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Midwinter Break
Midwinter Break | Bernard MacLaverty
'Midwinter Break is a work of extraordinary emotional precision and sympathy, about coming to terms - to an honest reckoning - with love and the loss of love, with memory and pain. Full of scenes that are rendered with exquisite accuracy and care, allowing the most detailed physical descriptions to be placed against the possibility of a rich spiritual life, this is a novel of great ambition by an artist at the height of his powers.' Colm T ibYn Sixteen years on from his last novel, Bernard MacLaverty reminds us why he is regarded as one of the greatest living Irish writers. A retired couple, Gerry and Stella Gilmore, fly from their home in Scotland to Amsterdam for a long weekend. A holiday to refresh the senses, to do some sightseeing and generally to take stock of what remains of their lives. Their relationship seems safe, easy, familiar - but over the course of the four days we discover the deep uncertainties which exist between them. Gerry, once an architect, is forgetful and set in his ways. Stella is tired of his lifestyle, worried about their marriage and angry at his constant undermining of her religious faith. Things are not helped by memories which have begun to resurface of a troubled time in their native Ireland. As their midwinter break comes to an end, we understand how far apart they are - and can only watch as they struggle to save themselves. Bernard MacLaverty is a master storyteller, and Midwinter Break is the essential MacLaverty novel- accurate, compassionate observation, effortlessly elegant writing and a tender, intimate, heart-rending story - but it is also a profound examination of human love and how we live together, a chamber piece of real resonance and power. Forty years on from his first book, Bernard MacLaverty has written his masterpiece.
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blurb
TheEllieMo
Midwinter Break | Bernard MacLaverty
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I am posting one book per day from my extensive to-be-read collection. No description and providing no reason for wanting to read it, I just do. Some will be old, some will be new. Don‘t judge me - I have a lot of books. Join in if you want!

#ABookADay2023

Teresereading Hi will you keep going in 2024? 3mo
TheEllieMo @Teresereading no, I need a break! 3mo
24 likes2 comments
review
squirrelbrain
Midwinter Break | Bernard MacLaverty
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Pickpick

Got the fire on already this morning as it‘s still minus temperatures outside at 11am - brrr! 🥶

This book was perfect for this time of year, and perfect for how I‘m feeling right now. I love books where nothing much happens, where you look at the minutiae of people‘s lives, but there‘s a much bigger message there too.

This was a sad book but ultimately uplifting - aaah, just perfect!

Thank you so much for sending it to me Kate @kathedron 😘

quietlycuriouskate I'm so glad you enjoyed it, Helen. It's a good'un, isn't it? (We even have Winter in Gloucester this morning: there's an inch of snow!) ☺️ 3y
TrishB Lovely review Helen ❤️ 3y
squirrelbrain An inch of snow @kathedron ?! Even we haven‘t had snow this weekend - it‘s just chilly! Hope you haven‘t been too affected by the floods either? 3y
See All 7 Comments
KarenUK This sounds lovely... Stacked! 💕 3y
BarbaraBB I enjoyed this one too. And have I already said how much I love your stove? 3y
squirrelbrain I think you did @BarbaraBB 😁, but that‘s because every picture I post at the moment has the stove in it! 🤣 3y
BarbaraBB Haha and I will keep repeating it probably 🔥 3y
80 likes3 stack adds7 comments
blurb
TheEllieMo
Midwinter Break | Bernard MacLaverty
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A short holiday #InTheBleakMidwinter reveals the cracks in a retired couple‘s relationship in this emotionally vivid novel

#DecemberSong @Eggs

Eggs Sounds good and perfect for a retired oldie like myself! 3y
31 likes1 comment
review
andrew61
Midwinter Break | Bernard MacLaverty
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Pickpick

I loved this gentle yet moving story of Stella and gerry, an irish couple who after 40 yrs of marriage clearly fit together like a glove. They love and know each other tenderly yet as they visit Amsterdam their marriage appears to be falling apart with an unresolved issue from the 1970's slowly creating a fissure which may not be breached. Beautifully written i was aware of the craft and immersed in their lives. And bonus #ReadingEurope #Holland

Anna40 I loved everything about this book. 4y
37 likes1 stack add1 comment
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andrew61
Midwinter Break | Bernard MacLaverty
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This book is a feast. I tend to rd based on plot rather than savouring prose so sometimes worry that i miss a lot that i should otherwise appreciate however occasionally a book is so wonderful that you can see the care + craft in every sentence. With 50 pages to go i can't think where this bk will go but this sentence gave me pause. It's a long time since i rd Grace Notes so plan to reread that as the author has written little since + love this.

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TheEllieMo
Midwinter Break | Bernard MacLaverty
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I need to read this one, it‘s been on my TBR for ages! #WintryCover #AuldLangReads @OriginalCyn620 @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

OriginalCyn620 👍🏻📚🥶 4y
32 likes1 comment
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CarolynM
Midwinter Break | Bernard MacLaverty
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Thank you Barbara for the kind words in your card and for such a splendid gift😘 I know what I will be reading for The Netherlands in the #ReadingEurope challenge 🙂 and the Gaugin notebook is beautiful.

BarbaraBB It took over a month but it did reach you, I‘m happy for that! The book was on your TBR and I thought it would be nice to send you something set in my city after you sending me Australian fiction! 😘 4y
50 likes1 comment
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TheEllieMo
Midwinter Break | Bernard MacLaverty
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I keep forgetting so have this on my TBR! Now would be a perfect time to read it. I shall have to put it on the January TBR. A retired couple‘s trip to Amsterdam reveals cracks in their relationship.

