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Winter Journeys: A Novel of Music and Memory
Winter Journeys
is a story about the power of music and imagination.
In 1827, a year before his death, composer Franz Schubert wrote twenty-four songs that trace the physical and mental trajectory of a man who has parted from the young woman for whom he had romantic feelings. Wandering the winter countryside, he passes from sorrow to disillusion, anger, confusion, irony, loneliness, and a final surrender—to madness?
In 1987, Ilona Miller’s final year at university, she is enchanted by a recorded voice singing those twenty-four songs. A misfit who has struggled to please and succeed, she becomes an explorer of uncontrolled emotions. When she meets a man who seems to embody the marvellous voice, she acts out her romantic imaginings, but her giddy joy soon spirals into chaos.
In 2007, Ilona Miller is downsized from her office job. Instead of adjusting her attitude, upgrading her skills, and sending out resumes, she retreats into grief and paranoid imaginings. Her walks along streets and seashores awaken a long-suppressed alter ego and summon a parade of lost memories. Did the choices she made twenty years ago harm someone besides herself? Who is the man whose harmonica she hears at night? And where is she going now?
In 1827, a year before his death, composer Franz Schubert wrote twenty-four songs that trace the physical and mental trajectory of a man who has parted from the young woman for whom he had romantic feelings. Wandering the winter countryside, he passes from sorrow to disillusion, anger, confusion, irony, loneliness, and a final surrender—to madness?
In 1987, Ilona Miller’s final year at university, she is enchanted by a recorded voice singing those twenty-four songs. A misfit who has struggled to please and succeed, she becomes an explorer of uncontrolled emotions. When she meets a man who seems to embody the marvellous voice, she acts out her romantic imaginings, but her giddy joy soon spirals into chaos.
In 2007, Ilona Miller is downsized from her office job. Instead of adjusting her attitude, upgrading her skills, and sending out resumes, she retreats into grief and paranoid imaginings. Her walks along streets and seashores awaken a long-suppressed alter ego and summon a parade of lost memories. Did the choices she made twenty years ago harm someone besides herself? Who is the man whose harmonica she hears at night? And where is she going now?
231 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 1, 2025
2 people are currently reading
4 people want to read
About the author
Audrey Driscoll
17 books40 followersI began writing fiction in 2000 when I decided that H.P. Lovecraft's character Herbert West needed a life story. The result was a series of four books, all available as ebooks and in print.
She Who Comes Forth is a sequel to the series. Tales from the Annexe is a collection of short stories. Both books are available in both print and ebook form. Four of the stories in the collection were originally published as separate ebooks, which are no longer available.
When I'm not writing, I am wrestling with plants on a 50 x 120 foot patch of ground in Victoria, British Columbia.
She Who Comes Forth is a sequel to the series. Tales from the Annexe is a collection of short stories. Both books are available in both print and ebook form. Four of the stories in the collection were originally published as separate ebooks, which are no longer available.
When I'm not writing, I am wrestling with plants on a 50 x 120 foot patch of ground in Victoria, British Columbia.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
February 13, 2025
This is a beautiful read on so many levels that I’m wondering how to review it in a way that captures all it has to offer. I’ll start by saying that I felt compelled to search youtube for recordings of Schubert’s Winterreise song cycle, the music that consumes the character Ilona’s life. I don’t know a word of German, and yet the haunting songs and baritone vocals were entrancing and lent a mesmerizing reality to the story.
Winterreise, composed by Franz Schubert and based on poems by Wilhelm Müller, delves into themes of love, loss, and wandering. Its 24 songs tell the story of a disillusioned young man who embarks on a solitary winter journey after a painful romantic rejection. It captures a range of emotions, from despair and longing to resignation and bitterness. It’s a haunting portrayal of human suffering and the quest for meaning amidst desolation.
The themes of the song cycle are intricately and subtly layered throughout the read, lending it a beautiful depth and richness beyond the more observable plot. Multiple threads of loss, seeking, and despair weave the story together. On top of that, the writing is gorgeous, the details just right, the pace flawless, and the empathy for Ilona drawn, page by page, from the reader’s heart as Driscoll reveals Ilona's story.
The story takes place in two different timelines. 2007-8 is the current thread, told in 3rd person. Ilona has lost her job. She’s on the brink of homelessness and can’t seem to focus on the future. Instead, she endlessly wanders the winter city searching for Davy, a man from her past that she wronged in a romantic relationship. She believes he’s homeless, (another winter wanderer) and her desire to find him consumes her.
The other timeline follows Ilona’s life from 1997-8, told in 1st person (a clever choice since Ilona never really escaped this year of her life). She’s a university senior writing a paper on German Romanticism, specifically Schubert’s Winterreise song cycle, which has completely captivated her. Though in a relationship with Davy, she becomes obsessed with a man named Julian (the same name as the man who sings the Winterreise songs). When Julian seems to vanish, she begins searching for him through another winter landscape, and her life begins to fall apart.
I would call this novel a piece of literary fiction for its careful crafting and intricate story, though it moves along effortlessly and had me hooked from the start. I highly recommend it to readers who enjoy a beautifully written character-driven novel. And just for fun, listen to a bit of Schubert while reading!
I received an ARC of this book from the author without expectation of a review.
Winterreise, composed by Franz Schubert and based on poems by Wilhelm Müller, delves into themes of love, loss, and wandering. Its 24 songs tell the story of a disillusioned young man who embarks on a solitary winter journey after a painful romantic rejection. It captures a range of emotions, from despair and longing to resignation and bitterness. It’s a haunting portrayal of human suffering and the quest for meaning amidst desolation.
The themes of the song cycle are intricately and subtly layered throughout the read, lending it a beautiful depth and richness beyond the more observable plot. Multiple threads of loss, seeking, and despair weave the story together. On top of that, the writing is gorgeous, the details just right, the pace flawless, and the empathy for Ilona drawn, page by page, from the reader’s heart as Driscoll reveals Ilona's story.
The story takes place in two different timelines. 2007-8 is the current thread, told in 3rd person. Ilona has lost her job. She’s on the brink of homelessness and can’t seem to focus on the future. Instead, she endlessly wanders the winter city searching for Davy, a man from her past that she wronged in a romantic relationship. She believes he’s homeless, (another winter wanderer) and her desire to find him consumes her.
The other timeline follows Ilona’s life from 1997-8, told in 1st person (a clever choice since Ilona never really escaped this year of her life). She’s a university senior writing a paper on German Romanticism, specifically Schubert’s Winterreise song cycle, which has completely captivated her. Though in a relationship with Davy, she becomes obsessed with a man named Julian (the same name as the man who sings the Winterreise songs). When Julian seems to vanish, she begins searching for him through another winter landscape, and her life begins to fall apart.
I would call this novel a piece of literary fiction for its careful crafting and intricate story, though it moves along effortlessly and had me hooked from the start. I highly recommend it to readers who enjoy a beautifully written character-driven novel. And just for fun, listen to a bit of Schubert while reading!
I received an ARC of this book from the author without expectation of a review.
May 7, 2025
This is a beautifully crafted book, written with a flow which allows the past and the present to merge seamlessly. The setting in the depths of winter is in harmony with the central theme of the story… the music and its power over the mind and heart. The author has done an excellent job of bringing the two together.
As we move back and forth from 1987 to 2007, it is clear that IIona, now in her early 40s has experienced some setbacks over the years, and we begin to understand how the events of the past have brought her to this point in her life. She has been settled for some years in her job and in the sanctuary of her small flat, but is now suddenly faced with an uncertain future and a deepening of her lack of self-worth.
Whilst coming to terms with this unexpected turn of events, the past keeps intruding into her thoughts, prompted by coming across a man on her walks in the worsening weather, who seems somewhat familiar? Is he the one who is also invading the privacy of her small courtyard, leaving behind litter and belongings and adding to her growing paranoia?
We are gradually introduced to the events that took place her last year in college before graduating. It would appear that she found socialising with others a challenge, despite making efforts to connect, but she is determined to finish her final exams and graduate. Then she is introduced to the music of Schubert which captivates her, including the 24 songs of Winterreise and one tenor in particular whose voice resounds in her heart. Her growing obsession of the music and the singer leads to some events which will change the course of her life forever.
Now tweny years later, IIona begins to examine those events in more detail and searches for answers that eluded her at the time. She relives the music, the people and the events to seek clarity and a way forward. And makes a decision, the only one she feels she can live with.
I do recommend this book as it is deeply poignant and beautifully written.It also is a reminder that mental illness is a complex condition and takes many forms. The author has offered us an opportunity to witness that, and perhaps be a little more aware of those around us who might need help in some way.
As we move back and forth from 1987 to 2007, it is clear that IIona, now in her early 40s has experienced some setbacks over the years, and we begin to understand how the events of the past have brought her to this point in her life. She has been settled for some years in her job and in the sanctuary of her small flat, but is now suddenly faced with an uncertain future and a deepening of her lack of self-worth.
Whilst coming to terms with this unexpected turn of events, the past keeps intruding into her thoughts, prompted by coming across a man on her walks in the worsening weather, who seems somewhat familiar? Is he the one who is also invading the privacy of her small courtyard, leaving behind litter and belongings and adding to her growing paranoia?
We are gradually introduced to the events that took place her last year in college before graduating. It would appear that she found socialising with others a challenge, despite making efforts to connect, but she is determined to finish her final exams and graduate. Then she is introduced to the music of Schubert which captivates her, including the 24 songs of Winterreise and one tenor in particular whose voice resounds in her heart. Her growing obsession of the music and the singer leads to some events which will change the course of her life forever.
Now tweny years later, IIona begins to examine those events in more detail and searches for answers that eluded her at the time. She relives the music, the people and the events to seek clarity and a way forward. And makes a decision, the only one she feels she can live with.
I do recommend this book as it is deeply poignant and beautifully written.It also is a reminder that mental illness is a complex condition and takes many forms. The author has offered us an opportunity to witness that, and perhaps be a little more aware of those around us who might need help in some way.
March 14, 2025
Winter Journeys: A Novel of Music and Memory by Audrey Driscoll
5/5
As all of Driscoll’s previous books have had a strong element of the supernatural about them, I was half expecting something similar from Winter Journeys. Instead, I discovered a glorious, character driven story about being different, and falling in love with music.
The story is told through the eyes of Ilona Miller, a middle-aged woman whose life revolves around her job and her small basement apartment. She doesn’t really socialise, has never been married, or had children, or pets, or any of the things most of us take for granted. We are not told why, but right from the start we get the feeling that there is something in her past that she’s trying to get away from.
And then Ilona’s job is made redundant, the only one in the company to do so. She is given a severance package that will allow her to pay the rent for a few months, but not surprisingly she feels victimised, believing that she was chosen for the chop because no one really likes her.
Things go downhill from there.
When I first read about Ilona’s plight, I’ll be honest, my initial reaction was “pull yourself together and just get another job!”
I felt very uncomfortable with Ilona’s apparent self-pity until the story unfolded a bit more, and I began to see that it was that ‘something’ in her past that was triggering her depression and negativity. But what was it?
That ‘what’ was revealed, bit by bit, as the story flowed backwards and forwards from the present day to the past.
As a teen, Ilona’s mother forced her to study to be a teacher, but in her last year, she took an elective course that turned her life upside down. The elective was about Romantic era music, in particular the Winterreise, a series of 24 songs composed by Franz Schubert.
Winterreise literally means ‘winter journey’, and the songs trace the life of a young man who is jilted by the girl he loves and never recovers. He leaves his old life behind and starts walking, just walking. It’s winter, it’s cold, and he’s just walking without any destination in mind.
Ilona is captivated by both the story and the music, and creates this romantic image of the young man in her mind. She stops studying and becomes obsessed with the story, the music and the singer, a tenor by the name of Julian Northridge. In time, she empathizes so much with the fictional character in Winterreise that she falls in love in the real world, with a young man also named Julian.
And this is where the story becomes quite dark because there are hints that Ilona goes to bed with this ‘Julian’ because of a date rape drug. It is never spelled out in so many words, but much of what she remembers turns out to be a hallucination.
What happens next is the ‘something’ that I had been dreading, almost from the first page. To say any more would spoil a truly masterful story. Let’s just say that I grow to like Ilona by the end.
And now a word about Winterreise the music. I love classical music, but my tastes go to Chopin, and Debussy, and Rachmaninov rather than the Germanic composers. The thing is though, you don’t have to love that particular piece of music to understand the power of music. Music speaks directly to our emotions, engaging us at a gut level, so if you don’t like Schubert, or classical music in general, just substitute any piece of music you love for Winterreise, and you will be captivated by Ilona’s story.
Apologies for the length of this review, but this story moved me in ways I struggle to describe. Like Ilona, I was an awkward teen, and I have always loved music, so her story sent me on a journey of my own. If you love deep storytelling then this is a journey worth taking. Very highly recommended.
Disclaimer: I received an ARC copy of ‘Winter Journeys: A Novel of Music and Memory’ from the Author, Audrey Driscoll, because Amazon no longer allows customers to download ebooks via USB.
5/5
As all of Driscoll’s previous books have had a strong element of the supernatural about them, I was half expecting something similar from Winter Journeys. Instead, I discovered a glorious, character driven story about being different, and falling in love with music.
The story is told through the eyes of Ilona Miller, a middle-aged woman whose life revolves around her job and her small basement apartment. She doesn’t really socialise, has never been married, or had children, or pets, or any of the things most of us take for granted. We are not told why, but right from the start we get the feeling that there is something in her past that she’s trying to get away from.
And then Ilona’s job is made redundant, the only one in the company to do so. She is given a severance package that will allow her to pay the rent for a few months, but not surprisingly she feels victimised, believing that she was chosen for the chop because no one really likes her.
Things go downhill from there.
When I first read about Ilona’s plight, I’ll be honest, my initial reaction was “pull yourself together and just get another job!”
I felt very uncomfortable with Ilona’s apparent self-pity until the story unfolded a bit more, and I began to see that it was that ‘something’ in her past that was triggering her depression and negativity. But what was it?
That ‘what’ was revealed, bit by bit, as the story flowed backwards and forwards from the present day to the past.
As a teen, Ilona’s mother forced her to study to be a teacher, but in her last year, she took an elective course that turned her life upside down. The elective was about Romantic era music, in particular the Winterreise, a series of 24 songs composed by Franz Schubert.
Winterreise literally means ‘winter journey’, and the songs trace the life of a young man who is jilted by the girl he loves and never recovers. He leaves his old life behind and starts walking, just walking. It’s winter, it’s cold, and he’s just walking without any destination in mind.
Ilona is captivated by both the story and the music, and creates this romantic image of the young man in her mind. She stops studying and becomes obsessed with the story, the music and the singer, a tenor by the name of Julian Northridge. In time, she empathizes so much with the fictional character in Winterreise that she falls in love in the real world, with a young man also named Julian.
And this is where the story becomes quite dark because there are hints that Ilona goes to bed with this ‘Julian’ because of a date rape drug. It is never spelled out in so many words, but much of what she remembers turns out to be a hallucination.
What happens next is the ‘something’ that I had been dreading, almost from the first page. To say any more would spoil a truly masterful story. Let’s just say that I grow to like Ilona by the end.
And now a word about Winterreise the music. I love classical music, but my tastes go to Chopin, and Debussy, and Rachmaninov rather than the Germanic composers. The thing is though, you don’t have to love that particular piece of music to understand the power of music. Music speaks directly to our emotions, engaging us at a gut level, so if you don’t like Schubert, or classical music in general, just substitute any piece of music you love for Winterreise, and you will be captivated by Ilona’s story.
Apologies for the length of this review, but this story moved me in ways I struggle to describe. Like Ilona, I was an awkward teen, and I have always loved music, so her story sent me on a journey of my own. If you love deep storytelling then this is a journey worth taking. Very highly recommended.
Disclaimer: I received an ARC copy of ‘Winter Journeys: A Novel of Music and Memory’ from the Author, Audrey Driscoll, because Amazon no longer allows customers to download ebooks via USB.
May 14, 2025
I thought about this very compelling book for a few hours after I finished it. Then, I opened it back up, read the prologue again and found myself rereading the entire book.
There are so many ways to understand and appreciate Winter Journeys. On one level, it’s the story of a neurodivergent woman at two major crisis points in her life. On another, it’s a multilevel exploration of alienation and social disconnection inspired by Schubert’s Winterreise song cycle, which was itself inspired by Wilhelm Müller’s twenty-four poems of the same name. In the poems, a young man follows his impulse to walk away from society in mid-winter after his fiancée suddenly ended their relationship.
The book is a tapestry woven with multiple winter journeys: that of the original set of poems; the parallel journey of the middle-aged Ilona after she loses her job and struggles to find another; the metaphorical journey Ilona took as a socially ill-at-ease university student into obsession, delusion, and disassociation; and finally to the implied journey of the seldom seen (and possibly hallucinated) unhoused harmonica player. (I would love to read a sequel from the street performer’s perspective.)
Winter Journeys beautifully demonstrates how literary devices such as voice, tense, setting, foreshadowing, parallel narratives, and unreliable narrators can be used to engage the reader’s imagination and emotions. Others describe examples of these better than I could, so please read their reviews. But I do want to note which particularly struck me during the second read. (I mainly stayed immersed in the narrative on the first read.)
In the 1987-1988 narrative thread, Ilona tells her story in first person, past tense. She describes events and her response to them as if they’ve just happened, but we see over time that she has left out a lot. We find out in the parallel 2007-2008 narration that she has memory gaps, either suppressed by time, possible trauma, and medication, or an unwillingness to consider the years in between as a life really lived from a Romanticist’s point of view (and therefore not worthy of remembering).
The narration of this later time period is in 3rd person, present tense. It subtly reinforces Ilona’s disconnection from others and a sense of being unmoored from the past and any hope of a future. In the cold gloom of winter, her money is running out and homelessness seems likely. She turns away from continuing futile job searches and from asking “normal” and “condescending” people for help. Instead, she begins wandering at night to avoid being seen by others. She searches for a street musician who she believes is the young man that she abruptly broke up with when they were college seniors, but who might be a hallucination.
The prologue, especially during the second read, came across to me almost like an overture of an opera. It laid out themes to come and managed to smoothly incorporate first, second, and third voices to effectively foreshadow connections between past and present.
Foreshadowing also appears when Ilona chooses a German Romanticism course to fill a gap in her senior year course schedule. As her professor, Mona Lang, points out when playing a piece by the tenor who will become Ilona’s obsession: “Cheerful, beautiful, and grotesque; and remember that sinister is never far away, even when the song seems happy and carefree. That’s a feature of Romanticism, as I hope you realize by now.”
We learn from Winter Journeys (and from accompanying lookups on Wikipedia) that there was an obsession with death in the Romantic era, perhaps because many died young. As a result, there was a strong urge to live life as fully as possible. Both Schubert and Müller died in their early 30s: Schubert of syphilis, just after finishing Winterreise, and Müller the following year, possibly from a heart attack.
Ilona’s intense fascination with the Schubert song cycle and a particular tenor, and her apathy about her education major (which led to skipping classes and exam preparation), mirror Schubert’s giving up a teaching position to compose music. The middle-aged Ilona’s preference for solitude during freezing night-time temperatures mirrors Muller’s Winterreise protagonist, who impulsively walks away from his beloved’s house after she refuses him and just keeps going instead of returning home. In each case, other people are the sources of dread, and winter itself becomes a companion of the journey, despite its harshness.
Winter Journeys would be a good catalyst for a discussion of where to draw the line between respecting a person’s life decisions and when it is appropriate for family, friends, or professionals to intervene. Neurodiversity was not much understood in the 1980s and is still an evolving concept today. How much support and accommodation should be offered? What should neurotypical people do to understand that their perspective isn’t the only valid one?
But even so, there are circumstances that intensify vulnerabilities to paranoia, obsession, or intrusive thoughts in anyone. Even if the compulsion to leave the familiarity of one’s former (unhappy) life and live rough is not a pathology, what is the appropriate response for those who are experiencing a psychotic break? If the person with the challenges doesn’t want help and would rather be left alone, should this be respected, particularly in life-threatening conditions? Or is that an excuse to justify doing nothing? (This assumes that one even sees such people as individuals and not simply part of the scenery of the streets. The narrator tells us that only Ilona sees the harmonica player. Is he another of her hallucinations or is his invisibility society’s?)
There are so many ways to understand and appreciate Winter Journeys. On one level, it’s the story of a neurodivergent woman at two major crisis points in her life. On another, it’s a multilevel exploration of alienation and social disconnection inspired by Schubert’s Winterreise song cycle, which was itself inspired by Wilhelm Müller’s twenty-four poems of the same name. In the poems, a young man follows his impulse to walk away from society in mid-winter after his fiancée suddenly ended their relationship.
The book is a tapestry woven with multiple winter journeys: that of the original set of poems; the parallel journey of the middle-aged Ilona after she loses her job and struggles to find another; the metaphorical journey Ilona took as a socially ill-at-ease university student into obsession, delusion, and disassociation; and finally to the implied journey of the seldom seen (and possibly hallucinated) unhoused harmonica player. (I would love to read a sequel from the street performer’s perspective.)
Winter Journeys beautifully demonstrates how literary devices such as voice, tense, setting, foreshadowing, parallel narratives, and unreliable narrators can be used to engage the reader’s imagination and emotions. Others describe examples of these better than I could, so please read their reviews. But I do want to note which particularly struck me during the second read. (I mainly stayed immersed in the narrative on the first read.)
In the 1987-1988 narrative thread, Ilona tells her story in first person, past tense. She describes events and her response to them as if they’ve just happened, but we see over time that she has left out a lot. We find out in the parallel 2007-2008 narration that she has memory gaps, either suppressed by time, possible trauma, and medication, or an unwillingness to consider the years in between as a life really lived from a Romanticist’s point of view (and therefore not worthy of remembering).
