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3.75 AVERAGE
3.75 AVERAGE
This book meets criteria for literary fiction as well as historical fiction. It is set in 18th century northern Sweden, Lappland. The crown is sending peasants from the south to move into Lapp (now called Sami) territory in what are familiar patterns of colonialism. The nomadic Lapps herded reindeer and followed an animist religion. Their Christianization and eroding of their territory were central to the Crown's vision. Set in a time when the king of Sweden Charles XII spent most of his lifetime out of the country waging war for Swedish control of the Baltic. The Swedish people were burdened with crippling taxes, and most of the men forced into the army.
The heroine Maija, her husband Paava, and two daughters move from Finland to Swedish to occupy a homestead Paava's uncle has abandoned. The homestead is in the shadow of a mountain that is believed to hold an evil power over the area. The locals and the priest see it as the place the devil lives. There is a murder which Maija is the first to decry as that. As winter approaches, and the family is low on money, Paava returns to the coast to work leaving his family alone in the wilderness outside to the settlement where a few families live.
The book tells the story of the struggles against multiple evils, some among the locals, of the Lapp people to keep on, and Maija and her daughters to survive a brutal winter. Maija is descended from women with powers that Christianity rejects but the Lapps recognize. Her daughter Frederika has inherited these powers, and comes to recognize and cultivate them. The story maintains a balance between the realities of a brutal winter, life under a sometimes brutal king, and suggestions of other powers without slipping into the realm of fantasy. Instead the reader feels this was the worldview of Swedes and Lapps of the time. The story is threaded with suspense until the very end.
The heroine Maija, her husband Paava, and two daughters move from Finland to Swedish to occupy a homestead Paava's uncle has abandoned. The homestead is in the shadow of a mountain that is believed to hold an evil power over the area. The locals and the priest see it as the place the devil lives. There is a murder which Maija is the first to decry as that. As winter approaches, and the family is low on money, Paava returns to the coast to work leaving his family alone in the wilderness outside to the settlement where a few families live.
The book tells the story of the struggles against multiple evils, some among the locals, of the Lapp people to keep on, and Maija and her daughters to survive a brutal winter. Maija is descended from women with powers that Christianity rejects but the Lapps recognize. Her daughter Frederika has inherited these powers, and comes to recognize and cultivate them. The story maintains a balance between the realities of a brutal winter, life under a sometimes brutal king, and suggestions of other powers without slipping into the realm of fantasy. Instead the reader feels this was the worldview of Swedes and Lapps of the time. The story is threaded with suspense until the very end.
There were so many things that immediately appealed to me when I first found this book and was determined to have a hard copy for my shelves. For example, the cover is incredibly simple yet very effective and I find it quite striking and eerie - a perfect accompaniment to the story within. Secondly, the synopsis for the novel really pulled me in and made it one of those books that I instantly had to bump to the top of my teetering TBR. In the end, I really enjoyed this debut novel from Cecilia Ekbäck, it is filled with suspense, is dramatic and atmospheric and has a sort of quiet dread or menace throughout the narrative that constantly thrilled and delighted me as I made my way through the story.
Our main character is Maija who comes to settle on the foreboding Blackåsen Mountain with her husband Paavo and her two daughters, Frederika and Dorotea. In the harsh climate of Swedish Lapland in 1717, each day surviving, foraging for food and maintaining their shelter in the harshest of conditions is a bonus and there is no room for idleness or hesitation when navigating through the ice, wind and snow. There are only five other homes on the mountain, the neighbours tend to keep to themselves and it is rare to see another person out and about on the land that isn't your own family. When Frederika makes the shocking discovery of the body of Eriksson, one of their neighbours whilst herding goats one day, her whole world is turned upside down. The attack is put down to wolves but Maija is certain that no wolf on earth could have made the marks that present themselves on Eriksson's body. Furthermore, when she tries to voice her worries she meets a wall of silence, not only from the other surrounding neighbours but from the authorities in the village down from the mountain. Someone out there is determined that secrets should stay buried and this may not bode well for Maija if she carries on fighting in pursuit of justice.
This is such a beautiful piece of Scandinavian fiction that I thoroughly enjoyed. I loved the historical setting and the mystery behind Eriksson's death but what I loved most of all was the lyrical writing and the entire atmosphere of the novel which was set up so gorgeously I could almost feel the ice cold temperatures and the bitter wind as I was reading. Strong female characters are always an added benefit to a narrative and Cecilia Ekbäck treats us to two in the form of Maija and her daughter Frederika who were wonderfully persistent and brave and in Frederika's case, wise beyond her years. I was also overjoyed by the superstitious elements that characterised parts of this novel which only served to make the setting bleaker, darker and infinitely more intriguing. It has an intricate plot, plenty of surprises along the way and is written so gorgeously that I could see myself reading it over and over again. I'll certainly be watching out (with gleeful anticipation) for what this author does next.
