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Svartåsen #1
El invierno más largo
Un thriller histórico mezcla de El piano y The Killing ambientado en la Suecia del siglo XVIII.
Laponia, 1717. Maija, su marido Paavo y sus dos hijas, Frederika y Dorotea, han emigrado desde Finlandia a la Laponia sueca, en la zona del monte Blackåsen. Paavo sufre de angustias y miedos incontrolables, y tuvo que abandonar su trabajo como pescador. Ahora la familia vive en una granja. Una mañana, Frederika y Dorotea llevan a pastar a las cabras a la parte superior del bosque. Allí encuentran el cadáver de un hombre. Maija decidirá avisar de este suceso a los escasos y lejanos vecinos del pueblo que se encuentra a un día de distancia a pie, un lugar tenebroso y solitario que solo parece volver a la vida cuando las campanas de la iglesia convocan a su gente a través de la nieve. Es allí donde incluso los enemigos más antiguos de esa comunidad se reúnen y abandonan su aislamiento para verse de nuevo. Maija irá conociendo a cada uno de los lugareños en su discreta investigación y se dará cuenta de que, así como la nieve oculta la tierra, sus habitantes esconden los más temibles secretos. Todos dicen que la muerte de ese hombre, quien resulta ser un miembro de la comunidad llamado Erickson, solo puede deberse al ataque de un lobo. Pero ¿qué animal salvaje corta un cuerpo de esa manera, con tan limpias y estudiadas heridas?
«Una novela exquisita llena de suspense, brillantemente escrita y altamente recomendable.» Lee Child
442 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2015
414 people are currently reading
8448 people want to read
About the author
Cecilia Ekbäck
5 books434 followersCecilia was born in the north of Sweden; her parents come from Lapland. During her teens, she worked as a journalist and after university specialised in marketing. Over twenty years her work took her to Russia, Germany, France, Portugal, the Middle East and the UK.
In 2010, she finished a Masters in Creative Writing at Royal Holloway. She now lives in Calgary with her husband and twin daughters, 'returning home' to the landscape and the characters of her childhood in her writing.
In 2010, she finished a Masters in Creative Writing at Royal Holloway. She now lives in Calgary with her husband and twin daughters, 'returning home' to the landscape and the characters of her childhood in her writing.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,125 reviews
February 27, 2015
Although I am stingy with 5 star ratings, this one cannot be diminished to a 4. It's slow. You'll require patience. And you will need to be within 1717 and the bleakest period of Swedish small holdings and peasant existence. And never forget that I warned you that the read will not be fun. It occurs within what was known then as "Lapland" in general but on one dark mountain in Sweden, in particular. Lapland encompassed Sweden, Finland, Norway and parts of Russia. Peoples who are now called Sami (as ethnic designation) are then called "Lapps". The Lapps are nomadic and enter our homestead territory in Winter. The homestead or towns population are in great majority from Scandinavian ancestry.
There are no revisionist sensibilities in this novel. Nothing but 1717 eyes or concepts. There is no energy wasted on shedding tears. Often within a starving horror that views a frost in late June. Or with Plague returned. And Sweden has been at war for 150 years. The complexities of Lutheran Christianity and earlier Viking types of animism/polytheism/shamanism are sometimes clashing and at other times fermenting to accusations in common to reactions from surviving great evil. Evil not only perceived, but that is revealed with full eyed evidence.
This is not an easy book to read. Beyond the depth and complexity it also encompasses entry into spirit and psychic territories. Yet beyond that there is also politico in which authority keeps coming from multiple directions which are all beyond knowing. Or often disguised as a needed neighbor or workmate, known for years of their loving trust.
Mothers and daughters, Great-Grandmother long gone but never closer- it is their tales, as well. It is also a tale of tremendous physical suffering and endurance.
Those who cry easily when reading may want to pass this book by. This is a world where humans live and do what they need to live. Sometimes those ways don't parse with central heating sensitivities. It's a world where childhood as we conceive of that period in life, much of that definition's nuance does not exist.
The first half of the book will little reveal to you the lyrical and sublime meshing within the last 2 parts. As Frederika's skills expand, so does the poetic sting.
Soldiering, "hearts and souls" of loyalty or trust, class system intrigue, marriage mistrust- they are all there too. Not since Wolf Hall or Bring Up the Bodies have I read such a skilled look into a period of change. But this one surpasses those, because it holds no king or highest agent at its central point- but only the cognition of those servile individuals who hold those "hearts and souls" ultimate definitions within their own particular minds and spirits.
This is not a feel good book. It's a book you may remember after 30 other reads. Now, I must go and shovel snow. About 12 more inches but I can easily open the door. So simple compared to winter lodging with Maija and her girls!
I do NOT recommend this book to you as a murder mystery buff or one who likes action. This is much closer to a think piece. And how evil truly lurks and is in increments exposed.
There are no revisionist sensibilities in this novel. Nothing but 1717 eyes or concepts. There is no energy wasted on shedding tears. Often within a starving horror that views a frost in late June. Or with Plague returned. And Sweden has been at war for 150 years. The complexities of Lutheran Christianity and earlier Viking types of animism/polytheism/shamanism are sometimes clashing and at other times fermenting to accusations in common to reactions from surviving great evil. Evil not only perceived, but that is revealed with full eyed evidence.