The narration of this later time period is in 3rd person, present tense. It subtly reinforces Ilona’s disconnection from others and a sense of being unmoored from the past and any hope of a future. In the cold gloom of winter, her money is running out and homelessness seems likely. She turns away from continuing futile job searches and from asking “normal” and “condescending” people for help. Instead, she begins wandering at night to avoid being seen by others. She searches for a street musician who she believes is the young man that she abruptly broke up with when they were college seniors, but who might be a hallucination.
The prologue, especially during the second read, came across to me almost like an overture of an opera. It laid out themes to come and managed to smoothly incorporate first, second, and third voices to effectively foreshadow connections between past and present.
Foreshadowing also appears when Ilona chooses a German Romanticism course to fill a gap in her senior year course schedule. As her professor, Mona Lang, points out when playing a piece by the tenor who will become Ilona’s obsession: “Cheerful, beautiful, and grotesque; and remember that sinister is never far away, even when the song seems happy and carefree. That’s a feature of Romanticism, as I hope you realize by now.”
We learn from Winter Journeys (and from accompanying lookups on Wikipedia) that there was an obsession with death in the Romantic era, perhaps because many died young. As a result, there was a strong urge to live life as fully as possible. Both Schubert and Müller died in their early 30s: Schubert of syphilis, just after finishing Winterreise, and Müller the following year, possibly from a heart attack.
Ilona’s intense fascination with the Schubert song cycle and a particular tenor, and her apathy about her education major (which led to skipping classes and exam preparation), mirror Schubert’s giving up a teaching position to compose music. The middle-aged Ilona’s preference for solitude during freezing night-time temperatures mirrors Muller’s Winterreise protagonist, who impulsively walks away from his beloved’s house after she refuses him and just keeps going instead of returning home. In each case, other people are the sources of dread, and winter itself becomes a companion of the journey, despite its harshness.
Winter Journeys would be a good catalyst for a discussion of where to draw the line between respecting a person’s life decisions and when it is appropriate for family, friends, or professionals to intervene. Neurodiversity was not much understood in the 1980s and is still an evolving concept today. How much support and accommodation should be offered? What should neurotypical people do to understand that their perspective isn’t the only valid one?
But even so, there are circumstances that intensify vulnerabilities to paranoia, obsession, or intrusive thoughts in anyone. Even if the compulsion to leave the familiarity of one’s former (unhappy) life and live rough is not a pathology, what is the appropriate response for those who are experiencing a psychotic break? If the person with the challenges doesn’t want help and would rather be left alone, should this be respected, particularly in life-threatening conditions? Or is that an excuse to justify doing nothing? (This assumes that one even sees such people as individuals and not simply part of the scenery of the streets. The narrator tells us that only Ilona sees the harmonica player. Is he another of her hallucinations or is his invisibility society’s?)
March 4, 2025
Winter Journeys tells a deep and dark story of a woman, Llona Miller, a woman who never quite finds her place in the world. Not in our world, anyway. Llona's life's story is told in two interwoven streams of narration. One is set in 2007 and is told mostly in third person narration. The other is set in 1987-88 and has Llona narrating her life as an education major senior in college.
The 2007 story line recounts the life of the now 40-something year-old Llona after she is laid off from an office job she had held for three years. It had been the best job she's ever had and she does not take being laid off very well. Not well at all. She quickly, and seemingly helplessly, falls into a deep depression, and perhaps paranoia, becoming an unpleasant and bitter person; angry at the world she's never quite fit comfortably into and the life she's had to live, while she makes halfhearted, and unsuccessful, attempts to find a new job.
Llona's own 1987-88 story turns back the clock, recounting her experiences as an education major college senior– a program that she does not really want to be in, but is taking to please her down-to-earth parents who believe that an expensive college education should lead of a job. With a chance to take a course outside of her education field of study, she chooses a course on German Romantism. Though out of her element, it leads to her discovery of the works of Schubert and his Winterreise song cycle in particular. She finds herself powerfully drawn to the romantic world of a spurned lover who sets out on a winter's journey, especially when sung by Julian Northridge. He becomes something of her ghost-lover, taking over her imagination and life. And through her narration the reader is introduced to something of the history of Schubert's and his song cycle of the winter's journey of a spurned lover.
Since I generally don't go into plot details in my reviews, I will only say in Winter's Journey Audrey Driscoll spins a very powerful and atmospheric story, a deep psychological study of a socially awkward person, someone who is drawn into Shubert's songs and follows the romantic ideal, that is to say, of following one's feelings regardless of where they may lead. And in this story, they lead to, well, a winter's walk of her own. And a ghost, who perhaps plays a harmonica.
The 2007 story line recounts the life of the now 40-something year-old Llona after she is laid off from an office job she had held for three years. It had been the best job she's ever had and she does not take being laid off very well. Not well at all. She quickly, and seemingly helplessly, falls into a deep depression, and perhaps paranoia, becoming an unpleasant and bitter person; angry at the world she's never quite fit comfortably into and the life she's had to live, while she makes halfhearted, and unsuccessful, attempts to find a new job.
Llona's own 1987-88 story turns back the clock, recounting her experiences as an education major college senior– a program that she does not really want to be in, but is taking to please her down-to-earth parents who believe that an expensive college education should lead of a job. With a chance to take a course outside of her education field of study, she chooses a course on German Romantism. Though out of her element, it leads to her discovery of the works of Schubert and his Winterreise song cycle in particular. She finds herself powerfully drawn to the romantic world of a spurned lover who sets out on a winter's journey, especially when sung by Julian Northridge. He becomes something of her ghost-lover, taking over her imagination and life. And through her narration the reader is introduced to something of the history of Schubert's and his song cycle of the winter's journey of a spurned lover.
Since I generally don't go into plot details in my reviews, I will only say in Winter's Journey Audrey Driscoll spins a very powerful and atmospheric story, a deep psychological study of a socially awkward person, someone who is drawn into Shubert's songs and follows the romantic ideal, that is to say, of following one's feelings regardless of where they may lead. And in this story, they lead to, well, a winter's walk of her own. And a ghost, who perhaps plays a harmonica.
February 7, 2025
Driscoll interweaves strong character and engaging plot with the enduring question of where the line between individualism and society should lie.
When Ilona Miller discovers Schubert’s Winterreise during her final year of university, her unconscious presumption that she’ll finish her education degree, become a teacher, and perhaps marry a sensible man is challenged by a growing obsession with a particular recording and the world of passion it evokes. Twenty years later, suddenly made redundant from her sensible office job and noticing odd things happening around her house, she becomes sure the strangely familiar homeless man she glimpsed is an ex-boyfriend from university, and that he’s stalking her. With the authorities seemingly uninterested, she decides to find him herself; however, as she investigates further, memories she’d suppressed break free, casting her ever deeper into paranoia and further from normal life.
The novel is formed of two interwoven narratives: a few months from late 1987 to early 1988 when Ilona is at university; and a few months almost exactly twenty years later starting on the day Ilona is made redundant. Each of these starts with Ilona seeming a normal woman jolted out of a rut, with the two threads offering contrasting good (emotional art) and bad (unemotional capitalism) shocks. However, as they proceed, Driscoll presents evidence that Ilona might have a tendency to obsession and that her mature recollection of events might not be accurate.
With both threads narrated entirely by the respective Ilonas, the reader has no comparators to judge the truth of events in either time, casting both narrators as potentially the unreliable one and thus raising further doubt over whether Ilona is the decent and reasonable person she believes she is.
