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gabriellezurlo 's review for:
Winter Rose
by Patricia A. McKillip
From World Fantasy Award Winner Patricia A. McKillip is the story of wildling Rois Melior as village welcomes the infamous Corbet Lynn. Corbet brings with him reminders of the curse that's haunted his family estate for generations. But that's not all Corbet's arrival stirs up in the Melior house. Wild, roaming Rois open to the voice and fancies of the forest, and her domestic, sensible sister, Laurel will never be the same after meeting the golden Corbet.
WINTER ROSE is a Tam Lin (and I'd argue Snow Queen) retelling. A loose retelling, though some of my favorite elements of the story are present. If you're familiar with the story of Tam Lin and read the synopsis provided on the dust jacket, you might think this story centers around the curse, promises, true love, and holding tight. In a way, it does. But WINTER ROSE is anything but straightforward.
Beautiful, often abstract writing, lyrical in a way I haven't encountered since Erin Morgenstern's THE STARLESS SEA or Laini Taylor's work. It's a sensory experience, like a poem you just can't quite work out. Lovely in the moment for sure.
Within the first few pages of reading I'd tabbed at least once every page. The word-craft is breath taking.
Some reviews mention a difficulty determining between reality and hallucination scenes. My experience was a bit different. I suggest going into this accepting its dreamlike quality and I think those dreamy bits fall into place.
What this book seems to really be about is trapped people. Trapped by Nature, by their natures, by human nature, and trapped by stories.
As a Tam Lin retelling it works. Tam Lin, at its core, is about going through hell and holding so tightly to what you love no matter what that hell looks like. Sometimes that love is romantic, sometimes it's family, sometimes it's yourself.
McKillip creates beautiful, real, cages for each of these characters. Their fights and flights were a marvel to behold. It read like a character study in a fantasy setting.
Through that perspective, the story is a success.
As a story that causes an emotional reaction, WINTER ROSE didn't quite hit the mark for me. I was never able to make a connection with the characters.
There was little shown emotional depth and at times, Laurel, Rois' older (supposedly more "domestic" and "pragmatic" sister) truly got on my nerves to the point that I found myself grinding my teeth during one particularly tedious portion of the book.
Even though it's told in first person from Rois' perspective, I felt like an outsider - A best friend that only knows the secrets that Rois lets me in on, but not Rois herself. I can't tell if this was McKillip's intention or not.
If you're familiar with fairy tales, folk tales, and/or myths, you'll feel at home with characterization and plot structure of WINTER ROSE. There's little dynamism beyond what you learn about them at their introduction.
Overall, I enjoyed this as a reading experience. I wanted a little more from the characters and think the last third could have been longer, but this definitely has me wanting to read more from Patricia A. McKillip!
WINTER ROSE is a Tam Lin (and I'd argue Snow Queen) retelling. A loose retelling, though some of my favorite elements of the story are present. If you're familiar with the story of Tam Lin and read the synopsis provided on the dust jacket, you might think this story centers around the curse, promises, true love, and holding tight. In a way, it does. But WINTER ROSE is anything but straightforward.
Beautiful, often abstract writing, lyrical in a way I haven't encountered since Erin Morgenstern's THE STARLESS SEA or Laini Taylor's work. It's a sensory experience, like a poem you just can't quite work out. Lovely in the moment for sure.
Within the first few pages of reading I'd tabbed at least once every page. The word-craft is breath taking.
Some reviews mention a difficulty determining between reality and hallucination scenes. My experience was a bit different. I suggest going into this accepting its dreamlike quality and I think those dreamy bits fall into place.
What this book seems to really be about is trapped people. Trapped by Nature, by their natures, by human nature, and trapped by stories.
As a Tam Lin retelling it works. Tam Lin, at its core, is about going through hell and holding so tightly to what you love no matter what that hell looks like. Sometimes that love is romantic, sometimes it's family, sometimes it's yourself.
McKillip creates beautiful, real, cages for each of these characters. Their fights and flights were a marvel to behold. It read like a character study in a fantasy setting.
Through that perspective, the story is a success.
As a story that causes an emotional reaction, WINTER ROSE didn't quite hit the mark for me. I was never able to make a connection with the characters.
There was little shown emotional depth and at times, Laurel, Rois' older (supposedly more "domestic" and "pragmatic" sister) truly got on my nerves to the point that I found myself grinding my teeth during one particularly tedious portion of the book.
Even though it's told in first person from Rois' perspective, I felt like an outsider - A best friend that only knows the secrets that Rois lets me in on, but not Rois herself. I can't tell if this was McKillip's intention or not.
If you're familiar with fairy tales, folk tales, and/or myths, you'll feel at home with characterization and plot structure of WINTER ROSE. There's little dynamism beyond what you learn about them at their introduction.
Overall, I enjoyed this as a reading experience. I wanted a little more from the characters and think the last third could have been longer, but this definitely has me wanting to read more from Patricia A. McKillip!