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3.75 AVERAGE
3.75 AVERAGE
This took me a month to read, but that is in no way a reflection of its quality. On the contrary, it is so vividly written that I sometimes could not continue reading for fear of what was coming. A great story, with great characters struggling to find their way in the coldest of cold winters. Excellent read.
"Like a silent fall of snow; suddenly, the reader is enveloped... visually acute, skilfully written; it won't easily erase its tracks in the reader's mind." So writes Hilary Mantel in the scare quote on the front cover of this edition.
Cecilia Ekbäck has created a remarkable world in this strange and haunting novel. Part whodunnit, part coming-of-age story, part morality play, set in 1717 Swedish Lapland. Six homesteads are dotted around the looming Blackåsen Mountain. Settlers tell tales of the mountain: it was sacred to the indigenous Lapps before the Swedish Church demanded they renounce their "old ways". People have gone missing. And now two girls have found one of the settlers dead upon it. The other settlers say it must have been a wolf.
The girls' family has only just arrived from Ostrobothnia, on the eastern shore of the Gulf of Bothnia. They are Finns. Paavo was a fisherman. Maija has a past too. Their daughters' grisly find launches Maija on a quest for the truth. What wolf wields a rapier?
Secrets reveal themselves like snowdrops. Something unspeakable is happening around Blackåsen. And there are people who want it to stay hidden...
Cecilia Ekbäck has created a remarkable world in this strange and haunting novel. Part whodunnit, part coming-of-age story, part morality play, set in 1717 Swedish Lapland. Six homesteads are dotted around the looming Blackåsen Mountain. Settlers tell tales of the mountain: it was sacred to the indigenous Lapps before the Swedish Church demanded they renounce their "old ways". People have gone missing. And now two girls have found one of the settlers dead upon it. The other settlers say it must have been a wolf.
The girls' family has only just arrived from Ostrobothnia, on the eastern shore of the Gulf of Bothnia. They are Finns. Paavo was a fisherman. Maija has a past too. Their daughters' grisly find launches Maija on a quest for the truth. What wolf wields a rapier?
Secrets reveal themselves like snowdrops. Something unspeakable is happening around Blackåsen. And there are people who want it to stay hidden...
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
See my review here: https://whatmeread.wordpress.com/2015/11/05/day-801-wolf-winter/
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Interessantes Setting in Eis und Schnee, ich mochte auch die Erzähltechnik und hätte mir nur ein strenges, historisch kompetentes Lektorat gewünscht. Es gab viele Stellen, an denen mein Glaube an die Fiktion bröckelte wegen Fragen wie "wo kommt diese Wolle denn her, die da versponnen wird", "wurden schwedische Betten im 18. Jahrhundert wirklich so gemacht wie nordamerikanische heute", "woher kommt das ganze Licht", "wer hat so viel Geld für Kerzen", "tragen die da wirklich nur 1 Kleid mitten im Winter", "was gibt es zu essen", "wieso wird da der Tisch gedeckt, womit denn", "wieso faltet die Mutter einen Stapel Kleidung, sind die Leute denn reich?", "wieso lungern die Töchter immer nur rum, bis die Mutter ihnen Arbeitsaufträge gibt", "warum reden und denken alle so modern". Es liest sich so, als hätte die Autorin immer da, wo sie nicht Bescheid wusste, auf der Basis von Gegenwartspraktiken improvisiert.
I loved this book. I don't know what it was in it that really touched me. Even now, after months of finishing the book, it still remains somehow in me, in particular Maija, one of the main characters: a strong Finnish woman in the 16th century Lapland.
The characters, the ambiance, and the storyline make this a really enjoyable read.
The characters, the ambiance, and the storyline make this a really enjoyable read.
Atmospheric, dark and foreboding, rich and layered. Ekback's 1717-set crime novel (somebody has been murdered on a remote Scandinavian mountain) grabs the dark of a Nordic winter by its throat and sinks its teeth in deep. Is it witchcraft? The mysterious Laplanders? One of the troubled farmers? The book is so steeped in this other world that you forget at times that it's really a pretty straightforward mystery novel. The right setting makes all the difference, though, and Ekback's setting is oh-so-right. A great book to snuggle up by the fire with.
3/5
The book felt a little slow during the middle and then the ending came all in a rush. There wasn't enough time after things got wrapped up to leave me feeling satisfied. So much was unwoven at the very end it was a little jarring. And some things didn't get conclusions which felt a bit frustrating when the author did wrap up some things.
The book felt a little slow during the middle and then the ending came all in a rush. There wasn't enough time after things got wrapped up to leave me feeling satisfied. So much was unwoven at the very end it was a little jarring. And some things didn't get conclusions which felt a bit frustrating when the author did wrap up some things.