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challenging
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
A breathtaking, tough reflection on mental health issues, mentioning a very incendiary and emotional reality for immigrants, due to Brexit. It isn’t easy to read, probably reflecting on the season it is inspired on - we have a very weird feeling throughout the book, and it has to be intentional. Can’t wait to read the other “Seasonal” books.
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
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
This is the 2nd book in Smith's seasonal quartet. I read the first book, Autumn, well, back in autumn and liked it. And since it is now winter, it seemed like the perfect time to read Winter. I bet you can't guess what I'll be reading this spring? ;)
Nature-blogger, Art, treks out to his mom's country manor to spend Christmas with her. It ends up being a bizarre gathering with lots of flashbacks to earlier times in Art's life and his mom Sophia's life. Some of the best moments were the scenes featuring Sophia and her sister Iris. They are both polar opposites and quarrel a lot but clearly have a soft spot for each other. They will be arguing then randomly break into song.
As usual, Smith's writing is stellar. The book is a series of vignettes with ponderings on nature, art, treatment of immigrants and refugees and more.
My random brain dump of thoughts on this book:
More social commentary on Brexit (and Trump). Very current and aware. Clever, offbeat, engaging. Lots of word-play and literary references. Good stuff!
This book counts towards the Popsugar 2020 Reading Challenge prompt #39: a prompt from a past PopSugar challenge (for which I picked the 2019 prompt to read a book in the season it takes place).
Nature-blogger, Art, treks out to his mom's country manor to spend Christmas with her. It ends up being a bizarre gathering with lots of flashbacks to earlier times in Art's life and his mom Sophia's life. Some of the best moments were the scenes featuring Sophia and her sister Iris. They are both polar opposites and quarrel a lot but clearly have a soft spot for each other. They will be arguing then randomly break into song.
As usual, Smith's writing is stellar. The book is a series of vignettes with ponderings on nature, art, treatment of immigrants and refugees and more.
My random brain dump of thoughts on this book:
More social commentary on Brexit (and Trump). Very current and aware. Clever, offbeat, engaging. Lots of word-play and literary references. Good stuff!
This book counts towards the Popsugar 2020 Reading Challenge prompt #39: a prompt from a past PopSugar challenge (for which I picked the 2019 prompt to read a book in the season it takes place).
emotional
hopeful
reflective
slow-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
I really wanted to like this book more. This authors books always intrigue me, but it just didn’t reel me in. I will definitely try another book sometime.
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
these books make me feel kind of stupid but I love the vibes
On a more serious note; Smith once again accomplished what she set out to do – capture the essence of a season. The books in this series are intelligent, nuanced and populated by well-rounded characters.
Even though I find them somewhat obscure and would probably need to read secondary literature to fully understand them, I will definitely be reading more.
On a more serious note; Smith once again accomplished what she set out to do – capture the essence of a season. The books in this series are intelligent, nuanced and populated by well-rounded characters.
Even though I find them somewhat obscure and would probably need to read secondary literature to fully understand them, I will definitely be reading more.
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes