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3.75 AVERAGE
3.75 AVERAGE
What a perfect cold weather read. Dark and spooky and what evil lies in the hearts of men but with a layer of Scandinavian silence laid over it all. Plus colonization and Christianization of Indigenous Lapps.
CW: Church scandals, dead animals and people, starvation
CW: Church scandals, dead animals and people, starvation
I loved this book! Eckbaeck's voice is wonderfully different, her characters (particularly the main female characters) are so well delineated, and the scene-setting and story telling are extremely vivid. I want to know more about these people ... wish there were a sequel (or prequel)!
Ratings (1 to 5)
Writing: 4
Plot: 4
Characters: 4
Emotional impact: 4
Overall rating: 4
Writing: 4
Plot: 4
Characters: 4
Emotional impact: 4
Overall rating: 4
I picked up "Wolf Winter" without knowing anything. The book is hard to categorize: It is part mystery, but it is not a mystery novel in the way of Agatha Christie, Tony Hillerman, P.D. James, etc. There is magic but not enough to call it a fantasy novel (and by no means urban fantasy which often combines mystery and fantasy). Readers picking the book up expecting a straight mystery or fantasy may be disappointed. Readers who like a Dickensian ending -- all tied up with the reader learning the fate of each character -- may also be disappointed as the book leaves a lot of lose ends. Personally, I really enjoyed "Wolf Winter."
'Wolf winter' is now also used to describe the darkest of times in a human being's life - the kind of period that imprints on you that you are mortal and, at the end of the day, always alone.
Set in 1717 Lapland, this book is dark. Really dark (literally and figuratively). I got this from the lovely Mr B's in Bath, recommended by Emma. In some ways it's similar to Burial Rites, which I absolutely loved.
This is a really quick review, but I'd definitely recommend it. It encapsulates the loneliness of that lifestyle so vividly, and the harshness of small communities. The supernatural part can be taken or left, which I like; it leaves the reader more scope to read it on their own terms. It's the atmosphere that made it for me. I'd like to look out for more from this author... we'll see.
Set in 1717 Lapland, this book is dark. Really dark (literally and figuratively). I got this from the lovely Mr B's in Bath, recommended by Emma. In some ways it's similar to Burial Rites, which I absolutely loved.
This is a really quick review, but I'd definitely recommend it. It encapsulates the loneliness of that lifestyle so vividly, and the harshness of small communities. The supernatural part can be taken or left, which I like; it leaves the reader more scope to read it on their own terms. It's the atmosphere that made it for me. I'd like to look out for more from this author... we'll see.
4.75 stars's! Set in the Swedish Lapland in 1717, this story is haunting. I was drawn in from the beginning. This book is part historic fiction, murder mystery, and paranormal suspense. The author has a way of placing you in the setting. I could feel the cold.
Maija, her husband Paavo and her daughters Frederika and Dorotea move to Blackasen Mountain to flee Paavo's fears. The children discover a dead man who the settlers superstitiously believe was taken by the mountain, but Maija is convinced he was murdered. Paavo leaves the family to earn money in town. Maija and her children are faced with the worst winter the area as seen. The descriptions of the snow storm are absolutely horrifying. Frederika is visited by the dead man and begins to feel a pull from the mountain that she can not ignore. A priest in town has also been asked by the bishop to find out about the murder.
This was a 5 star book all the way through until the end. My only slight complaint is that a lot is revealed very quickly in the end and I needed it to slow down a bit so I could process everything. I loved the strong female characters in this book. I look forward to reading more by this author in the future.
Many thanks to NetGalley for an ARC copy to review.
Maija, her husband Paavo and her daughters Frederika and Dorotea move to Blackasen Mountain to flee Paavo's fears. The children discover a dead man who the settlers superstitiously believe was taken by the mountain, but Maija is convinced he was murdered. Paavo leaves the family to earn money in town. Maija and her children are faced with the worst winter the area as seen. The descriptions of the snow storm are absolutely horrifying. Frederika is visited by the dead man and begins to feel a pull from the mountain that she can not ignore. A priest in town has also been asked by the bishop to find out about the murder.
This was a 5 star book all the way through until the end. My only slight complaint is that a lot is revealed very quickly in the end and I needed it to slow down a bit so I could process everything. I loved the strong female characters in this book. I look forward to reading more by this author in the future.