This is not an easy book to read. Beyond the depth and complexity it also encompasses entry into spirit and psychic territories. Yet beyond that there is also politico in which authority keeps coming from multiple directions which are all beyond knowing. Or often disguised as a needed neighbor or workmate, known for years of their loving trust.
Mothers and daughters, Great-Grandmother long gone but never closer- it is their tales, as well. It is also a tale of tremendous physical suffering and endurance.
Those who cry easily when reading may want to pass this book by. This is a world where humans live and do what they need to live. Sometimes those ways don't parse with central heating sensitivities. It's a world where childhood as we conceive of that period in life, much of that definition's nuance does not exist.
The first half of the book will little reveal to you the lyrical and sublime meshing within the last 2 parts. As Frederika's skills expand, so does the poetic sting.
Soldiering, "hearts and souls" of loyalty or trust, class system intrigue, marriage mistrust- they are all there too. Not since Wolf Hall or Bring Up the Bodies have I read such a skilled look into a period of change. But this one surpasses those, because it holds no king or highest agent at its central point- but only the cognition of those servile individuals who hold those "hearts and souls" ultimate definitions within their own particular minds and spirits.
This is not a feel good book. It's a book you may remember after 30 other reads. Now, I must go and shovel snow. About 12 more inches but I can easily open the door. So simple compared to winter lodging with Maija and her girls!
I do NOT recommend this book to you as a murder mystery buff or one who likes action. This is much closer to a think piece. And how evil truly lurks and is in increments exposed.
January 27, 2015
The atmosphere of this novel is so dark, and foreboding, her writing so incredibly detailed. I felt the cold, the hunger as the settlers face one of the coldest winters ever, and the fear as things are happening that are not easily understood. It is easy to fall back on superstitions, cries of witchcraft and a return to the old ways. The Swedish Lapland, not an easy place to live, hearty, hardworking people, tasked with survival and dictated to by their church. Even here, politics are at play and things happen that cannot have a rational explanation. Evil is said to rule this mountain area and though the Laplanders are said to have converted to Christianity, the settlers are still very distrustful and suspicious of this group of hardy nomads.
Maija and her family come here and become involved in a situation seemingly without explanation. Her and her two daughters will suffer greatly and her daughter Fredricka will form an alliance that some will call unholy, a lasting legacy.
A wonderful winter read, and I loved reading about the culture and traditions of these group of early settlers to Lapland. The churches influence and the political struggle. But, ultimately the story is about Maija and daughters, the old ways and the suspicions of those ways. Wonderfully written, with some very interesting characters. A first book from an author I expect big things from.
ARC from Netgalley.
Maija and her family come here and become involved in a situation seemingly without explanation. Her and her two daughters will suffer greatly and her daughter Fredricka will form an alliance that some will call unholy, a lasting legacy.
A wonderful winter read, and I loved reading about the culture and traditions of these group of early settlers to Lapland. The churches influence and the political struggle. But, ultimately the story is about Maija and daughters, the old ways and the suspicions of those ways. Wonderfully written, with some very interesting characters. A first book from an author I expect big things from.
ARC from Netgalley.
December 28, 2015
This was an interesting book, very typical of the Scandinavian style, cold, dark and atmospheric. Very similar in many ways to Burial Rites which is up there in my most favourite books.
Wolf Winter is not quite that good but it is still intriguing and very readable. I was occasionally annoyed by the main character's neglect of her own children in her pursuit of justice, but then no one in this story was perfect. The ending is ambiguous which I believe was the intention of the author. As a glass half full person I am sure they all lived happily ever after. Or as happy as anyone could be in that cold, cold place where there are months when the sun never shines at all.
Wolf Winter is not quite that good but it is still intriguing and very readable. I was occasionally annoyed by the main character's neglect of her own children in her pursuit of justice, but then no one in this story was perfect. The ending is ambiguous which I believe was the intention of the author. As a glass half full person I am sure they all lived happily ever after. Or as happy as anyone could be in that cold, cold place where there are months when the sun never shines at all.
May 26, 2015
The book synopsis of this crime mystery-thriller set in the snowy Sweden Lapland in the year 1717 enticed me from the first time I read it.....but am sad to say turned out to be somewhat of a disappointment. Despite its slightly disjointed and very slow pace, it did have an undercurrent of creep factor that something evil was coming so I eagerly hung in there. Unfortunately, as much as I tried to like it, I just could not connect to the characters or stay with it any longer.......even with (my favorite)......the presence of and often eerie atmosphere.
Ratings are high on this debut novel by Cecilia Ekback so do not pass it by based on my assessment as I actually began skimming a little over half-way in feeling the need to move on......2.5 Stars.
June 10, 2017
A being was either strong enough to hold their ground or they became small and bottomless and started feeding on themselves.
