Book Review - Winterwood

As mentioned earlier this week I said I would post a review of Winterwood.

rom the book jacket:
Once, Redmond Hatch was in heaven, married to the lovely Catherine and father to enchanting daughter Immy. But then he took them both to Winterwood. And it would never be the same again…

In Patrick McCabe's spellbinding new novel, nothing--and no one--are ever quite what they seem. When Hatch, devoted husband and father, revisits the secluded mountains where he grew up, he meets Auld Pappie Ned. While he claims to be just a harmless local fiddler, a teller of tall tales, Ned sets off a cataclysmic chain of events in Redmond's life. From the mysterious disappearance of Redmond's daughter to the reluctant remembrance of a troubled boyhood to secret glimpses into an unstable marriage, everything soon spirals out of control. Narrated with hypnotic precision and fractured lyricism, Winterwood is a disturbing and unforgettable tale of love, death and identity from a masterful novelist. 


Here are my thoughts:

I must admit that I bought this book based on the fact that it won the 2007 Irish book award.

I found this book both fascinating and creepy. I read it in one sitting (well I was on a flight from Toronto to LA - five hours).

At first I had a hard time getting into the rhythm of his writing but once I did we were off flying.

The narrator tells the story as he is thinking about his life. He talks in circles and then comes back around again to give another version of his account.

It is soon evident to the reader that he is slipping into insanity but with a wicked sense of humour as he relates tales of his marriages and jobs as he saw it. Redmond Hatch has such a skewed view of reality that it is hard to know what to believe as he narrates the story.

 There is horror thinly veiled that will make the hair stand up on your neck; as the narrator commits horrible acts that will attempt to convince you he had no choice.

Be warned  topics covered include cyclical child molestation, child murder, and family murder. Absolutely fantastic writing!

I have to say I will be reading more of Patrick McCabe. 

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

It's Monday! What are you reading? is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey. For this meme, bloggers post what they finished last week, what they're currently reading, and what they plan to start this week.
Since I am on vacation and have not had internet for a few days I will post my reviews during the week.

Finished this week - review to come:

From the book jacket:
Meet the Patel-Joneses—Babo, Sian, Mayuri, and Bean—in their little house with orange and black gates next door to the Punjab Women's Association in Madras. Babo grew up here, but he and Sian, his cream-skinned Welsh love, met in London. Babo's parents disapproved. And then they disapproved unless the couple moved back to Madras. So here they are. And as the twentieth century creaks and croaks its way along, Babo, Sian, and the children navigate their way through the uncharted territory of a "hybrid" family: the hustle and bustle of Babo's relatives; the faraway phone-line crackle of Sian's; the eternal wisdom and soft bosom of Great-Grandmother Ba; the perils of first love, lost innocence, and old age; and the big question: What do you do with the space your loved ones leave behind?



Also finished this week - review to come:

From the book jacket:
Once, Redmond Hatch was in heaven, married to the lovely Catherine and father to enchanting daughter Immy. But then he took them both to Winterwood. And it would never be the same again…

In Patrick McCabe's spellbinding new novel, nothing--and no one--are ever quite what they seem. When Hatch, devoted husband and father, revisits the secluded mountains where he grew up, he meets Auld Pappie Ned. While he claims to be just a harmless local fiddler, a teller of tall tales, Ned sets off a cataclysmic chain of events in Redmond's life. From the mysterious disappearance of Redmond's daughter to the reluctant remembrance of a troubled boyhood to secret glimpses into an unstable marriage, everything soon spirals out of control. Narrated with hypnotic precision and fractured lyricism, Winterwood is a disturbing and unforgettable tale of love, death and identity from a masterful novelist. 


Also finished this week and review to come:







Started this week:



Not sure about this one - definitely not bedtime reading.

Plan to start this week:

From the book jacket:

Two police officers knock on Laura's door and her life changes forever. They tell her that her nine-year old daughter Betty has been hit by a car and killed. When justice is slow to arrive, Laura decides to take her own revenge and begins to track down the man responsible.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

It's Monday! What are you reading? is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey. For this meme, bloggers post what they finished last week, what they're currently reading, and what they plan to start this week.


Finished last week:

From the book jacket:

The Great War took much more than lives. It robbed a generation of friends, lovers and futures. In Freddie Watson's case, it took his beloved brother and, at times, his peace of mind. In the winter of 1928, still seeking resolution, Freddie is travelling through the French Pyrenees. During a snowstorm, his car spins off the mountain road. He stumbles through woods, emerging in a tiny village. There he meets Fabrissa, a beautiful woman also mourning a lost generation. Over the course of one night, Fabrissa and Freddie share their stories. By the time dawn breaks, he will have stumbled across a tragic mystery that goes back through the centuries.

I am sorry to say I did not really enjoy this book. This is extremely disappointing since I loved here first two books Sepulchre and Labyrinth. Kate Mosse did say in an interview that she is working on the third book to follow those two. 
The plot could probably have been written as a short story as there is a lot of rambling descriptions and meaningless background. Freddie is not a likable character at all, I'm afraid I had very little sympathy for him.
The story moved so slowly that I found myself scanning the pages just to move along. It was just plain boring and predictable.

Currently reading:

This is the second book in her series. I read the first, The Ice Princess, a few weeks ago and really enjoyed..

From the book jacket:

During an unusually hot July, detective Patrik Hedstrom and Erica Falck are enjoying a rare week at home together, nervous and excited about the imminent birth of their first baby. Across town, however, a six-year-old boy makes a gruesome discovery that will ravage their little tourist community and catapult Patrik into the center of a terrifying murder case.
The boy has stumbled upon the brutally murdered body of a young woman, and Patrik is immediately called to lead the investigation. Things get even worse when his team uncovers, buried beneath the victim, the skeletons of two campers whose disappearance had baffled police for decades. The three victims’ injuries seem to be the work of the same killer, but that is impossible: the main suspect in the original kidnappings committed suicide twenty-four years ago.
When yet another young girl disappears and panic begins to spread, Patrik leads a desperate manhunt to track down a ruthless serial killer before he strikes again.

Plan to start this week:

From the book jacket:
Once, Redmond Hatch was in heaven, married to the lovely Catherine and father to enchanting daughter Immy. But then he took them both to Winterwood. And it would never be the same again…  

In Patrick McCabe's spellbinding new novel, nothing--and no one--are ever quite what they seem. When Hatch, devoted husband and father, revisits the secluded mountains where he grew up, he meets Auld Pappie Ned. While he claims to be just a harmless local fiddler, a teller of tall tales, Ned sets off a cataclysmic chain of events in Redmond's life. From the mysterious disappearance of Redmond's daughter to the reluctant remembrance of a troubled boyhood to secret glimpses into an unstable marriage, everything soon spirals out of control. Narrated with hypnotic precision and fractured lyricism, Winterwood is a disturbing and unforgettable tale of love, death and identity from a masterful novelist. 

Friday Finds

What great books did you hear about/discover this past week? Share with us your FRIDAY FINDS is hosted by MizB over at Should Be Reading.

Found over at Reading On A Rainy Day. Sneak peek here.


Sneak peek.
I had to go back through Gill's blog That British Woman to find the title of this book that I had remembered reading about.

Sneak peek
Found and bought at CBC book sale yesterday, caught my eye as cover states "winner of the Irish novel of the year award 2007".