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A review by gregzimmerman
The Heart of Winter by Jonathan Evison
5.0
If you're a Jonathan Evison fan, and I'm a huge one, you'll recognize THE HEART OF WINTER as the work of a writer really coming into his own. This novel, I think, is Evison's best since 2012's THE REVISED FUNDAMENTALS OF CAREGIVING, the first book I read of his and the one I always recommend as what to read first if you've never read him before.
Evison has said this is his most personal novel because he wrote it while his mother battled oral cancer (Ruth, our protagonist, at 87 years old, is also battling oral cancer), and also one he's most proud of because the execution of the novel closely aligned with his vision for it. Both the facts that this novel is so personal to him and that he's proud of the work SCREAM off the page.
I intensely loved this book and can't wait for more people to get to read it. I get to interview him for Chicago Review of Books for a piece in early January -- so stayed tuned for more on this book then.
Evison has said this is his most personal novel because he wrote it while his mother battled oral cancer (Ruth, our protagonist, at 87 years old, is also battling oral cancer), and also one he's most proud of because the execution of the novel closely aligned with his vision for it. Both the facts that this novel is so personal to him and that he's proud of the work SCREAM off the page.
I intensely loved this book and can't wait for more people to get to read it. I get to interview him for Chicago Review of Books for a piece in early January -- so stayed tuned for more on this book then.