This has been on my to-read list for years, and I'm very glad I finally got round to it. I think what I loved most about this book is the author's descriptions of nature and weather . Her anthropomorphism's of these elements helps to create a dark, eerie and suspenseful setting. The characters were all complex and memorable. I enjoyed all the twists and turns, and could never figure out who killed Eriksson. The magical realism was well done and formed a natural part of the story. What will stay with me for a long time is the difficulty of just surviving in this incredibly harsh environment. I will be looking out for her second book being released this year.
The Story: It’s 1717 in Swedish Lapland, winter is approaching and a new family of settlers has arrived on the bleak and beautiful Blackåsen mountain, hoping to hardscrabble a living from the unforgiving land. When 14-year-old newcomer Frederika stumbles on the mutilated body of a man in the forest, the locals are keen to blame wolves, but Frederika and her mother, the tough, resourceful Maija, are determined to get to the truth
December 16, 2015
In Sweden, a 'wolf winter' is a particularly long and brutal season, “the kind of winter that will remind us we are mortal … mortal and alone...” Cecelia Ekbäck's atmospheric, tense and brooding debut, Wolf Winter, opens in high summer, but the discovery of a mutilated body augurs the dark season to come.
Multiple characters share point-of-view time, but it is Maija and her elder daughter Frederika whose grip on the story's reins steers the narrative. Maija and her family have only just arrived from Finland to take over a dead relative's homestead when Frederika comes across the body of local man. It's presumed he was slain by a pack of wolves, but the nature of wounds would suggest otherwise.
Ekbäck pairs a murder mystery with finely-crafted historical fiction. Set in Swedish Lapland in 1717, Wolf Winter immerses the reader in an isolated collection of homesteads clinging to Blackäsen Mountain, as well as the politics of a monarchy on the edge of collapse. She shows us the power granted to clergy in holding together communities strung out over vast terrain and the power of legend in feeding suspicion and fear.
Wolf Winter joins other northern latitude noir literary fiction, such as Stef Penny's The Tenderness of Wolves (more wolves!), Eowyn Ivey's The Snow Child, David Vann's Caribou Island and Hannah Kent's Burial Rites, where frozen landscapes exact a dark tone, a ponderous pace, an otherworldly struggle for survival against elements both natural and abnormal.
The author set herself an enormous challenge for her debut: a blend of genres that relies on tight control of pacing, yet demands a rich tapestry of detail and exposition. There is a certain superfluity to some village scenes, a need to make certain the reader understands the distant political wranglings, but these are mild complaints set against a deliciously shivery tale rendered in gorgeous, pitch-perfect prose. After this impressive debut, I can't wait to see what she does next.
Multiple characters share point-of-view time, but it is Maija and her elder daughter Frederika whose grip on the story's reins steers the narrative. Maija and her family have only just arrived from Finland to take over a dead relative's homestead when Frederika comes across the body of local man. It's presumed he was slain by a pack of wolves, but the nature of wounds would suggest otherwise.
Ekbäck pairs a murder mystery with finely-crafted historical fiction. Set in Swedish Lapland in 1717, Wolf Winter immerses the reader in an isolated collection of homesteads clinging to Blackäsen Mountain, as well as the politics of a monarchy on the edge of collapse. She shows us the power granted to clergy in holding together communities strung out over vast terrain and the power of legend in feeding suspicion and fear.
Wolf Winter joins other northern latitude noir literary fiction, such as Stef Penny's The Tenderness of Wolves (more wolves!), Eowyn Ivey's The Snow Child, David Vann's Caribou Island and Hannah Kent's Burial Rites, where frozen landscapes exact a dark tone, a ponderous pace, an otherworldly struggle for survival against elements both natural and abnormal.
The author set herself an enormous challenge for her debut: a blend of genres that relies on tight control of pacing, yet demands a rich tapestry of detail and exposition. There is a certain superfluity to some village scenes, a need to make certain the reader understands the distant political wranglings, but these are mild complaints set against a deliciously shivery tale rendered in gorgeous, pitch-perfect prose. After this impressive debut, I can't wait to see what she does next.
December 5, 2020
What a great read! This is a combination historical novel, murder mystery with lots of magical realism. Set in Swedish Lapland in 1717, A family moves to Blackasen mountain where settlers live hard lives. The author does an excellent job of building foreboding and the dark, cold winter adds a dimension that is hard for me (an Australian) to imagine. The story builds slowly and takes time to develop the various characters making it an immersive experience. The conclusion is shocking and rounds up all the loose ends in a satisfying way.
There’s many themes here, contrast between the religion of priests and the older shamanic or pagan religion of the Lapps(as they are referred to in the book); the lack of rights for women, and also how the bigger picture (eg the country at war) affects even small faraway places.
There’s many themes here, contrast between the religion of priests and the older shamanic or pagan religion of the Lapps(as they are referred to in the book); the lack of rights for women, and also how the bigger picture (eg the country at war) affects even small faraway places.
