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spiralnode 's review for:
Winter
by Ali Smith
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Similar to 'Autumn', 'Winter' is characterised by the same type of prose, seemingly light and sparse, but in effect wanting to be enigmatic, quizzical and raise intrigue through piercing sentences full of repetition that never quite put their finger on the wound. It is quite obviously a continuation of the political events in 'Autumn', namely Brexit, where here we see the effects on refugees and other external politics, but Smith doesn't really name things, including the winner of the 2016 American presidential election. So here it's yet again more about nuance and layers, rather than bringing issues out in the open.
Which I could see being thrilling to unpack, but for me this is too much, too vague, to the point that I miss the courage that comes with spelling things out and standing your ground powerfully.
And this also means that the plot is very thin - a man named Arthur (Art for short) visits his mother Sophie in her home in Cornwall for Christmas. But he is no longer with the girlfriend she expects, so he employs a young woman named Lux to play pretend. They also invite Sophie's sister, Iris, with whom she has a complicated relationship, wishing to essentially eliminate her from the family history. What follows is their interactions, memories, with interspersions about the state of the world today from a political perspective.
I'd say that if you like abstract, symbolic writing, sure, you might find this interesting. But it wasn't for me, the writing is way too pretentious.
Which I could see being thrilling to unpack, but for me this is too much, too vague, to the point that I miss the courage that comes with spelling things out and standing your ground powerfully.
And this also means that the plot is very thin - a man named Arthur (Art for short) visits his mother Sophie in her home in Cornwall for Christmas. But he is no longer with the girlfriend she expects, so he employs a young woman named Lux to play pretend. They also invite Sophie's sister, Iris, with whom she has a complicated relationship, wishing to essentially eliminate her from the family history. What follows is their interactions, memories, with interspersions about the state of the world today from a political perspective.
I'd say that if you like abstract, symbolic writing, sure, you might find this interesting. But it wasn't for me, the writing is way too pretentious.