s death. However, I felt the novel ended rather abruptly. There was the reveal behind Eriksson’s death and the reason behind it, as well as hints on the general directions of where the characters go after the last page, but I felt it could’ve used a few more scenes at the end to wrap things up. I felt especially dissatisfied with the resolution to Maija and Frederika’s mother-daughter relationship; does it improve afterwards or does it remain at stalemate forever?
Overall though I enjoyed reading Wolf Winter. The desolation of the story and the landscape really came to life and it had its lyrical moments to compliment the sparceness of the atmosphere. The climax and wrap-up of the story left me wanting, but for the most part kept me glued to the story once the narrative took off. I would recommend this book for readers who enjoy mystery in their historical fiction and who enjoy books set in the Scandinavian countries.
The atmosphere of the novel definitely reminds me of Hannah Kent’s Burial Rites: that sense of isolation and stillness, the haunting mysteriousness of the cold landscape. Maija and her daughters endured much over the course of that winter, on top of the mystery concerning the mysterious and eerie death of Eriksson. It’s the perfect setting for a mystery and a character drama.
The story itself had a bit of a slow start despite of its powerful opening of finding Eriksson’s lifeless body as the relationships of the characters and their respective situations were established. It was interesting in order to understand where these characters are coming from–especially as the story progresses–but I felt it meandered a little too long before turning back to the main story. It’s a tale of twists and turns, with political maneuverings and hints of the supernatural playing a role in Maija and Frederika’s respective investigations into Eriksson’s mysterious death and its effect on the community. Interwoven throughout is the changes happening within Maija’s family as Paavo goes off to work at the coast for the winter and Frederika is transitioning to adolescence and Maija finds herself unable to keep up with the changes.
These are all excellent story threads and kept me turning the page–the reveal about the priest, Olaus, was unexpected–and provided complexity to the mystery of Eriksson’s death. However, I felt the novel ended rather abruptly. There was the reveal behind Eriksson’s death and the reason behind it, as well as hints on the general directions of where the characters go after the last page, but I felt it could’ve used a few more scenes at the end to wrap things up. I felt especially dissatisfied with the resolution to Maija and Frederika’s mother-daughter relationship; does it improve afterwards or does it remain at stalemate forever?
Overall though I enjoyed reading Wolf Winter. The desolation of the story and the landscape really came to life and it had its lyrical moments to compliment the sparceness of the atmosphere. The climax and wrap-up of the story left me wanting, but for the most part kept me glued to the story once the narrative took off. I would recommend this book for readers who enjoy mystery in their historical fiction and who enjoy books set in the Scandinavian countries.
I really liked the descriptions of Sweden in 1717--how the land was, how the people lived. I enjoyed pretty much all the characters, their struggles and dilemmas. But I found toward the end that I was tired and maybe puzzled by the mystical side of things. I don't think the questions about the rightness or wrongness, the reality or unreality, the religious or the rational discussion quite made sense to me.
dark, compelling, highly spiritual, a good read for long lonely nights or at a time around the halloween :)
a kind of a historical "scandinavian noir" type of a novel
unique in many ways
a kind of a historical "scandinavian noir" type of a novel
unique in many ways
See the locations in the book here
A book as evocative as this takes you to that place and immerses you in the landscape so much that you can feel the windchill, the eerie silence, the evil in the air as you linger at the King’s Throne.
The lifestyle and belief system of the people in the settlements helps to draw the bigger picture – from how birds carry the souls of the dead, to the more lighthearted moments of the Midsummer tradition of putting flowers under your bed to make you dream of your husband to be.
The writing does the rest – poetic, visual and well, just read this about snow –
By late afternoon the snowflakes that float in the air above the mountain are as big as Lapp mittens, as soft as the wool closest to the sheep’s heart.
The earth, the soil and the weather are all characters here which makes the world that Cecilia paints so enchanting – eerie and cold at times as lets not forget there has been a man killed on the mountain. And one women’s determination to prove it was no wolf or bear is admirable and impressive.
I left this book wanting more - of the characters I’d met – the Lapps/the Sami, of Maija and her family, of the others who live on those homesteads.
It was all so uniquely done. Blackåsen mountain will stay with me for a long while yet.