March 22, 2015
Gripping!! Started out as a murder mystery set in 1717 Swedish Lapland. Among a small group of homesteaders, an unpleasant man is murdered. Enter Maija and her family emigrating from Finland; she and an uncle have exchanged properties. Besides the death, there are a mysterious forest fire, disappearance of several folks, including children. The people interact with the local Sami [Lapps]. A mountain seems to exert some kind of sinister pull on the people. Supernatural incidences pile up as the novel progresses, becoming more chilling. Both Maija and daughter Frederika try to solve the mystery. After an unexplained appearance, the girl is gradually drawn into the shamanistic belief system of the Sami. Ostensibly Christian, they still cling to some of their old folkways. Maija, her family, and the whole settlement fight the cruelest winter in living memory upon them.
There are red herrings aplenty and twists and turns. When you think you have the story figured out, the author throws something completely unexpected your way. Secrets abound and things are not always what they seem at first glance.
The writing was absolutely gorgeous; I was amazed how the author could project such a dark, mysterious atmosphere full of foreboding and sense of dread; I felt the bleakness of the landscape reflecting the bleakness of the characters was especially well done. I really liked her writing of Maija's coping with the harsh winter and also, the final coming of Spring.
Highly recommended for that frisson of fear!
There are red herrings aplenty and twists and turns. When you think you have the story figured out, the author throws something completely unexpected your way. Secrets abound and things are not always what they seem at first glance.
The writing was absolutely gorgeous; I was amazed how the author could project such a dark, mysterious atmosphere full of foreboding and sense of dread; I felt the bleakness of the landscape reflecting the bleakness of the characters was especially well done. I really liked her writing of Maija's coping with the harsh winter and also, the final coming of Spring.
"On the river and lake the snow begins to open. A spruce tree lets fall on the white below the seeds she has hidden in her cones.
Underneath the snow, on the ground, there are things, things long thought dead: flowers in knots, whole branches held in tight buds. They start to tingle and stir....
In a clearing on the mountain's west side the snow moves. It's being torn away from below. A paw breaks through, and a litter of bear cubs peer out from their den. There's a fluttering in the air. It's the small creatures that dare to return: tits and starlings. They dart through the air, hoping to find last year's nests still intact....
The snow is leaving. The mounds sink and settle, pour out and down. It's already down to its first layers: coarse and grainy, so transparent, the ground is almost visible right through.
The river tries to break through her lock. She groans. Down by her outflow she begins to gnaw at the lake ice. Then she pushes through with a scream. Her whole center starts slipping downward, slowly at first, then tearing down...."
Highly recommended for that frisson of fear!
June 18, 2017
'Wolf winter' is now also used to describe the darkest of times in a human being's life - the kind of period that imprints on you that you are mortal and, at the end of the day, always alone.
Atmospheric, chilling, eerie. So many words that could be used to describe this book; but words that are ultimately inept at capturing this book.
Two books that were top reads for me in 2014 were The Snow Child and Burial Rites. This book was like a combination of the two. The frigid dark of Burial Rites , but with the magic realism of The Snow Child . It wasn't, therefore, a surprise to read in the author's notes at the end that the author is a fan of Hannah Kent and Eowyn Ivey. This book also reminds me a little of The Miniaturist. They are nothing alike in plot, setting, or anything else really. The similarity for me is that blend of historical fiction with magic realism. As with The Miniaturist this book will appeal to some and not others.
What I loved, was the author's ability to so deftly build a picture of time and place, with no info dumping. We all know how much I hate info dumping in historical fiction. Do I have a full and complete understanding of Lappland at this time. No. But the book serves as an introduction, and introduced me to a lot of information I hadn't previously been aware of. And the book did it in a way that was entertaining. That's a win for me.
This book really impressed me. The imagery, the savage brutality that made me wince, the barren and stark landscape, and the people struggling to survive in it. I borrowed this from the library, but I'm going to get my own copy plus I've pre-ordered the author's next book already. Best read in weeks and weeks.
Atmospheric, chilling, eerie. So many words that could be used to describe this book; but words that are ultimately inept at capturing this book.
Two books that were top reads for me in 2014 were The Snow Child and Burial Rites. This book was like a combination of the two. The frigid dark of Burial Rites , but with the magic realism of The Snow Child . It wasn't, therefore, a surprise to read in the author's notes at the end that the author is a fan of Hannah Kent and Eowyn Ivey. This book also reminds me a little of The Miniaturist. They are nothing alike in plot, setting, or anything else really. The similarity for me is that blend of historical fiction with magic realism. As with The Miniaturist this book will appeal to some and not others.
What I loved, was the author's ability to so deftly build a picture of time and place, with no info dumping. We all know how much I hate info dumping in historical fiction. Do I have a full and complete understanding of Lappland at this time. No. But the book serves as an introduction, and introduced me to a lot of information I hadn't previously been aware of. And the book did it in a way that was entertaining. That's a win for me.
This book really impressed me. The imagery, the savage brutality that made me wince, the barren and stark landscape, and the people struggling to survive in it. I borrowed this from the library, but I'm going to get my own copy plus I've pre-ordered the author's next book already. Best read in weeks and weeks.
December 28, 2015
Set in 1717 in old Lapland, Wolf Winter is a nordic noir thriller that more than delivered.