For my full review and many more please visit my blog at http://www.bibliobeth.com
Our main character is Maija who comes to settle on the foreboding Blackåsen Mountain with her husband Paavo and her two daughters, Frederika and Dorotea. In the harsh climate of Swedish Lapland in 1717, each day surviving, foraging for food and maintaining their shelter in the harshest of conditions is a bonus and there is no room for idleness or hesitation when navigating through the ice, wind and snow. There are only five other homes on the mountain, the neighbours tend to keep to themselves and it is rare to see another person out and about on the land that isn't your own family. When Frederika makes the shocking discovery of the body of Eriksson, one of their neighbours whilst herding goats one day, her whole world is turned upside down. The attack is put down to wolves but Maija is certain that no wolf on earth could have made the marks that present themselves on Eriksson's body. Furthermore, when she tries to voice her worries she meets a wall of silence, not only from the other surrounding neighbours but from the authorities in the village down from the mountain. Someone out there is determined that secrets should stay buried and this may not bode well for Maija if she carries on fighting in pursuit of justice.
This is such a beautiful piece of Scandinavian fiction that I thoroughly enjoyed. I loved the historical setting and the mystery behind Eriksson's death but what I loved most of all was the lyrical writing and the entire atmosphere of the novel which was set up so gorgeously I could almost feel the ice cold temperatures and the bitter wind as I was reading. Strong female characters are always an added benefit to a narrative and Cecilia Ekbäck treats us to two in the form of Maija and her daughter Frederika who were wonderfully persistent and brave and in Frederika's case, wise beyond her years. I was also overjoyed by the superstitious elements that characterised parts of this novel which only served to make the setting bleaker, darker and infinitely more intriguing. It has an intricate plot, plenty of surprises along the way and is written so gorgeously that I could see myself reading it over and over again. I'll certainly be watching out (with gleeful anticipation) for what this author does next.
For my full review and many more please visit my blog at http://www.bibliobeth.com
This novel, set in the Swedish Lapland in the early 1700′s, surprised me. The rural settlers in the story discover a dead man while moving their goats to a different pasture and mysterious happenings and supernatural events begin to accumulate. It was spooky–not in a cheesy way–and the ending was perfect. It could have benefited from more rigorous editing (there were slower portions that could have been cut or condensed) but I enjoyed how different this was from what I’ve read lately.
So my mammy's friend lent me this book because she'd read it through her book club and thought I might be interested in it, and I can see why this is such a good choice for a book club, even if it wasn't really my thing. The story is something like Arthur Miller's 'The Crucible' meets Marcus Sedgwick's 'Revolver', it's a story about uncertainty and the fear that comes in small, isolated communities from uncertainty. It's actually really well written, in that the reader feels the same kind of confusion and frustration as events unfold as the characters do mirroring their journey of unsettled uncertainty. The author is from Sweden and her parents are from Lapland and it was actually pretty fabulous to read something obviously so enriched with her childhood memories of Sweden. Unfortunately, the book just didn't grip me, I prefer faster moving plots and the glacial (both figurative and literal) uncertain pace of this book didn't do it for me. However, I thought it was only fair that I write a review so that people would know what to expect from what is a book with depth, which unfortunately just didn't suit my personal tastes and so ended up getting one star.
Happy reading folks, always happy to take/give recommendations as always.
Book love,
Grace
Happy reading folks, always happy to take/give recommendations as always.
Book love,
Grace
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
“A being was either strong enough to hold their ground, or they became small and bottomless and started feeding on themselves.”
Wolf Winter by Cecilia Ekbäck is the story behind the people that live under the Blackåsen Mountain. There is a strange history attached to this small village of people and when a man is found mysterious dead by two young girls, it produces varied reactions from the family members. The girls can’t help but become involved in finding the truth behind this man’s death which although appears as one by a bear or wolf may well have been by a man.
I chose to read this book because I was looking for a chilling thriller to read this month. I enjoy reading noir stories based in Scandinavia so this one was the ideal choice. There is so much mystery behind the settlers under the mountain and ways of the old and mythology are discussed as well as elements of the possible supernatural. The atmospheric prose gave height to the intense moments leading up to the discovery of the truth behind this man’s death.