Many thanks to NetGalley for an ARC copy to review.
This was a read for a readathon that took me much longer to read because of life getting crazy and just finding this a slow read.
I was excited to read a book written by an author from Sweden (I am trying to expand my reads.) Her writing of the setting feels like a true love letter to Sweden/Lapland. Her setting, especially in Wolf Winter, is the strongest part of the novel to me. I absolutely loved it and felt like I was there and could feel the crushing weight of winter. However, everything else moved a bit too slow for me and the characters felt much more modern than historic in this thriller. Overall it was fine, nothing to write home about. Maybe I will one day try another book by this other? But for the time being I finished the story and am giving it three stars.
I was excited to read a book written by an author from Sweden (I am trying to expand my reads.) Her writing of the setting feels like a true love letter to Sweden/Lapland. Her setting, especially in Wolf Winter, is the strongest part of the novel to me. I absolutely loved it and felt like I was there and could feel the crushing weight of winter. However, everything else moved a bit too slow for me and the characters felt much more modern than historic in this thriller. Overall it was fine, nothing to write home about. Maybe I will one day try another book by this other? But for the time being I finished the story and am giving it three stars.
what kind of ending was that!!!!!
this book was so gooooood. it was really atmospheric and it kinda reminds me a little bit of burial rites (which i really loved). Near the ending i was so close to giving this book 5 stars but then so much things got left unresolved, it kind of ended with a cliffhanger and it ruined the perfection.
The thing that bothered me was, what the hell happened with paavo? I thought something bad happened to him but apparently nothing happened to him. Second of all, this book has this black magic-ish kind of feel, but it goes absolutely nowhere. Some things were mentioned, things that felt important but there werent any explanation about them in the end. I really don't know how to explain but it's like it's almost there, but it's not ya dig? I just feel like it just doesn't live up to its potential, i guess?
About the characters: i love maija, she's just really strong and she's determined and i just adore her. To live with just two of her daughter and survived the winter with no one's help? That was amazing. I'm also kind of sad that i don't get to know what's going to happen to the priest because i got really invested to him (especially after i found out he wasn't a priest, after all!) All the characters were amazing, they're not flat and they just feel real to me, and again the atmosphere, man, what a beautiful read.
Would definitely tell all my friends and relatives to read this book.
this book was so gooooood. it was really atmospheric and it kinda reminds me a little bit of burial rites (which i really loved). Near the ending i was so close to giving this book 5 stars but then so much things got left unresolved, it kind of ended with a cliffhanger and it ruined the perfection.
The thing that bothered me was, what the hell happened with paavo? I thought something bad happened to him but apparently nothing happened to him. Second of all, this book has this black magic-ish kind of feel, but it goes absolutely nowhere. Some things were mentioned, things that felt important but there werent any explanation about them in the end. I really don't know how to explain but it's like it's almost there, but it's not ya dig? I just feel like it just doesn't live up to its potential, i guess?
About the characters: i love maija, she's just really strong and she's determined and i just adore her. To live with just two of her daughter and survived the winter with no one's help? That was amazing. I'm also kind of sad that i don't get to know what's going to happen to the priest because i got really invested to him (especially after i found out he wasn't a priest, after all!) All the characters were amazing, they're not flat and they just feel real to me, and again the atmosphere, man, what a beautiful read.
Would definitely tell all my friends and relatives to read this book.
Mixed feelings about this book. I found it hard to create a connection with the characters at first but with time I grew to like and care about some of them.
The author could easily have developed more on the narrative. Instead a lot of things remain unexplained and lives remain hanging.
Undecided between three stars or four stars I opted for the latter.
The author could easily have developed more on the narrative. Instead a lot of things remain unexplained and lives remain hanging.
Undecided between three stars or four stars I opted for the latter.
This was an exquisitely disturbing tale of a family’s survival during their first winter on Blackasen Mountain. The premise alone was enough to get me to pick up the book but the storytelling was what captured me. I was impressed by the slow yet riveting nature of the writing. As I went along, I had many assumptions about what was behind the strange happenings effecting this family. Each one of those assumptions were ripped out from underneath of me by the author. This left me completely enthralled with the mystery surrounding the death of a local resident. Highly recommend!