A finnish family have settled in amongst other settlers on the old Blackasen Mountain, a harsh setting if ever there was one, where life is hard, winters are harder and a wolf winter comes around occasionally that tests the hardiest of souls. Told with three different narratives, Maaja, the mother of the finnish family, Frederika, her teenage daughter and the priest. A body is found, a murder has happened and the story essentially revolves around how and why intertwined with politics, religion, superstitions and fear. It's goes along at a slow pace and normally I would struggle with that but here it's pitched perfect. It's not a book to be devoured but a book where every word should be read and savoured. Reading only 20 - 30 pages a night I felt I was reading at the pace of the book which made it all the more enjoyable. This is very much character driven with the three voices, all engrossing characters with redeeming qualities. Frederika was the one I most felt for, Maaja, I admired her tenacity and drive to push through and the priest calling into question his faith and what is right. It all just drifted along seamlessly like the snow, creating shivers and causing much burrowing under the duvet as that hard winter hit.
I'm surprised myself but there was really nothing I didn't like, from the characterisation to the descriptiveness to the supernatural elements. Not once did I skim paragraphs or speed read a page. And no one is more surprised than I. Even though I knew I wanted to read the book, I was wary of the supernatural/ghostly elements. Not usually my thing, but I needn't have worried.
Wolf Winter is an evocative, atmospheric, haunting insight into how life was in 1717 Lapland, written in a beautiful and poetic way that had me totally under its spell. Magical.
A highly recommended 5 star read. Enjoy!
A finnish family have settled in amongst other settlers on the old Blackasen Mountain, a harsh setting if ever there was one, where life is hard, winters are harder and a wolf winter comes around occasionally that tests the hardiest of souls. Told with three different narratives, Maaja, the mother of the finnish family, Frederika, her teenage daughter and the priest. A body is found, a murder has happened and the story essentially revolves around how and why intertwined with politics, religion, superstitions and fear. It's goes along at a slow pace and normally I would struggle with that but here it's pitched perfect. It's not a book to be devoured but a book where every word should be read and savoured. Reading only 20 - 30 pages a night I felt I was reading at the pace of the book which made it all the more enjoyable. This is very much character driven with the three voices, all engrossing characters with redeeming qualities. Frederika was the one I most felt for, Maaja, I admired her tenacity and drive to push through and the priest calling into question his faith and what is right. It all just drifted along seamlessly like the snow, creating shivers and causing much burrowing under the duvet as that hard winter hit.
I'm surprised myself but there was really nothing I didn't like, from the characterisation to the descriptiveness to the supernatural elements. Not once did I skim paragraphs or speed read a page. And no one is more surprised than I. Even though I knew I wanted to read the book, I was wary of the supernatural/ghostly elements. Not usually my thing, but I needn't have worried.
Wolf Winter is an evocative, atmospheric, haunting insight into how life was in 1717 Lapland, written in a beautiful and poetic way that had me totally under its spell. Magical.
A highly recommended 5 star read. Enjoy!
December 25, 2025
بخش سوئدی لپلند سال 1717
در گیر و دار جنگ امپراطوریهای سوئد و روسیه خانواده مایا به دهکده بلکاسن مهاجرت کردند. بلافاصله بعد از رسیدن و قبل از آشنا شدن اونها با افراد و اطراف، دختران نوجوان و خردسال خانواده یک جسد با ظاهری بسیار فجیع پیدا میکنند.
اهالی دهکده حیوانات وحشی و درنده رو مقصر میدونند اما برای مایا قابل قبول نیست که حیوانی مثل گرگ اینطور به آدم حمله کنه. شکل زخمها بیشتر شبیه به شکافی هست که چاقو ایجاد کرده. نه دندان گرگ!
مایا قصد رها کردن سرنخهای قتل رو نداره و خودش رو وارد هزارتویی میکنه که آرامش رو از دهکده فراری میده.
داستانی با حضور پررنگ برف و سرمای کشنده، ارواح، کوهستان، فرهنگ مردم اسکاندیناوی و تلاش برای بقا.
والدین نویسنده ساکن لپلند بودند.
آخرین کتاب 2025
چهار دی صفر چهار
در گیر و دار جنگ امپراطوریهای سوئد و روسیه خانواده مایا به دهکده بلکاسن مهاجرت کردند. بلافاصله بعد از رسیدن و قبل از آشنا شدن اونها با افراد و اطراف، دختران نوجوان و خردسال خانواده یک جسد با ظاهری بسیار فجیع پیدا میکنند.
اهالی دهکده حیوانات وحشی و درنده رو مقصر میدونند اما برای مایا قابل قبول نیست که حیوانی مثل گرگ اینطور به آدم حمله کنه. شکل زخمها بیشتر شبیه به شکافی هست که چاقو ایجاد کرده. نه دندان گرگ!
مایا قصد رها کردن سرنخهای قتل رو نداره و خودش رو وارد هزارتویی میکنه که آرامش رو از دهکده فراری میده.
داستانی با حضور پررنگ برف و سرمای کشنده، ارواح، کوهستان، فرهنگ مردم اسکاندیناوی و تلاش برای بقا.
والدین نویسنده ساکن لپلند بودند.