The characters within this story represent well the life during 1717 in the Swedish Lapland. It feels cleverly researched by the author in that respect and is presented exactly how it feels like it should have been back then. There are several families living here however the focus is on the two girls that found the body and their mother and father who are recent settlers. The mother is very curious and is aware of a “gift” she posses which gives her doubt towards the ill fate of the dead man. There is also the priest who doest seem to care about the death and the deceased’s brother who laughs when he finds out about his death too.
All in all this story is a whirl wind. There are many twists and turns before clarity is given as to what happened. The layout of the story makes it very easy to fly through with the short chapters. An intense who done it story with beautiful chilling and disturbing atmosphere, a definite book id recommend.
Wolf Winter by Cecilia Ekbäck is the story behind the people that live under the Blackåsen Mountain. There is a strange history attached to this small village of people and when a man is found mysterious dead by two young girls, it produces varied reactions from the family members. The girls can’t help but become involved in finding the truth behind this man’s death which although appears as one by a bear or wolf may well have been by a man.
I chose to read this book because I was looking for a chilling thriller to read this month. I enjoy reading noir stories based in Scandinavia so this one was the ideal choice. There is so much mystery behind the settlers under the mountain and ways of the old and mythology are discussed as well as elements of the possible supernatural. The atmospheric prose gave height to the intense moments leading up to the discovery of the truth behind this man’s death.
The characters within this story represent well the life during 1717 in the Swedish Lapland. It feels cleverly researched by the author in that respect and is presented exactly how it feels like it should have been back then. There are several families living here however the focus is on the two girls that found the body and their mother and father who are recent settlers. The mother is very curious and is aware of a “gift” she posses which gives her doubt towards the ill fate of the dead man. There is also the priest who doest seem to care about the death and the deceased’s brother who laughs when he finds out about his death too.
All in all this story is a whirl wind. There are many twists and turns before clarity is given as to what happened. The layout of the story makes it very easy to fly through with the short chapters. An intense who done it story with beautiful chilling and disturbing atmosphere, a definite book id recommend.
Excellent read. Magic realism with a murder mystery coupled with historical fiction.
The setting is very well described, almost palpable. It's dark and cold, it makes people come together yet they are all alone.
The main characters (Maija and her two daughters, and the priest) were pretty good. What I liked most is that they are written almost in that same limited POV of Martin, where we do get inside a character's head, but only what they allow us to see. They're fallible and make mistakes (some with really harsh consequences). What one sees the other doesn't, and so on. They see things their way and there's nothing in the narrative spoon feeding otherwise.
There's also a lot of implicit messages and other nuances happening. You can miss or catch it.
I felt the murder mystery wasn't that strong, as we don't really spend much time with the other settlers to take guesses and such.
What bought me were the challenges of living in such a place, specially in one of the worst winters,. Found it really gripping. And all the theme of secrets that people have and are kept within. Of fears and what we do to control or run away from them. How easy is for even the most reasonable person to lose it or fall back to superstitions.
And of course, there are things much worse and deeper running in Blackasen Mountain than the murder mystery.
And lastly, this is not a happy book. I wanted more time with those characters, specially how they change or what happens to some of them at the end, even if just for the curiosity to see how they would hold up and move forward and what would happen next.
The setting is very well described, almost palpable. It's dark and cold, it makes people come together yet they are all alone.
The main characters (Maija and her two daughters, and the priest) were pretty good. What I liked most is that they are written almost in that same limited POV of Martin, where we do get inside a character's head, but only what they allow us to see. They're fallible and make mistakes (some with really harsh consequences). What one sees the other doesn't, and so on. They see things their way and there's nothing in the narrative spoon feeding otherwise.
There's also a lot of implicit messages and other nuances happening. You can miss or catch it.
I felt the murder mystery wasn't that strong, as we don't really spend much time with the other settlers to take guesses and such.
What bought me were the challenges of living in such a place, specially in one of the worst winters,. Found it really gripping. And all the theme of secrets that people have and are kept within. Of fears and what we do to control or run away from them. How easy is for even the most reasonable person to lose it or fall back to superstitions.
And of course, there are things much worse and deeper running in Blackasen Mountain than the murder mystery.
And lastly, this is not a happy book. I wanted more time with those characters, specially how they change or what happens to some of them at the end, even if just for the curiosity to see how they would hold up and move forward and what would happen next.
I truly enjoyed this book. It was twisting and turning and made me stop and think many times. It's not common for a book to make me stop and think. I like murder mysteries, but this was far beyond that- it was a true tale deploying court intrigue, settler simplicity, and religious awakenings in a way that is not commonly seen. A fantastic novel indeed.