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schmutzley's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
kathydavie's review against another edition
4.0
A standalone fairy tale for adults revolving around a fey teen who knows what she wants.
My Take
As ever, McKillip writes beautifully, if confusingly. Confusing because McKillip makes me think and try to figure out what she's saying behind her words in this dreamy story that floats oh, so slowly.
Combining fairy tales with a snatch of reality, McKillip uses first-person protagonist point-of-view from Rois' perspective, as she observes her sister's enthrallment, their father's ease, Perrin's concerns, and Corbet's struggles. Despite the lack of pounding tension, McKillip did keep me turning those pages to find out what happens, to find an explanation.
It's one that revolves around that age-old contention between child and parent, of the child not wanting the parent's dream. And the desperate measures each will take.
McKillip's warmth comes through in the love in the Melior family, Perrin's patience, the close-knit people within the village. And in those setting descriptions that make me covet the Melior cottage!
One of my niggles in this is how easily McKillip ignores man's natural reactions. It's an odd "competition" between Rois and Laurel as they vie for Corbet's attention. You'd think there'd be tension between them, but no. Perrin is too easy. The villagers are too accepting. Their father is too complacent.
On the other hand, there was a scene in which McKillip made me see how myths and legends arose. How a human in the woods, at night, could interpret the sights and sounds as a wild hunt, of beings swirling through the woods.
It was fifty-two winters ago that Nial Lynn was found murdered, and all the old rumors of his curse revive with the return of his grandson.
Determined to live the life he chooses, Corbet Lynn tackles his ancestral home, hiring men from the village to repair the walls, the roof, the door. That's not all Corbet intends to repair.
He wants a normal life…
The Characters
Rois Melior is a wild child, preferring to run barefoot through the woods, the world. Laurel is her responsible sister, stitching up her trousseau to marry Perrin, a neighboring farmer. Their father, Mathu Melior, is bemused and tolerant of his wildly varying daughters. Beda is their cook.
Corbet Lynn is a local son who has returned to claim his inheritance, Lynn Hall. Tearle Lynn had been Corbet's abused father. Nial Lynn had been his nasty grandfather.
Crispin is the blacksmith's lazy son who has an eye for the ladies. Salish is his more responsible brother. Halov is their grandfather. Furl and Ley Gett and Tamis Orley are more of the younger villagers.
Shave Turl cares for his old auntie, Great-aunt Anis Turl, who had been a contemporary of Tearle Lynn's with Marin. Aleria Turl of the gooseberry eyes has snagged the man of her dreams.
Leta Gett is old with older bones. Caryl is her grown daughter. Blane is the apothecary for whom Rois gathers materials. Mat Gris is one of his patients. Til Travers is the man who found the body; Nysa Turl liked to ride with him. Willom is Til's son.
The winter faerie queen is quite possessive.
The Cover and Title
The cover is muted in grayed-out colors yet vivid in detail. It's Rois with her deep golden hair crimped and styled with a deep gold tiara with a clear drop suspended from the center and wearing a short necklace of pearls, her shoulders encased in ermine that blends into the snowy landscape. A tree grows up from the bottom center, its two trunks separating to embrace Rois' neck, becoming one with her hair. Hair from which vines sprout and twine, merging with the rose vines clambering in a narrow border around the cover. Keeping her company is a snowy owl, perched on one of the branches while a full-blown red rose rises up from the lower right. The author's name and title are in white and span the top with a pale green informational blurb above it.
The title is the protagonist, the Winter Rose, who struggles through a winter of her own discontent.
My Take
As ever, McKillip writes beautifully, if confusingly. Confusing because McKillip makes me think and try to figure out what she's saying behind her words in this dreamy story that floats oh, so slowly.
Combining fairy tales with a snatch of reality, McKillip uses first-person protagonist point-of-view from Rois' perspective, as she observes her sister's enthrallment, their father's ease, Perrin's concerns, and Corbet's struggles. Despite the lack of pounding tension, McKillip did keep me turning those pages to find out what happens, to find an explanation.
It's one that revolves around that age-old contention between child and parent, of the child not wanting the parent's dream. And the desperate measures each will take.
McKillip's warmth comes through in the love in the Melior family, Perrin's patience, the close-knit people within the village. And in those setting descriptions that make me covet the Melior cottage!
One of my niggles in this is how easily McKillip ignores man's natural reactions. It's an odd "competition" between Rois and Laurel as they vie for Corbet's attention. You'd think there'd be tension between them, but no. Perrin is too easy. The villagers are too accepting. Their father is too complacent.
On the other hand, there was a scene in which McKillip made me see how myths and legends arose. How a human in the woods, at night, could interpret the sights and sounds as a wild hunt, of beings swirling through the woods.
"I want to do what I want to do."The Story
It was fifty-two winters ago that Nial Lynn was found murdered, and all the old rumors of his curse revive with the return of his grandson.
Determined to live the life he chooses, Corbet Lynn tackles his ancestral home, hiring men from the village to repair the walls, the roof, the door. That's not all Corbet intends to repair.
He wants a normal life…
The Characters
Rois Melior is a wild child, preferring to run barefoot through the woods, the world. Laurel is her responsible sister, stitching up her trousseau to marry Perrin, a neighboring farmer. Their father, Mathu Melior, is bemused and tolerant of his wildly varying daughters. Beda is their cook.