آخرین کتاب 2025
چهار دی صفر چهار
June 7, 2018
Damn, I so badly wanted to like this better*. The atmosphere of Lapland and it’s cold winter was perfect and truly freezing, but for a ‘thriller/mystery’ novel, there was just too little plot and suspense to make Wolf Winter worth reading.
This story takes place in 1717 on Blackåsen Mountain in the north of Sweden, Lapland. Midwife Maija and her family just moved from Finland to a house at the foot of the mountain, when her two young daughters stumbled upon the body of a dead man. The other settlers of the mountain blame a wolf, but the wounds are too clean for that. Despite the suspicion it raises, and the harsh winter to deal with, Maija sets out to investigate the death.
The author is a master at painting a world of snow, ice and freezing temperatures. Everything gets under your skin: the threat of getting snowed-in, the awful effects of frostbite, and the endless days waiting for sunlight and the start of spring. You can really feel that Ekbäck is drawing from personal experience here.
Sadly, the pacing is glacial (excuse the pun) and since there isn’t much of a plot, apart from the mystery of “who killed Eriksson?”, the story soon becomes a drag to read. There were just too many confusing plotlines: Are those wolves real? How is Antti always suddenly there? Why are these people on a remote mountain so concerned with the Swedish King?!
Halfway the book I just started skim-reading because the events didn’t held my attention anymore.
I also didn’t connect with any of the characters, main or side. Maija is supposed to be this smart, level-headed woman, and yet she is so stupid to immediately start investigating a murder just four days after she arrived in a new place.
Many times through the story people warn her “Stop this, you’re raising distrust, you’re endangering your family” but she doesn’t care about that. Her youngest daughter even ends up with frostbite due to her investigations; Maija is not a good mother here!
Her husband is also absent for the biggest part of the story (he apparently is cursed, but that never is explained well), and neither are the paranormal powers of Maija’s oldest daughter. The Priest showed the most potential, but just like the Sami people or ‘Laplanders’, he doesn't get the attention they deserve.
Towards the end the murder is solved, but since I never really got to know the side-characters, I didn’t care about who did it.Eriksson is an asshole anyway, so no loss there.
I’m surprised authors like Lee Child and Hillary Mantel gave such praise to this book, because I think it’s undeserved: "Wolf Winter" is not as great a chilling mystery as it could have been.
*= Sorry Amalia: I’m very glad for your recommendation, but I just didn’t love this book as much as you did.
Travel TBR-2018: Sweden/Lapland
This story takes place in 1717 on Blackåsen Mountain in the north of Sweden, Lapland. Midwife Maija and her family just moved from Finland to a house at the foot of the mountain, when her two young daughters stumbled upon the body of a dead man. The other settlers of the mountain blame a wolf, but the wounds are too clean for that. Despite the suspicion it raises, and the harsh winter to deal with, Maija sets out to investigate the death.
The author is a master at painting a world of snow, ice and freezing temperatures. Everything gets under your skin: the threat of getting snowed-in, the awful effects of frostbite, and the endless days waiting for sunlight and the start of spring. You can really feel that Ekbäck is drawing from personal experience here.
Sadly, the pacing is glacial (excuse the pun) and since there isn’t much of a plot, apart from the mystery of “who killed Eriksson?”, the story soon becomes a drag to read. There were just too many confusing plotlines: Are those wolves real? How is Antti always suddenly there? Why are these people on a remote mountain so concerned with the Swedish King?!
Halfway the book I just started skim-reading because the events didn’t held my attention anymore.
I also didn’t connect with any of the characters, main or side. Maija is supposed to be this smart, level-headed woman, and yet she is so stupid to immediately start investigating a murder just four days after she arrived in a new place.
Many times through the story people warn her “Stop this, you’re raising distrust, you’re endangering your family” but she doesn’t care about that. Her youngest daughter even ends up with frostbite due to her investigations; Maija is not a good mother here!
Her husband is also absent for the biggest part of the story (he apparently is cursed, but that never is explained well), and neither are the paranormal powers of Maija’s oldest daughter. The Priest showed the most potential, but just like the Sami people or ‘Laplanders’, he doesn't get the attention they deserve.
Towards the end the murder is solved, but since I never really got to know the side-characters, I didn’t care about who did it.
I’m surprised authors like Lee Child and Hillary Mantel gave such praise to this book, because I think it’s undeserved: "Wolf Winter" is not as great a chilling mystery as it could have been.
*= Sorry Amalia: I’m very glad for your recommendation, but I just didn’t love this book as much as you did.
Travel TBR-2018: Sweden/Lapland
January 8, 2015
This novel took me a little while to get into. As with many Scandinavian novels I've read it was very foreboding and darkly written... if that makes sense. But, once the story and the characters began to develop it really picked up. The mystery was very well thought out and executed... some of the twists I really didn't see coming. If you were a fan of Burial Rights then you should really enjoy this.
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February 16, 2019
Maija and Paavo, along with their two daughters Frederika and Dorotea, move across the ice from Finland to Sweden, to settle in to their Uncle's abandoned homestead at the foot of the Blackasen Mountain. It is Winter in Sweden, 1717, and before they have settled, Frederika finds the mutilated corpse of one of the locals and everyone fears that wolves have begun hunting Humans, but what wolf can cause an injury so straight and clean, without causing any other injuries?
