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3.75 AVERAGE
3.75 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Pedophilia, Sexual violence, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Murder, Pregnancy, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: War
I've rewritten this review a few times now. I wish I wasn't struggling so much to explain how much I love this book. I think it's because it feels so important to me that nothing I write seems good enough. That's how highly I hold Wolf Winter in my heart.
Wolf Winter is haunting. That's the best word I can think of to describe it. It's one of those books that stick with you, churns in your mind while you're reading it, and makes you feel bitter about people.
As someone who typically struggles with historical fiction, I was surprised by how hooked I got with this book. Each character had to navigate social norms and expectations while investigating the mystery, which added a layer of difficulty for them that I don't often see thrillers explore. On top of that, even the weather is oppressive, a looming threat to their survival. Everyone is struggling so hard to simply just survive that it becomes easy to see *why* so many crimes back then went unsolved.
All of this culminates into something heartbreaking and distressing because it mirrors the way people handle such situations even today. I know that sounds vague (I'm trying to avoid spoilers) but once you've read the book you'll get it.
Anyway, this review has been all over the place so I'm just going to leave it at this: read the book, it's amazing, especially during the winter months with a nice warm drink to keep you company.
Wolf Winter is haunting. That's the best word I can think of to describe it. It's one of those books that stick with you, churns in your mind while you're reading it, and makes you feel bitter about people.
As someone who typically struggles with historical fiction, I was surprised by how hooked I got with this book. Each character had to navigate social norms and expectations while investigating the mystery, which added a layer of difficulty for them that I don't often see thrillers explore. On top of that, even the weather is oppressive, a looming threat to their survival. Everyone is struggling so hard to simply just survive that it becomes easy to see *why* so many crimes back then went unsolved.
All of this culminates into something heartbreaking and distressing because it mirrors the way people handle such situations even today. I know that sounds vague (I'm trying to avoid spoilers) but once you've read the book you'll get it.
Anyway, this review has been all over the place so I'm just going to leave it at this: read the book, it's amazing, especially during the winter months with a nice warm drink to keep you company.
DNF...I actually had full intentions of powering through this, but after I met with my book club they assured me that I really don’t need to. I didn’t dislike this per say; my biggest issue is that I read this with the assumption that it was a murder mystery, and it’s really not. For me, it was a weird fusion of “The Snow Child” and “The Bear and the Nightingale” but while both of those books pretty much stay in their lanes (magical realism for the former and pure fantasy for the latter), this book couldn’t decide where it wanted to go. The most poignant comment I heard in our book club discussion was that this novel tried to be 5 different stories and failed at each. Better editing would have helped streamline this, but I did love the evocative hostile environment that the author managed to convey, it just wasn’t enough to hold my interest for 370 pages.
I picked this one up because I wanted a book with a really, really cold setting. This fall has been entirely too warm for comfort around here, and if I couldn't bundle up in a blanket in front of a frosted windowpane, I figured I could at least immerse myself in chillier environs through my reading. And I was not disappointed: the Swedish Lapland is really damn cold, especially so in the 1700s before central heating was a thing. Bonus: main character Maija is a bonafide badass, self-reliant and determined to get to the truth of her neighbor Eriksson's death. Maija's daughter finds Eriksson dead on the mountain, and the townspeople are quick to blame it on a wolf attack. But Maija has seen the wound, and she knows it was inflicted by man, not animal. And then the snow starts to fall.
More book recommendations by me at www.readingwithhippos.com
More book recommendations by me at www.readingwithhippos.com
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I loved this so much. It pulled me right in. I loved the characters, I loved the setting, I loved the action scenes (such as they are). I was totally immersed in this world. I want this to be a miniseries so I can enjoy it again and make other people watch it and we can talk about it.
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Atmospheric, astute use of language and a story so brilliantly layered
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Violence, Murder
Moderate: Child abuse, Sexual violence
Minor: Vomit
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No