Driscoll’s plots of a bad relationship and a woman turning away from normal society, and her setting of Canada in winter, strongly and fittingly echo the spurned lover wandering through a wintery Germany of Shubert’s Winterreise; however, it is an echo rather than a reprise and thus is likely to seem neither simple nor predictable to those familiar with that work.
The novel, most overtly perhaps in the two threads of youthful exuberance and mature drudgery, is also filled with the struggle between innocence and experience that runs through the romantic movement of which Schubert’s work is considered a part.
Driscoll concludes the book not with a traditionally happy ending but with an end to Ilona’s doubts. Thus, the reader is left to judge for themselves whether Ilona should live her life within the lines society sets.
Ilona is—for all she might or might not actually be a pleasant person—a sympathetic protagonist who acts upon her discomfort and desire rather than becoming trapped in angst or indecision. Although her assumptions and actions are perhaps slightly more extreme than the reader’s might be—as befits a Romantic character—they are consistent with the glimpses of her past life.
The supporting cast, even allowing for the lens of Ilona’s potential biases, are each complex and flawed individuals rather than simplistic objects, victims, or oppressors
Overall, I greatly enjoyed this novel. I recommend it to readers seeking an engaging portrayal of the conflict between pursuing personal meaning and accepting the structures of modern society.
I received a free copy from the author with a request for a fair review.
When Ilona Miller discovers Schubert’s Winterreise during her final year of university, her unconscious presumption that she’ll finish her education degree, become a teacher, and perhaps marry a sensible man is challenged by a growing obsession with a particular recording and the world of passion it evokes. Twenty years later, suddenly made redundant from her sensible office job and noticing odd things happening around her house, she becomes sure the strangely familiar homeless man she glimpsed is an ex-boyfriend from university, and that he’s stalking her. With the authorities seemingly uninterested, she decides to find him herself; however, as she investigates further, memories she’d suppressed break free, casting her ever deeper into paranoia and further from normal life.
The novel is formed of two interwoven narratives: a few months from late 1987 to early 1988 when Ilona is at university; and a few months almost exactly twenty years later starting on the day Ilona is made redundant. Each of these starts with Ilona seeming a normal woman jolted out of a rut, with the two threads offering contrasting good (emotional art) and bad (unemotional capitalism) shocks. However, as they proceed, Driscoll presents evidence that Ilona might have a tendency to obsession and that her mature recollection of events might not be accurate.
With both threads narrated entirely by the respective Ilonas, the reader has no comparators to judge the truth of events in either time, casting both narrators as potentially the unreliable one and thus raising further doubt over whether Ilona is the decent and reasonable person she believes she is.
Driscoll’s plots of a bad relationship and a woman turning away from normal society, and her setting of Canada in winter, strongly and fittingly echo the spurned lover wandering through a wintery Germany of Shubert’s Winterreise; however, it is an echo rather than a reprise and thus is likely to seem neither simple nor predictable to those familiar with that work.
The novel, most overtly perhaps in the two threads of youthful exuberance and mature drudgery, is also filled with the struggle between innocence and experience that runs through the romantic movement of which Schubert’s work is considered a part.
Driscoll concludes the book not with a traditionally happy ending but with an end to Ilona’s doubts. Thus, the reader is left to judge for themselves whether Ilona should live her life within the lines society sets.
Ilona is—for all she might or might not actually be a pleasant person—a sympathetic protagonist who acts upon her discomfort and desire rather than becoming trapped in angst or indecision. Although her assumptions and actions are perhaps slightly more extreme than the reader’s might be—as befits a Romantic character—they are consistent with the glimpses of her past life.
The supporting cast, even allowing for the lens of Ilona’s potential biases, are each complex and flawed individuals rather than simplistic objects, victims, or oppressors
Overall, I greatly enjoyed this novel. I recommend it to readers seeking an engaging portrayal of the conflict between pursuing personal meaning and accepting the structures of modern society.
I received a free copy from the author with a request for a fair review.
July 9, 2025
In her forties now, and on the verge of redundancy from the office job she’s held down for three years, Ilona looks back over twenty years to her time at university. Attempting to fit-in to her parents’ vision of her future—although against her will—she studied education, which it soon becomes clear was never for her. Able to study what we’d now call a ‘wild’ module, she finds one on German Romanticism, which rapidly becomes the focus of her attention, to the detriment of her other studies.
Added to this are the attentions of Davy Dawson, with whom Ilona was at school back in her home town, and who it’s obvious is far more smitten with her than she is with him. She becomes involved with him nevertheless, and her casual attitude to their interactions is only one indication that all is not well with Ilona. Other signs and portents become apparent, shown and hinted at rather than told outright, building a growing awareness in the reader of what’s actually going on with Ilona.
In that past life, her compulsive immersion into the world of German Lieder—specifically the Winterreise (‘Winter Journey’) by Franz Schubert—illustrates Ilona’s identification with the Romantic hero of these songs, on his own journey through the winter countryside into a metaphorical wilderness of negative emotions and a descent into madness, following his rejection by the woman he loves. Ilona constructs an ‘ideal man’ by mixing him together with the singer of the songs on the CD which she plays obsessively to the exclusion of all else. Studying education was always too logical and reasonable for her—Ilona is Romantic to the core, with everything that entails, including the elements of tragedy and heroic failure.
Her difficult journey through a personal winter is matched with descriptions of the winter and its landscape in the present-day sections of the narrative. It’s almost painful to watch a woman who’s lived her life trying to fill the role that society indicates for her. She’s the outsider, the square peg who won’t fit the round hole which has been prepared for her—so she’s been forced and prodded and chemically-coshed to do so. Now, however, she’s finally free to live a life within which she feels comfortable and, whatever hardship it entails, Ilona is going to live authentically at last—and too bad if others don’t like it.
This is a beautifully-written and well-researched text, a work of Literary Fiction which deserves far more attention—dark themes notwithstanding—than it seems to have received to date. On a personal note, I never really got into Romanticism when I studied it, and German Lieder never appealed to me—apart from Auf dem Wasser zu Singen, which by strange chance is a main song used in Ilona’s story. It’s obvious I was always meant to read it—and I urge you to do the same. Highly recommended.
Added to this are the attentions of Davy Dawson, with whom Ilona was at school back in her home town, and who it’s obvious is far more smitten with her than she is with him. She becomes involved with him nevertheless, and her casual attitude to their interactions is only one indication that all is not well with Ilona. Other signs and portents become apparent, shown and hinted at rather than told outright, building a growing awareness in the reader of what’s actually going on with Ilona.
In that past life, her compulsive immersion into the world of German Lieder—specifically the Winterreise (‘Winter Journey’) by Franz Schubert—illustrates Ilona’s identification with the Romantic hero of these songs, on his own journey through the winter countryside into a metaphorical wilderness of negative emotions and a descent into madness, following his rejection by the woman he loves. Ilona constructs an ‘ideal man’ by mixing him together with the singer of the songs on the CD which she plays obsessively to the exclusion of all else. Studying education was always too logical and reasonable for her—Ilona is Romantic to the core, with everything that entails, including the elements of tragedy and heroic failure.
Her difficult journey through a personal winter is matched with descriptions of the winter and its landscape in the present-day sections of the narrative. It’s almost painful to watch a woman who’s lived her life trying to fill the role that society indicates for her. She’s the outsider, the square peg who won’t fit the round hole which has been prepared for her—so she’s been forced and prodded and chemically-coshed to do so. Now, however, she’s finally free to live a life within which she feels comfortable and, whatever hardship it entails, Ilona is going to live authentically at last—and too bad if others don’t like it.
