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The Colours of Snow
Book by Fenton, Kate
Paperback
First published January 1, 1990
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
October 10, 2011
Quirky romance about a London-based artist who movies to the Yorkshire countryside for inspiration. She finds it, and finds love with a gentle, stammering bear of a man. At the beginning, she thinks the man to be a simple farmer, but as she learns more about him, she learns he's situation is a lot more complicated. Don't want to spoil it more, since I enjoyed the "Whaaat?!?" moments of the book.
I like the Fenton's writing style, she's doesn't do cookie-cutter Brit-chick-lit women characters (the over-worked, under-appreciated, weight-conscious and/or fashionista tropes), likewise the male leads are different, and believable.
However, this struck me as a dated book...in 1989, did people actually write letters, instead of picking up the phone when something very important happens? Maybe it bothered me because there was a similar letter-writing scene in another Kate Fenton book, Vanity and Vexation: A Novel of Pride and Prejudice] (UK Title: Lions and Licorice)- a modern, gender-swapped version of Pride and Prejudice. In that book, at least, the "letter between lovers" I thought, was based on a P&P book, but maybe it's just Fenton's way of progressing the story along quickly.
I like the Fenton's writing style, she's doesn't do cookie-cutter Brit-chick-lit women characters (the over-worked, under-appreciated, weight-conscious and/or fashionista tropes), likewise the male leads are different, and believable.
However, this struck me as a dated book...in 1989, did people actually write letters, instead of picking up the phone when something very important happens? Maybe it bothered me because there was a similar letter-writing scene in another Kate Fenton book, Vanity and Vexation: A Novel of Pride and Prejudice] (UK Title: Lions and Licorice)- a modern, gender-swapped version of Pride and Prejudice. In that book, at least, the "letter between lovers" I thought, was based on a P&P book, but maybe it's just Fenton's way of progressing the story along quickly.
July 30, 2016
A rather convoluted story about a young woman artist, Frankie, who decides to spend the winter in a Yorkshire cottage in the hopes of focusing on her painting. She meets a local man, Ned, who seems to like her well enough but will not respond to her advances. They seem to exist in a bubble of daily meetings for a glass of wine and civilized conversation, but as Frankie begins to get drawn into the life of the local community, she starts to find out the complexities in Ned's life and the reason why he is not acting upon his evident attraction.
The best parts of the book were those where Frankie is painting, or trying to paint, or just trying to get through the winter in her cottage. The plot was far-fetched, even Gothic, and the construction of the story, which made sense in the very last pages, required that the first chapter be essentially full of incomprehensible foreshadowing. The characters are not convincing. Frankie is very self-centered, and her determined pursuit of Ned does not make her any more sympathetic. Ned is too sweet to be true, and the villains in the piece are stereotypical.
The best parts of the book were those where Frankie is painting, or trying to paint, or just trying to get through the winter in her cottage. The plot was far-fetched, even Gothic, and the construction of the story, which made sense in the very last pages, required that the first chapter be essentially full of incomprehensible foreshadowing. The characters are not convincing. Frankie is very self-centered, and her determined pursuit of Ned does not make her any more sympathetic. Ned is too sweet to be true, and the villains in the piece are stereotypical.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews