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Playing with the Bookly app. August was all #Booker Prize longlist.

Starting this tonight. It will be book 9 from the #Booker longlist
#Booker2025

12-3 Aug 25 (audiobook)
#Bookerlonglist2025 no 2
Set in the West Country, two couples battle through the blizzard of 1962. Despite many differences between them - class, wealth and the nature of their marriage - the women bond, being newly pregnant.
The depiction of the bleak winter and its isolation and dreariness is lovely and, for someone living where winters seem warmer than ever, somewhat appealing. Wishing for an excuse to stay in and read.

This didn‘t work for me. A disconcerting opening with a man who is not a main character holds much back. The main story is slow with details of how two couples spend their day. The bleak winter setting did not appeal to me. It‘s a subtle, interior novel and too drawn out so i lost interest. I prefer the succinctness of Claire Keegan or the wry humour of Niall Williams for a meandering ‘person goes about their day in cold weather‘ story.

I like books that have little or no plot if the writing is good and the characters interesting. Here the prose is good, but focussed on the minutae, the characters interesting but not allowed to shine. The pace is glacial. And the ending is 🤷🏻‍♀️🫤
I'm left feeling like I've been teased with bits and pieces of a good story, but instead of filling in the gaps Miller has given in to a Knausgardian impulse to describe how people brush their teeth.

My 1st foray into the booker longlist was this story of the big freeze of 1962/63 winter in a small west country English village. 2 couples like very close to each , one the local GP + wife, the other farmer + wife. The women are pregnant and form a close bond despite their diffences. This book weaves an intricate Web of deceit, past lives, and future hopes amidst an evocation of winter + a country not yet shifting from post-war to swinging 60s.

I loved the first 3/4 of this book. The isolation of the country and the cold, the powerful sense of melancholy, and the beautifully drawn characters wrestling with who they are to themselves and how they fit in society and community in a post-war world. It is a thoughtful portrait of a frozen world and frozen people amidst a greatly changing time, and Miller's writing is deeply engaging.

Cont'd in comments

The Land in Winter, by Andrew Miller (2024)
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Premise: Two marriages unravel in the midst of an unusually brutal English winter.

Review: This is a solid and subtle historical novel filled with all foreboding atmosphere and complex relationships you could want. It‘s a very literary and writerly novel, in the sense that everything the author does is intentional and well executed. ⬇️

He was lying on a varnished wooden board, the top of a boxed-in radiator.

#FirstLineFridays
@ShyBookOwl

A very character-driven book that quietly meanders along until the very end when everything happens all at once. (Actually I didn‘t love the ending)

Two neighbouring couples, a doctor and a struggling farmer with both their wives pregnant, struggle along in a harsh 1960s winter. The isolation and cold draw the women together but also draw out worries and secrets that will change all their lives. Beautifully written!

Gosh, stunning writing and imagery against the harsh winter and realistic marriage portrayals. Both couples are subject to their turmoil and uncertainty. Eric is not a Good Bloke!
Female friendship is nicely demonstrated and the nuances of social circles.
I'm still in awe of his powers of description.

#secondchristmasbookhaul
Not influenced at all by Litsy folks….