This is a beautifully-written and well-researched text, a work of Literary Fiction which deserves far more attention—dark themes notwithstanding—than it seems to have received to date. On a personal note, I never really got into Romanticism when I studied it, and German Lieder never appealed to me—apart from Auf dem Wasser zu Singen, which by strange chance is a main song used in Ilona’s story. It’s obvious I was always meant to read it—and I urge you to do the same. Highly recommended.
April 18, 2025
A superbly written story blending fact and fiction, about how an obsession with a piece of music can damage an already disturbed mind. The descriptions of the location, the weather, the music, and the descent into madness are so well written that they stick with the reader long after the book is closed. I enjoyed learning about Schubert and his music, as well as following the protagonist. The dual timelines are cleverly separated by third and first-person narration. All in all, an excellent read!
May 11, 2025
This is a fascinating book filled with haunting imagery that harkens to most literary style. From the opening pages (dated 2007-8) I wasn't sure what to expect as we meet Illona, who speaks to us from her first person POV as she is being fired.
Illona soon turns her point of view to the third person as she speaks of the 1997-8 time period when she was a university student writing a paper on German Romanticism (Schubert’s Winterreise song cycle). She and a fellow student Davy Dawson listened to these songs as they fell in love ...
Now, from the vantage point of her older, adult self, Illona (whose been diagnosed with social anxiety disorder) also looks back on her life and tries to find Davy ...
But she's not "only" looking for him. She's trying to make sense of her own life too, at the way her father was so pleased to have a "college girl" for a daughter and how now, after his death, her mother had turned from a strong woman to someone old and weak.
This book reads very much like a movie, very atmospheric and visual. A thought-provoking read.
Illona soon turns her point of view to the third person as she speaks of the 1997-8 time period when she was a university student writing a paper on German Romanticism (Schubert’s Winterreise song cycle). She and a fellow student Davy Dawson listened to these songs as they fell in love ...
Now, from the vantage point of her older, adult self, Illona (whose been diagnosed with social anxiety disorder) also looks back on her life and tries to find Davy ...
But she's not "only" looking for him. She's trying to make sense of her own life too, at the way her father was so pleased to have a "college girl" for a daughter and how now, after his death, her mother had turned from a strong woman to someone old and weak.
This book reads very much like a movie, very atmospheric and visual. A thought-provoking read.
September 9, 2025
Winter’s Journeys is a powerful and compelling read - though definitely on the heavier side, both emotionally and thematically. It tells the story of Ilona, a woman whose life is shaped by two pivotal periods: 1987–1988 and 2007–2008.
In the late '80s, Ilona is a final-year student training to be a teacher. But when she takes an optional course in German Romanticism, it triggers a downward spiral into mental health struggles that dramatically alter her path. Similarly, in 2007, being made redundant sparks another unravelling. The book deals with dark and complex themes including depression, suicidal ideation, hallucinations, and delusion - so it's definitely not light reading.
Despite its weight, the novel is beautifully written and deeply absorbing. One aspect I found a bit challenging was the shift in narrative voice: the past is told in first person, while the present is in third - until later in the book when the lines blur and it becomes harder to tell which timeline you're in, especially when both are written in first person. This narrative shift can be disorienting at times, but in a way, it also pulls you deeper into Ilona's psychological state.
Each modern-day chapter opens with a description of the weather, while the past chapters often begin with reflections on Romanticism. The Romanticism bits could feel a little dense at times, but they added a poetic texture to the writing.
Overall, Winter’s Journeys is a sad but moving story that explores how quickly life can change. I’d strongly recommend it to readers who appreciate introspective, emotionally rich literary fiction and don’t mind darker subject matter.
In the late '80s, Ilona is a final-year student training to be a teacher. But when she takes an optional course in German Romanticism, it triggers a downward spiral into mental health struggles that dramatically alter her path. Similarly, in 2007, being made redundant sparks another unravelling. The book deals with dark and complex themes including depression, suicidal ideation, hallucinations, and delusion - so it's definitely not light reading.
Despite its weight, the novel is beautifully written and deeply absorbing. One aspect I found a bit challenging was the shift in narrative voice: the past is told in first person, while the present is in third - until later in the book when the lines blur and it becomes harder to tell which timeline you're in, especially when both are written in first person. This narrative shift can be disorienting at times, but in a way, it also pulls you deeper into Ilona's psychological state.
Each modern-day chapter opens with a description of the weather, while the past chapters often begin with reflections on Romanticism. The Romanticism bits could feel a little dense at times, but they added a poetic texture to the writing.
Overall, Winter’s Journeys is a sad but moving story that explores how quickly life can change. I’d strongly recommend it to readers who appreciate introspective, emotionally rich literary fiction and don’t mind darker subject matter.
April 3, 2025
This is an extraordinary book of literary fiction that reminded me in many ways of various works by the Bronte sisters. The writing is beautiful and vivid, and the main character, for me, was compelling in a strange and almost dark way. It was clear from the start of the story that Llona Miller was a woman with severe mental health issues. She obviously had difficulties in relating to other people and suffered from a persecution complex where she believed her colleagues were conspiring against her.
The story starts with Llona rushing to get to the bank during her lunch break. She spots a homeless man playing a harmonica which makes no tangible sound. She believes this man to be someone she knew from her collage days. She dwells on the man, Davy Dawson, in a rather obsessive way, but the reader gets the impression this would have passed had Llona not had the misfortune to be retrenched during a downsizing exercise. She disbelieves management's commentary that her retrenchment is due to her being the most recent introduction to the team and becomes more and more certain that, somehow, her past has infiltrated her work environment, and people can sense she is different. Llona starts her slow descent into a complete withdrawal from functional society. Her obsession with finding Davy Dawson grows and she starts searching for him. As she walks about in the depths of the Canadian winter, trying to find him, she relives the story of her life and how she became immersed in the music of Franz Schubert to a point where writing an essay about his life takes over all her time and focus.
This is a sad story of a woman's mental degeneration and the related collapse of her life. Llona's life story is one of tragedy and loss. It was never clear to me as to whether the homeless man she thought was Davy Dawson actually existed or whether he was a figment of her imagination.
This is a fascinating story which provides a lot of insight into mental illness and its effect not only on the sufferer but also on the people around them. A most worthy read for people who enjoy literary fiction and character driven books.
A few examples of the compelling writing:
"That spring I wore sunglasses whenever I went outside. The light was intolerable, harsh, uncouth, needle-like, whether hazing a dusty window or jabbing laser-like into my eyes from chrome bumpers and trim on cars, or glassware and cutlery on a table."
"It's clear to her that Nicole is out of her depth. Her face is even redder, and her eyes dart from computer screen to window to her own fingers; she looks anywhere but at Ilona, who sits and gazes at her. (Ilona has done this before, but now she is doing it differently."
The story starts with Llona rushing to get to the bank during her lunch break. She spots a homeless man playing a harmonica which makes no tangible sound. She believes this man to be someone she knew from her collage days. She dwells on the man, Davy Dawson, in a rather obsessive way, but the reader gets the impression this would have passed had Llona not had the misfortune to be retrenched during a downsizing exercise. She disbelieves management's commentary that her retrenchment is due to her being the most recent introduction to the team and becomes more and more certain that, somehow, her past has infiltrated her work environment, and people can sense she is different. Llona starts her slow descent into a complete withdrawal from functional society. Her obsession with finding Davy Dawson grows and she starts searching for him. As she walks about in the depths of the Canadian winter, trying to find him, she relives the story of her life and how she became immersed in the music of Franz Schubert to a point where writing an essay about his life takes over all her time and focus.
