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Original poster

Best really wintery books?

35 replies

MorrisZapp · 24/12/2022 11:11

I know it's spelled wintry but I don't like it 😁

I love reading books set in really wintery conditions. Deep snow, abandoned cabins, blizzard warnings, people getting lost in drifts on their way to their own barn etc.

Does anyone have a favourite wintery read? I've found most of the current crop of country house murder type stuff to be unsatisfying. I think I need something a bit grittier.

Like if Fargo was a book. Maybe historical. Cowboys??

OP posts:
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Always4Brenner · 27/12/2022 16:30

Snow it’s set in U.K. with three week continue snowing
Thaw is the sequel.

FourChimneys · 27/12/2022 16:28

White Hunger by Aki Ollikainen will make you grateful to be tucked up indoors. Famine in Finland in 1867...

On a lighter note, Arthur Ransome's Winter Holiday.

TheGoodEnoughWife · 27/12/2022 16:19

The Snow Child

kesstrel · 27/12/2022 14:55

Snow by John Banville. Incredibly beautifully written, a classic-style country house murder mystery.

toomuchlikemyusername · 26/12/2022 10:52

I really enjoyed The Glovemaker by Ann Weisgarber. It's set in rural Utah is the late 1800's in the depth of winter and tells the story of a stranger appearing in the town, followed by the Federal Marshall. I found it really compelling and atmospheric.

TeaAndStrumpets · 26/12/2022 10:24

I love The Nine Tailors (Dorothy Sayers) for a winter read. It is so atmospheric.

Riverlee · 26/12/2022 10:03

This thread reminded me of the book, “No night is too long”, by Batavia Vine (aka Ruth Randall), partially set in Alaska.

book

From googling it (as couldn’t remember who wrote it), discovered a film has been made, with Marc Warren (Hustle tv series) so plan to watch it.

cannotfindanickname · 26/12/2022 02:01

Also, I am currently reading The Winter Ghosts by Kate Mosse.

cannotfindanickname · 26/12/2022 02:00

Beartown by Fredrick Backman. It's set around a small town ice hockey team. It's very good.

ScissorsPaperStone · 26/12/2022 01:48

Also Stef Penney, The Tenderness of Wolves. Set in trapping community in Canada.

ScissorsPaperStone · 26/12/2022 01:31

A place called winter by Patrick Gale. About emigration to Canada.

"The coldest place on earth" looks good but I haven't read

eddiemairswife · 24/12/2022 21:10

A Spell of Winter by Helen Dunmore. You can really feel the bitter cold. Also by her is The Siege set in WW2 Stalingrad, again intense, killer cold and starvation.

ByTheNine · 24/12/2022 20:58

I absolutely LOVE "Miss Smilla's Feeling for Snow" - the title makes it sound like it's going to be some twee shite but it's twisty and savage and absolutely freezing cold.

Swissnotswiss · 24/12/2022 20:53

I'm reading The Sanatorium at the moment. It's very snowy!

Whywhywhywhy3 · 24/12/2022 20:46

I second The Bear and the Nightingale a previous poster said. It's the first in a trilogy, Russian inspired fantasy. It's beautiful.

I also love The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey, it's a beautifully written historical fiction set in Alaska with some magical realism.
And recently read Midnight in Everwood by M A Kuzniar which is beautiful too, a dark retelling of The Nutcracker

FabulousFlamingo · 24/12/2022 20:42

Kristen Hannah ~The Great Alone. Set in Alaska. Loved it

JaninaDuszejko · 24/12/2022 17:05

If you fancy a classic what about Doctor Zhivago by Boris Pasternak? Not all in the snow but some memorable snow scenes.

Original poster
MorrisZapp · 24/12/2022 16:36

Brilliant reading list! I actually have One for the Blackbird on my shelf, I'll get it down tonight ❤️

OP posts:
Cinnamonandcoal · 24/12/2022 14:40

Yes to Miss Smilla's Feeling for Snow.

The Bear and the Nightingale series by Katherine Arden. Medieval Russian fantasy.

JennyForeigner · 24/12/2022 14:33

The Dark is Rising

Riverlee · 24/12/2022 14:29

The Snow Child

Shunkleisshiny · 24/12/2022 14:05

RedRosie · 24/12/2022 13:54

I was going to suggest Dark Matter by Michelle Paver. But I see a discerning PP has beat me to it! It's terrific.

Also Thin Air by Michelle Paver snow, mountains and a terrifying story.

evtheria · 24/12/2022 14:04

Letitrainletitrainletitrain · 24/12/2022 13:59

the snow spider

Oh I love this book, really makes me think of deep drifts of snow and gales whipping round cruel mountains.

Angharad78 · 24/12/2022 14:02

another vote for the amazing One For The Blckbird, One for a the Crow. I think about it often! Calamity by the same author is also excellent though not seasonal.

NooNakedJacuzziness · 24/12/2022 14:02

The Shining

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