Corbet Lynn is a local son who has returned to claim his inheritance, Lynn Hall. Tearle Lynn had been Corbet's abused father. Nial Lynn had been his nasty grandfather.
Crispin is the blacksmith's lazy son who has an eye for the ladies. Salish is his more responsible brother. Halov is their grandfather. Furl and Ley Gett and Tamis Orley are more of the younger villagers.
Shave Turl cares for his old auntie, Great-aunt Anis Turl, who had been a contemporary of Tearle Lynn's with Marin. Aleria Turl of the gooseberry eyes has snagged the man of her dreams.
Leta Gett is old with older bones. Caryl is her grown daughter. Blane is the apothecary for whom Rois gathers materials. Mat Gris is one of his patients. Til Travers is the man who found the body; Nysa Turl liked to ride with him. Willom is Til's son.
The winter faerie queen is quite possessive.
The Cover and Title
The cover is muted in grayed-out colors yet vivid in detail. It's Rois with her deep golden hair crimped and styled with a deep gold tiara with a clear drop suspended from the center and wearing a short necklace of pearls, her shoulders encased in ermine that blends into the snowy landscape. A tree grows up from the bottom center, its two trunks separating to embrace Rois' neck, becoming one with her hair. Hair from which vines sprout and twine, merging with the rose vines clambering in a narrow border around the cover. Keeping her company is a snowy owl, perched on one of the branches while a full-blown red rose rises up from the lower right. The author's name and title are in white and span the top with a pale green informational blurb above it.
The title is the protagonist, the Winter Rose, who struggles through a winter of her own discontent.
jowithtwoiis's review against another edition
5.0
I always love Patricia McKillip's books and this is no exception. Loved every moment of it.
shareen17's review against another edition
2.0
I found this book really confusing. It's a fairy tale re-write that flows from dream to reality. A little too much flow for me, because I was never sure what was happening. I did like the author's language and imagery though.
reclusivebookslug's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
- Interesting premise
- Some cool descriptions
- Lack of immersion
- Unclear magic system
- Vague ending (
I want to know if real world Corbin is aware of the fey realm he was in. - Repetitive plot
- Flat characters
flying_monkeys's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.5
A retelling of the popular ballad Tam Lin, Winter Rose uses lyrical language to distract from the mundane mystery central to its plot.
The scenes in which Rois works her way through the village elders' recollections were the most slow-going. These repetitious conversations read more like info dumps than authentic curiosity/ investigation. I also did not appreciate that the two sisters were vying for the same man's affections. Nor did I like that Rois submitted to her sister, Laurel, without any fight whatsoever. I guess this is meant to show the purity of Rois' love for both Laurel and Corbet Lynn. But, to me, it translated to the beautiful sister deserves the love while the free-spirit (read: plain-looking) sister deserves to be alone. Finally, I was most disappointed by the fact that, in the end, Corbet shows true interest in Rois because she's lost, or at the very least tamed, her non-conformist ways by wearing shoes, riding a horse, etc. Does this mean one can only win their true love by compromising their Self? By caring about such superficial matters as clothes, hair, etc.?
What this book lacked in character and plot, it made up for with vivid imagery and a firm sense of place. These descriptions - from the water at the well to plants that Rois collected to the changing seasons - evoked powerful memories and personal experiences. Without the beautiful prose and fairy-tale premise, I probably wouldn't have finished.
If someone asked me for a good Tam Lin retelling, I'd recommend Roses and Rot by Kat Howard instead of Winter Rose.
3.5 stars
(My first book by McKillip. I'll definitely read another by her, though.)
The scenes in which Rois works her way through the village elders' recollections were the most slow-going. These repetitious conversations read more like info dumps than authentic curiosity/ investigation. I also did not appreciate that the two sisters were vying for the same man's affections. Nor did I like that Rois submitted to her sister, Laurel, without any fight whatsoever. I guess this is meant to show the purity of Rois' love for both Laurel and Corbet Lynn. But, to me, it translated to the beautiful sister deserves the love while the free-spirit (read: plain-looking) sister deserves to be alone. Finally, I was most disappointed by the fact that, in the end, Corbet shows true interest in Rois because she's lost, or at the very least tamed, her non-conformist ways by wearing shoes, riding a horse, etc. Does this mean one can only win their true love by compromising their Self? By caring about such superficial matters as clothes, hair, etc.?
What this book lacked in character and plot, it made up for with vivid imagery and a firm sense of place. These descriptions - from the water at the well to plants that Rois collected to the changing seasons - evoked powerful memories and personal experiences. Without the beautiful prose and fairy-tale premise, I probably wouldn't have finished.
If someone asked me for a good Tam Lin retelling, I'd recommend Roses and Rot by Kat Howard instead of Winter Rose.
3.5 stars
(My first book by McKillip. I'll definitely read another by her, though.)
embereye's review against another edition
4.0
This is a re-read, but as always I kind of love this fairytale book. Something about McKillip's incredibly lush yet spare writing and strangely rich imagery really calls to me. This book is not my favorite of her stories, but I have been meaning to re-read it in conjunction with the later Solstice Wood story, which is kind of a sequel set hundreds of years later.
moreliajoy's review against another edition
5.0
I think this might be my favorite McKillip book yet, which is saying a LOT.
*Longer review coming soon (hopefully)
*Longer review coming soon (hopefully)
pipernme's review against another edition
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
Lovely writing but I was bored. The story was so slow nothing really happens.