This is a sad story of a woman's mental degeneration and the related collapse of her life. Llona's life story is one of tragedy and loss. It was never clear to me as to whether the homeless man she thought was Davy Dawson actually existed or whether he was a figment of her imagination.
This is a fascinating story which provides a lot of insight into mental illness and its effect not only on the sufferer but also on the people around them. A most worthy read for people who enjoy literary fiction and character driven books.
A few examples of the compelling writing:
"That spring I wore sunglasses whenever I went outside. The light was intolerable, harsh, uncouth, needle-like, whether hazing a dusty window or jabbing laser-like into my eyes from chrome bumpers and trim on cars, or glassware and cutlery on a table."
"It's clear to her that Nicole is out of her depth. Her face is even redder, and her eyes dart from computer screen to window to her own fingers; she looks anywhere but at Ilona, who sits and gazes at her. (Ilona has done this before, but now she is doing it differently."
August 25, 2025
Winter Journeys is the story of Ilona Miller told via two timelines. The tale begins in 2007 with Ilona trying to hold down a relatively new job. Though performing well, she is let go in a downsizing move. This news is devastating because of her limited finances. Ilona feels bitter because she thinks others deserve to be let go before her, but as someone with the least seniority, she loses her job. On the same day, she sees someone playing a flute who she suspects is an old boyfriend, Davy Dawson. She dated Davy while in college, but his feelings for her were much stronger than hers for him.
The author then takes us back to 1987, Ilona's senior year in college, as she's studying to become a teacher. One gets the sense this is more to meet her parents' expectations than something she is passionate about. Ilona has space to take three elective credits and opts to take a class in German Romanticism. At first, she is more interested in one of the guys in the class than the subject matter until her instructor introduces her students to the works of composer Franz Schubert. The music, Winterreise (winter journey) becomes an unhealthy obsession for her and her other studies begin to suffer. She spends as much time alone as she can while borrowing Davy's CD player, memorizing the music and feeling every note. When Ilona's instructor assigns the students to write a paper by the end of the term, she concentrates on that almost exclusively and stops attending her other classes.
Author Audrey Driscoll then seamlessly alternates between the two timelines as we begin to see Ilona exhibit some signs of mental illness to the point that she has a hard time differentiating between what's real and what she's made up in her head. Ilona begins to merge Schubert's music with images of a character called Julian, the same name as the singer of the Winterreise songs. When Ilona meets a Julian at a campus party, she dumps Davy, who becomes distraught. One of the more interesting elements of Driscoll's story is there are times when we don't know what is real and what Ilona is seeing in her mind. Is the person she sees 20 years later really Davy? Does Julian exist, or is he a symbol of Ilona's further mental illness?
The writing is first rate; the pacing is excellent. I liked how the author dropped hints but wasn't in a rush to reveal too much at once. Though the novel was somewhat dark and disturbing, I enjoyed it thoroughly.
The author then takes us back to 1987, Ilona's senior year in college, as she's studying to become a teacher. One gets the sense this is more to meet her parents' expectations than something she is passionate about. Ilona has space to take three elective credits and opts to take a class in German Romanticism. At first, she is more interested in one of the guys in the class than the subject matter until her instructor introduces her students to the works of composer Franz Schubert. The music, Winterreise (winter journey) becomes an unhealthy obsession for her and her other studies begin to suffer. She spends as much time alone as she can while borrowing Davy's CD player, memorizing the music and feeling every note. When Ilona's instructor assigns the students to write a paper by the end of the term, she concentrates on that almost exclusively and stops attending her other classes.
Author Audrey Driscoll then seamlessly alternates between the two timelines as we begin to see Ilona exhibit some signs of mental illness to the point that she has a hard time differentiating between what's real and what she's made up in her head. Ilona begins to merge Schubert's music with images of a character called Julian, the same name as the singer of the Winterreise songs. When Ilona meets a Julian at a campus party, she dumps Davy, who becomes distraught. One of the more interesting elements of Driscoll's story is there are times when we don't know what is real and what Ilona is seeing in her mind. Is the person she sees 20 years later really Davy? Does Julian exist, or is he a symbol of Ilona's further mental illness?
The writing is first rate; the pacing is excellent. I liked how the author dropped hints but wasn't in a rush to reveal too much at once. Though the novel was somewhat dark and disturbing, I enjoyed it thoroughly.
May 31, 2025
This is a story that portrays a woman's life and the journey she embarked upon taking her into the depths of crippling mental illness.
The story opens with Ilona rushing to get back to work on time from her lunch break. She knows she's been doing a good job. She's followed the rules, been a good worker and kept to herself. But it's not enough and by the end of the day she's unemployed.
Then, the author takes the reader back in time to when Ilona was a young college student, just months away from graduating from the university, her entire life ahead. That is until she veered away from academics and took a German Romanticism class, which led to her unraveling. Perhaps she'd always teetered on the edge of madness, that part isn't clear. What is clear though, is how through an obsession with Franz Schubert's composition of Wilhelm Müller's poems to comprise the 24 songs of Winterreise, assigned as a major project in the romanticism class, she slowly lost touch with all reality. Yet, for Ilona, it wasn't just the lyrics and music, but also the voice of the singer, Julian Northridge that consumed her. She stopped attending classes, sequestered in her room, headphones on, immersed in the story that unfolds through the poetic lyrics. The significance of this song cycle is the story it tells. A man, a lonely traveler, ventures out into the snow to rid himself of a lost love. Along the way, he experiences a myriad of emotions and experiences, ranging from despair to even darker and more dire despair.
The parallel between Ilona's journey and the lyrics to this German classic is brilliantly written. This author must have done a ton of research in order to create this work of literary fiction. She delves deeply into the human psyche, portraying the character's deepest and darkest inner thoughts, struggles and desires. Written in a dual timeline (1987-1988) and (2007-2008), the story unfolds at a pace that kept me engaged and wanting to know how it would all end for Ilona. No, I won't tell you how it all culminated. You'll have to read it to find out. I will tell you the story captivated me. The journey, the music, the side characters and Ilona's struggle is one I won't likely ever forget. If you are a fan of literary fiction that dives deep into what makes a person tick, or stop ticking, you will enjoy this story. It gets an easy five-stars from me!
The story opens with Ilona rushing to get back to work on time from her lunch break. She knows she's been doing a good job. She's followed the rules, been a good worker and kept to herself. But it's not enough and by the end of the day she's unemployed.
Then, the author takes the reader back in time to when Ilona was a young college student, just months away from graduating from the university, her entire life ahead. That is until she veered away from academics and took a German Romanticism class, which led to her unraveling. Perhaps she'd always teetered on the edge of madness, that part isn't clear. What is clear though, is how through an obsession with Franz Schubert's composition of Wilhelm Müller's poems to comprise the 24 songs of Winterreise, assigned as a major project in the romanticism class, she slowly lost touch with all reality. Yet, for Ilona, it wasn't just the lyrics and music, but also the voice of the singer, Julian Northridge that consumed her. She stopped attending classes, sequestered in her room, headphones on, immersed in the story that unfolds through the poetic lyrics. The significance of this song cycle is the story it tells. A man, a lonely traveler, ventures out into the snow to rid himself of a lost love. Along the way, he experiences a myriad of emotions and experiences, ranging from despair to even darker and more dire despair.