This book, I have to say, was quite sublime. It begins with Maija and her family moving and settling in to their new home and meeting all the other homestead owners, including the new priest of the local town, which is empty and unused for all the year except the Yuletide celebrations. There is caged animosity toward Maija and her family at first, but it is mostly veiled and nothing serious. None of the characters particularly tugged at my heartstrings, nor did I identify with them, but I found them all to be well-shaped and never clichéd.
The narrative felt quite jarring at first, because the sentences are short and no words are wasted, so you have to read it quite closely in order to not miss any details. With time you become used to this style and find that it actually fits perfectly with the storyline. The storyline itself was quite slow at first, but around half-way it burst in to a blinding light and suddenly I found myself supremely intrigued. There is an element of magic to the storyline, which counteracts the religious backdrop.
It varies between light and dark the same way that Winter can and I found myself feeling pathetic as I huddled in my duvet against the -0.5 degrees Celsius I was experiencing whilst reading about Maija, Frederika and Dorotea trying to escape the snow drifts as it crept in to their very home.
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This book, I have to say, was quite sublime. It begins with Maija and her family moving and settling in to their new home and meeting all the other homestead owners, including the new priest of the local town, which is empty and unused for all the year except the Yuletide celebrations. There is caged animosity toward Maija and her family at first, but it is mostly veiled and nothing serious. None of the characters particularly tugged at my heartstrings, nor did I identify with them, but I found them all to be well-shaped and never clichéd.
The narrative felt quite jarring at first, because the sentences are short and no words are wasted, so you have to read it quite closely in order to not miss any details. With time you become used to this style and find that it actually fits perfectly with the storyline. The storyline itself was quite slow at first, but around half-way it burst in to a blinding light and suddenly I found myself supremely intrigued. There is an element of magic to the storyline, which counteracts the religious backdrop.
It varies between light and dark the same way that Winter can and I found myself feeling pathetic as I huddled in my duvet against the -0.5 degrees Celsius I was experiencing whilst reading about Maija, Frederika and Dorotea trying to escape the snow drifts as it crept in to their very home.
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February 8, 2015
Set in Swedish Lappland in 1717, Cecilia Ekbäck’s debut novel Wolf Winter follows a family of four, Maija, her husband Paavo and their daughters Frederika and Dorotea from a fishing village in their native Finland to the forested lands surrounding Sweden’s Blackåsen mountain.
They swap houses with Maija’s brother, deciding a life in the interior may be better suited to Paavo, who had developed numerous fears keeping him from earning his living at sea. However, when their daughters stumble across a dead body allegedly killed by wolves, on a route near the mountain, they begin to wonder whether they have left one dark dream for an even blacker nightmare.
Maiji suspects it was a crime and makes it her business to ask questions to an extremely reticent and unappreciative band of local settlers and itinerant Lapps.
Her husband never questions her interference, even when present he plays no role and as soon as the first signs herald the approach of winter, he sets off alone for the coast, leaving the women-folk to survive the harsh physical elements and the even stranger mystical apparitions that some but not all will witness. Without a man to steer them out of trouble, the woman face many risks, not least being perceived as dabbling in witchcraft, as church records show has happened to a few others with similar inclinations who preceded them.
Unfortunately, I couldn't really get into this novel in the way I wanted to, though it wasn't a difficult read. It didn't portray a sense of the era, it felt contemporary even though it did evoke a strong sense of place and it was clear there were no modern comforts. Perhaps it was the attitude and freedom of the protagonist that didn't sit with the era.
The time spent with a number of the characters was so fleeting, it left too little of an impact and rendered them insufficient to develop an interest in. The storyline itself raised so many questions that went unanswered, like why did the husband go off and leave his family in such a vulnerable position when they could have gone with him and been protected.
And why did the wife think she as a newcomer could become an investigator into a crime that clearly the locals were not happy about being questioned, especially when it threatened her safety. Her role was to assist in bringing new life (she was a kind of midwife) and yet at every turn she was endangering those close to her. The younger daughter nearly lost her feet to frostbite after trekking in a blizzard to ask the Lapps questions about the murder. I didn't believe in Maiji’s intentions and relationships and the blurred line between reality and the mystical elements. I wanted to be drawn in by it, but was unable to brush off the scepticism.
So what drew me towards reading this novel in the first place?
Well the snowy winter setting was very appealing, the plot sounded intriguing and the praise of Hilary Mantel and the Library Journal, who had this to say definitely lured me in:
“The novel will appeal to readers who like their historical fiction dark and atmospheric, or mystery fans who are open to mysticism and unconventional sleuths. Readers who enjoyed the winter landscape and magical realism of Eowyn Ivey’s The Snow Child may also want to try this.” Library Journal
“The story creeps up and possesses the imagination; there’s something eerie in the way half-understood and only half-seen events leave their mark. It’s a powerful feat of suggestion, visually acute, skillfully written; it won’t easily erase its tracks in the reader’s mind.” Hilary Mantel
It was an interesting concept and disappointing that it wasn't more engaging, but for those who like a good mystery with an element of hinted at magical realism, this could be just what Hilary Mantel suggests it is.
