A review by shahanaz
A Spell of Winter by Helen Dunmore

challenging emotional mysterious sad fast-paced

3.0

This was the first winner of the Orange Prize (now the Women's Prize for Fiction), and I found it very impressive except one part.The story is told from the point of view of Catherine who grows up in a country estate with her brother Rob and their grandfather.Abandoned by her mother as a child, embarrassed by the mental breakdown of her father that led to his hospitalisation and later died.The children are never told exactly what caused their family to splinter apart so they grow to rely solely on each other in this circumscribed world. And their relation grew up unhealthy close. For the most part, this is a beautiful book and a pleasure to read, despite a slightly melodramatic middle part.