The parallel between Ilona's journey and the lyrics to this German classic is brilliantly written. This author must have done a ton of research in order to create this work of literary fiction. She delves deeply into the human psyche, portraying the character's deepest and darkest inner thoughts, struggles and desires. Written in a dual timeline (1987-1988) and (2007-2008), the story unfolds at a pace that kept me engaged and wanting to know how it would all end for Ilona. No, I won't tell you how it all culminated. You'll have to read it to find out. I will tell you the story captivated me. The journey, the music, the side characters and Ilona's struggle is one I won't likely ever forget. If you are a fan of literary fiction that dives deep into what makes a person tick, or stop ticking, you will enjoy this story. It gets an easy five-stars from me!
March 8, 2025
Having read some of Driscoll's earlier books and having followed her blog for some time, I was eager to read this book when she announced it several months ago. Just reading the description back then told me this would be a special book. I'm not even sure why that was, but I pre-ordered it to make sure it showed up on my Kindle and I could read it as soon as possible.
Winter Journeys is about Ilona Miller, a woman in her 40s whose life is slowly unraveling. That story is intertwined with a story of 20 years before when she went through another unraveling -- brought about, presumably, by an obsession with Franz Schubert's Winterreise -- a set of 24 songs that tell the story of a man who may be descending into madness.
My enthusiasm about this book before I even had it on my Kindle was rewarded. The parallels between the story told by Winterreise and Ilona's own struggles provide an interesting context for her descent. And for me raise the question of what comes first ... was Ilona predisposed to madness or was there something in Schubert's masterpiece and her own experiences at the very time when she was first exposed to his music that pushed her over an edge that otherwise may have never existed?
Interestingly, over on Twitter somebody asked if anybody had read a book they liked so much they immediately read it again. I commented on the one book that I've done with. And now, I feel like I need to add Winter Journeys to that list. I feel like I may have missed things.
This book is a perfect example of the strength of indie writers. It's a beautiful work unlike most of what you get from traditional publishers. It's a quiet story. (I know, it's about madness, how can it be quiet. Trust me, it is a quiet story.) Incredibly well written. It's almost perfect.
Winter Journeys is about Ilona Miller, a woman in her 40s whose life is slowly unraveling. That story is intertwined with a story of 20 years before when she went through another unraveling -- brought about, presumably, by an obsession with Franz Schubert's Winterreise -- a set of 24 songs that tell the story of a man who may be descending into madness.
My enthusiasm about this book before I even had it on my Kindle was rewarded. The parallels between the story told by Winterreise and Ilona's own struggles provide an interesting context for her descent. And for me raise the question of what comes first ... was Ilona predisposed to madness or was there something in Schubert's masterpiece and her own experiences at the very time when she was first exposed to his music that pushed her over an edge that otherwise may have never existed?
Interestingly, over on Twitter somebody asked if anybody had read a book they liked so much they immediately read it again. I commented on the one book that I've done with. And now, I feel like I need to add Winter Journeys to that list. I feel like I may have missed things.
This book is a perfect example of the strength of indie writers. It's a beautiful work unlike most of what you get from traditional publishers. It's a quiet story. (I know, it's about madness, how can it be quiet. Trust me, it is a quiet story.) Incredibly well written. It's almost perfect.
October 18, 2025
A deeply haunting story from Audrey Driscoll.
Literary, and a touch dark, but rendered accessible by a cast of characters all beautifully and sympathetically drawn. That said, our protagonist, Ilona, isn’t an easy person to like — but we forgive her because she’s clearly damaged, and for a reason the story gradually unveils.
We see two versions of her: first, as a suddenly downsized office worker facing an uncertain future, apparently haunted by the presence of a harmonica-playing homeless man; and then twenty years earlier, as a student training to be a teacher — a course more to her parents’ liking than her own.
But what Ilona craved back then was the more bohemian side of academic life, which she eventually found in a supplementary course on the German Romantics. Here she was introduced to Schubert, and in particular his song cycle Winterreise — the story of a forlorn lover journeying through the snow and meeting a derelict musician. This clearly echoes the harmonica-playing man who haunts her later life, and serves as a subtle clue.
The narrative moves between past and present — the past told in Ilona’s first-person voice, the present in third. Yet Ilona proves to be something of an unreliable narrator, her version of events not always aligning with how others remember them. In many ways, this is a story of obsession — indeed, of possession by the imagination — very much in the spirit of Romanticism.
Past and present, and Schubert’s Winterreise itself, weave together beautifully to a conclusion that stays with you long after reading. I enjoyed it very much.
Literary, and a touch dark, but rendered accessible by a cast of characters all beautifully and sympathetically drawn. That said, our protagonist, Ilona, isn’t an easy person to like — but we forgive her because she’s clearly damaged, and for a reason the story gradually unveils.
We see two versions of her: first, as a suddenly downsized office worker facing an uncertain future, apparently haunted by the presence of a harmonica-playing homeless man; and then twenty years earlier, as a student training to be a teacher — a course more to her parents’ liking than her own.
But what Ilona craved back then was the more bohemian side of academic life, which she eventually found in a supplementary course on the German Romantics. Here she was introduced to Schubert, and in particular his song cycle Winterreise — the story of a forlorn lover journeying through the snow and meeting a derelict musician. This clearly echoes the harmonica-playing man who haunts her later life, and serves as a subtle clue.
The narrative moves between past and present — the past told in Ilona’s first-person voice, the present in third. Yet Ilona proves to be something of an unreliable narrator, her version of events not always aligning with how others remember them. In many ways, this is a story of obsession — indeed, of possession by the imagination — very much in the spirit of Romanticism.
Past and present, and Schubert’s Winterreise itself, weave together beautifully to a conclusion that stays with you long after reading. I enjoyed it very much.
March 1, 2025
Winter Journeys has one of the best prologues I have ever read.
Llona Miller’s life isn’t perfect, but it is doable until that fateful day when it wasn’t. I loved how she shared her thoughts while trying to understand everything.
Inevitably, she manages to fall down the rabbit hole, unable to change anything.
I liked the format of this story and the way Llona’s thoughts lead you back and forth depending on their relevance. Comparing her present and student days created a profound exercise as I tracked her journey.
This story, beautifully and soulfully written, inspired me. I have reached a time in my life where my thoughts mirror Llona’s. I came to realise this while reading her words. What I do doesn’t matter much these days, so should I stop wondering and worrying and just do what I want?
Do I even know what that is?
I found this story complex and tense beyond measure, unlike anything I have read before. It was a veritable feast of thoughts and emotions…
July 15, 2025
This is a very unusual story. It's told from three different people's perspectives in three different timeframes, involving a woman in her forties called Ilona Miller who is struggling with mental health problems who turns to Schubert music to help. I thought that it was an interesting concept and idea, but I found it difficult moving in between the different time periods as it jumped from place to place, making it hard to keep up with what was going on. I find it more easier to read conventional stories that are told from one or two points of view within the same setting, rather than "alternative" styles of writing that jump back and forth from different eras.
July 20, 2025
Although extremely well-written, I found my attention wandering throughout this book. There are great swathes of description - about the weather, about Ilona (the main character) and her meanderings around her city, and although I know much of it was meant to show the unravelling of her mind, I wasn't attached enough to the character to really care. I enjoyed Driscoll's seamless writing, and had some interest in some of the content of the story, but as a whole, I'm not a big fan of character-driven fiction, which affected my enjoyment of this one.
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