Home Books Winter: The Story of a Season

Winter: The Story of a Season

Winter: The Story of a Season

by Val McDermid

Atlantic Monthly Press ·2025 ·160 pages
New Release
Near the Top
Near the Top
I Index
60/99
Top of the Pile

86/99

Critics' Rating Index

Maybe Someday

34/99

Readers' Rating Index

n/a

Scholars' Citation Index

84/99

Volume of Reviews

76/99

Volume of Reader Ratings

Sign in to add to your shelf, rate, or review this book.


About This Book

In this radiant work of creative nonfiction, internationally beloved novelist Val McDermid delivers a dazzling ode to a lost world, ruminating on a single winter in her life as she journeys into the heart of the season's ever-evolving community-based traditions Val McDermid has always had a soft spot for the bitter clarity of a crisp cold day, the crunch of frost on fallen leaves, and the chance to be enveloped in big jumpers and thick socks. In Winter, McDermid takes us on an adventure through the season, from the frosty streets of Edinburgh to the windblown Scottish coast, from Bonfire Night and Christmas to Burns Night and Up Helly Aa. Recalling in parallel memories from her own childhood—of skating over frozen lakes and carving a "neep" (rutabaga) for Halloween to being taken to see her first real Christmas tree in the town square—McDermid offers a wise and enchanting meditation on winter and its ever-changing, sometimes ephemeral, traditions. A hygge-filled journey through winter nights, McDermid reminds us that it is a time of rest, retreat and creativity, for scribbling in notebooks and settling in beside the fire. A treat for the hunkering-down, post-holiday reading season, Winter is a charming and cozy celebration of the year's idle months from one of Scotland's best-loved writers.


Reviews

"It's a lovely, gentle little book, a warming meditation on the coldest, darkest time of the year ..."

Heller McAlpin· The Christian Science Monitor Read review ↗ Top of the Pile

"Illustrated with charming woodcuts, with just over a hundred pages of large type, the book is a warm bowl, fit for an hour by the fire."

Kirkus Read review ↗ Near the Top

"A memoir of her heart."

Laurie Hertzel· The Washington Post Read review ↗ Top of the Pile

"It is both refreshing and rewarding to see Val McDermid step away from her masterful thrillers to pen a collection of essays ..."

Ray Palen· Bookreporter Read review ↗ Top of the Pile

"An elegant little book ..."

Libby Purves· Times Literary Supplement Read review ↗ Top of the Pile

"McDermid's writing is lyrical, often profound, and thoroughly enjoyable."

Jane Murphy· Booklist Read review ↗ Top of the Pile

"It's a satisfying collection of literary amuse-bouches."

Publishers Weekly Read review ↗ Near the Top

"Supple prose, engaging regional descriptions, and thought-provoking observations, tinged with sparkling humor."

Robert Allen Papinchak· Shelf Awareness Read review ↗ Top of the Pile

Preview


Reader Reviews

0 reviews

Sign in to write a review.

No reader reviews yet. Be the first!