Reviews

Winter by Ali Smith

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marc129's review against another edition

3.0

After reading the strange yet fragile and endearing 'Autumn' my expectations for this second seasonal part ‘Winter’ were quite high. Smith immediately put me in my place, with a long list of dead things ("God was dead: to begin with. And romance was dead. Chivalry was dead. Poetry, the novel, painting, they were all dead, and art was dead ... "). Well, do you think, what else did you expect in a novel called ‘Winter’? But then Smith also presents completely different characters than in the previous book: two 70-year-old sisters Sophie and Iris, Sophie's clumsy son Art, and his 'stand-in' girlfriend Lux. So she builds up a quite new story.

Yet there are quite a few similarities between 'Autumn' and 'Winter' In both books the protagonists constantly jump back and forth, both in time and in narrative perspective. Once again there are some absurd scenes (the strange head Sophie constantly sees around, and the large rock her son Art remarks hanging above the living room table), and these once again are functional in a metaphoric way. Almost all dialogues and descriptions are full of double entendre and humorous references. Also current events are very present: the Brexit, the fire in the Grenfell Tower, and the capricious antics of the American president T. (his full name is only mentioned briefly at the end), the heartlessness of certain forms of bureaucracy, etc. Instead of the Profumo scandal of the 1960s, the focus now is on the anti-nuclear and ecological resistance movement of the 1980s. And finally, just like in 'Autumn' Smith focuses on a previously unknown artist, in this case on Barbara Hepworth, and her polished stones with a hole in the middle, symbol of the sense of loss in our existence.

In short, the bag of ‘Winter’ is quite loaded. And just like in part 1, it is not really the intrigue that makes up the strength of the novel, but rather the constant alternation, the mix of occurrences, flashbacks, and dialogues, with both humorous and compelling references, set in an improvised Christmas-Eve surrounding. The interaction between the sisters Sophie and Iris in particular is refreshing: they are each other's antipodes, both politically and in terms of personality; but their sharp dialogues full of poisonous accusations are gradually giving way to an endearing approach. That is primarily the work of the apparently naïve girl Lux (Latin for ‘light’), who manages to puncture the self-evidences of Sophie, Iris and Art in a disarming way. She does so to the extent that this novel eventually develops into a kind of Christmas fairy tale. In this way, Smith consciously brings a little light into the wintery darkness. I missed the poetical aspect of 'Autumn' but this second part of Smith's seasonal cycle again really appealed to me. I’m looking forward to ‘Spring’. Very much so.

mklymiuk's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

kaitlynruby's review

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5.0

Ali Smith is a smart and creative writer who ties together the emotions and themes of a season along with contemporary history and the current political climate to create a story both artful and deeply human. Her writing is a bit bizarre [literary] at first but so enjoyable to read with its layers of detail, meaning, and wit. I love watching how she brings everything together.