#SettingInEurope #DearDecember @Eggs

Suet624 A trip to Amsterdam will do that every time. 4y
Eggs Great choice 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 4y
27 likes2 comments
blurb
TheEllieMo
Midwinter Break | Bernard MacLaverty
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One from the #TBR mountain, with a #WinterTheme. I‘m reliably informed that it‘s worth a read. I really must tackle some of those books that have been on the TBR mountain for forever🙄

#NamasteNovember @Eggs

Eggs Beautiful ❄️💗❄️ 4y
39 likes1 comment
review
quietlycuriouskate
Midwinter Break | Bernard MacLaverty
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Pickpick

Gorgeous, gorgeous book!
Gerry and Stella are taking a long weekend together in Amsterdam. Except that Gerry is spending much of his in the bottom of a whiskey glass and goodness knows where Stella is sneaking off to! They are good, ordinary, people who think the world of each other... but more than 40 years of shared personal history now demands a reckoning.
It's a wonderful, quiet, humane book. I loved it.

squirrelbrain Sounds fab - stacked! 5y
CarolynM I've stacked it too. Thanks🙂 5y
Anna40 Loved this book too and love your review 🌻 5y
48 likes3 stack adds3 comments
review
Anna40
Midwinter Break: A Novel | Bernard MacLaverty
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Pickpick

I loved and devoured this book, could not put it down. A married couple, Gerry and Stella, travel to Amsterdam for a long weekend. We accompany them on this journey that takes us to Amsterdam, but also into each character's inner life, memories, dreams / hopes. We learn about their life together, their love for one another. A wonderful book and the writing is excellent. I LOVED it.

rachaich I actually visited Beginhof today purely because of this book. It was worth it. 5y
Anna40 @rachaich Wow! It's a place I'd be interested to visit too because of the book. :) 5y
rachaich I was in awe of the quiet and the atmosphere. I'm not at all religious but moved by the church. 5y
Anna40 @rachaich if I ever make it to Amsterdam, I'll make sure to visit it as well. Have a great trip! 5y
6 likes2 stack adds4 comments
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Anna40
Midwinter Break | Bernard MacLaverty
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I'm still recovering from the sadness in the last book that I read. These two do not sound like 'happy' books either, but I was drawn to both, am looking forward to reading them and exploring Amsterdam in Midwinter Break through the eyes of the protagonists ...

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rachaich
Midwinter Break | Bernard MacLaverty
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Pickpick

Wow! I really enjoyed this. I found the way in which we learnt about both of their individual lives whilst also hearing of their shared life, both oast and current, very well written and described.
I also felt the narrative about their holiday was full of description and detail. I'm looking forward to visiting Amsterdam in a few weeks!

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rachaich
Midwinter Break | Bernard MacLaverty
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I'm off to Amsterdam next month and this is set there. The reviews appealed hugely so am quite keen.

Cathythoughts I‘m stacking for a winter read 👍🏻 5y
15 likes1 comment
blurb
smccallum
Midwinter Break | Bernard MacLaverty
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Reading a wintery book on the sunniest of days 😂

review
BarbaraBB
Midwinter Break | Bernard MacLaverty
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Pickpick

Gerry and Stella are a middle-aged couple, married for years. They are Irish, living in Scotland. With time on their side they take a midwinter break to Amsterdam. They seem so at ease with eachother, you‘d almost envy them, but nothing is as it seems. They are both looking for other things in life: for her it is religion and spirituality, for him it‘s the whiskey. This book describes what they both do and how they feel. Painfully honest.

AshleyHoss820 Can I just point out that I love your built-ins? Cuz I do! 6y
LeahBergen This sounds wonderful. Stacked! 6y
emilyhaldi Went to stack this but it already was!! Nice review 👍🏻👍🏻 6y
See All 9 Comments
BarbaraBB @emilyhaldi I thought I spotted a copy of it in a picture of your tbr mountain lately. I was probably wrong 😀 (edited) 6y
BarbaraBB @AshleyHoss820 Thank you 😘 6y
Zelma That sounds lovely, and kind of reminiscent of the quiet novels of Anita Brookner. 6y
BarbaraBB @Zelma Yes indeed. It also reminded me a bit of Colm Toibin. 6y
emilyhaldi Close!!! You probably spotted this one 😉 6y
BarbaraBB @emilyhaldi Haha! That must be it 😃 6y
74 likes5 stack adds9 comments
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charl08
Midwinter Break: A Novel | Bernard MacLaverty
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At the Art Gallery on the Mound a young lad pressed his feet against two fluted columns, then inched himself up the building – twenty or thirty feet above the heads of the crowd where he juggled with flaming torches. And as he did so everybody realised that there was no way he could get down....eventually he jigged his way down to applause – a stuttering descent, like a toy woodpecker sliding down a vertical wire.

38 likes1 stack add
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charl08
Midwinter Break: A Novel | Bernard MacLaverty
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‘Why do I take the notion more often when we‘re away?‘ said Stella. ‘Can you guess?‘‘No.‘‘Because I don‘t have to think of dinners. The dinner. On a daily basis. It‘s the bane of my life. Remember Mister and Missus Sheep?‘‘No?‘‘Mister Sheep says I‘m fed up eating the same grass, day in, day out. ‘‘And?‘‘And Missus Sheep says At least I don‘t have to cook it.‘

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MrBook
Midwinter Break: A Novel | Bernard MacLaverty
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#TBRtemptation post 3! Recently released. Retired couple Gerry and Stella Gilmore fly from Scotland to Amsterdam for vacation. Over the next 4 days, we'll see the hidden uncertainties in their marriage. Gerry's now forgetful and obstinate, Stella's frustrated and angry. Memories of their native Ireland don't help matters. Will their marriage survive? #blameLitsy #blameMrBook 😎

70 likes4 stack adds