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In her seasonal quartet, of which this is the second volume, Ali Smith is providing us with a snapshot of our time - specifically early 21st century Britain. In Winter, there are inter-generational (Art and Sophia) as well as sibling (Sophia and Iris) conflicts, underlining the differing preoccupations of the characters. Smith also takes advantage of the fact that Iris and Sophia are beyond retirement age to explore previous events, such as the Greenham Common anti-nuclear protests, and draw links with current preoccupations with climate change. Sophia's encounters with the young optician and the bank manager are hilarious but sadly very realistic. Other items such as the child's head which accompanies Sophia in the early part of the book appear to be pure fantasy, although real enough for Sophia herself. The mix gives one a strange sensation of maybe being somewhere familiar and then maybe not. The reader is kept on their toes with the switches of perspectives from Sophia, to Art, to Iris and Lux. Enough to ensure one looks forward to the next volume of the quartet.