They swap houses with Maija’s brother, deciding a life in the interior may be better suited to Paavo, who had developed numerous fears keeping him from earning his living at sea. However, when their daughters stumble across a dead body allegedly killed by wolves, on a route near the mountain, they begin to wonder whether they have left one dark dream for an even blacker nightmare.
Maiji suspects it was a crime and makes it her business to ask questions to an extremely reticent and unappreciative band of local settlers and itinerant Lapps.
Her husband never questions her interference, even when present he plays no role and as soon as the first signs herald the approach of winter, he sets off alone for the coast, leaving the women-folk to survive the harsh physical elements and the even stranger mystical apparitions that some but not all will witness. Without a man to steer them out of trouble, the woman face many risks, not least being perceived as dabbling in witchcraft, as church records show has happened to a few others with similar inclinations who preceded them.
Unfortunately, I couldn't really get into this novel in the way I wanted to, though it wasn't a difficult read. It didn't portray a sense of the era, it felt contemporary even though it did evoke a strong sense of place and it was clear there were no modern comforts. Perhaps it was the attitude and freedom of the protagonist that didn't sit with the era.
The time spent with a number of the characters was so fleeting, it left too little of an impact and rendered them insufficient to develop an interest in. The storyline itself raised so many questions that went unanswered, like why did the husband go off and leave his family in such a vulnerable position when they could have gone with him and been protected.
And why did the wife think she as a newcomer could become an investigator into a crime that clearly the locals were not happy about being questioned, especially when it threatened her safety. Her role was to assist in bringing new life (she was a kind of midwife) and yet at every turn she was endangering those close to her. The younger daughter nearly lost her feet to frostbite after trekking in a blizzard to ask the Lapps questions about the murder. I didn't believe in Maiji’s intentions and relationships and the blurred line between reality and the mystical elements. I wanted to be drawn in by it, but was unable to brush off the scepticism.
So what drew me towards reading this novel in the first place?
Well the snowy winter setting was very appealing, the plot sounded intriguing and the praise of Hilary Mantel and the Library Journal, who had this to say definitely lured me in:
“The novel will appeal to readers who like their historical fiction dark and atmospheric, or mystery fans who are open to mysticism and unconventional sleuths. Readers who enjoyed the winter landscape and magical realism of Eowyn Ivey’s The Snow Child may also want to try this.” Library Journal
“The story creeps up and possesses the imagination; there’s something eerie in the way half-understood and only half-seen events leave their mark. It’s a powerful feat of suggestion, visually acute, skillfully written; it won’t easily erase its tracks in the reader’s mind.” Hilary Mantel
It was an interesting concept and disappointing that it wasn't more engaging, but for those who like a good mystery with an element of hinted at magical realism, this could be just what Hilary Mantel suggests it is.
April 7, 2015
This is a very bleak story set in Swedish Lapland in 1717. It's not an easy read and you may not warm to the characters who are strong but flawed. It is a slow read that takes some time to develop and unwrap and those who favour fast paced thrillers may find that it is not to their taste. However, it is a powerful and skillfully told story with some beautiful prose.
The author notes that the early 18th century was a time of great change in Sweden, which had been at war for the last 150 years at great cost to its people. Taxes were high, villages were depleted of men for farming, and on top of that there were several years of crop failure as well as the plague. The economy was collapsing, the people starving and the nobility were begging the king to seek peace.
It is into this political background that Paavo and Maija and their daughters Dorotea aged six and Federika, fourteen, arrive from Finland in summer to farm their Uncle's property on the side of Blackasen Mountain. There are six homesteads on the side of the mountain all existing in a hand to mouth existence where they must grow and hunt enough food over the short summer to store away for the cold, dark days of winter if they want to survive. Life is hard and the landscape harsh and unforgiving. Despite being so far from the rest of civilization the settlers are still ruled by the church. A day's walk away is an abandoned town complete with church and a priest who presides over the settlers and serves out harsh justice and penance for those who do wrong in the eyes of the law or the church. In early winter the church will call the people from the mountains around the town to come and reside in the abandoned houses to attend sermons. The Lapps, who have converted from Shamanism to Christianity, also come in with their reindeer herds to make their winter camp and trade with the settlers.
Not long after arriving on Blackasen, Dorotea and Federika discover a man's body lying on the mountain. He is an unpleasant man who nobody likes and at first it is thought that he was killed by a bear but Maija has seen the wounds and knows no animal was involved. Maija and the priest are determined to seek out the truth but there has been a long history of betrayals and disappearances on the mountain. The settlers do not trust Maija and are suspicious of her motives. Everyone has secrets they want to keep hidden and the facts are uncovered slowly, layer by layer. Federika is also driven to solve the mystery. She is haunted by visions of the dead man and is drawn to the Lapps and their spiritual relationship with the land and the mountain. She knows that the mountain will not be appeased until the evil done on it has been revealed and the guilty punished.
The winter of 1717 was especially long and hard, a 'wolf winter', a winter to end all winters. Paavo leaves for the coast to find employment leaving Maija alone to survive the winter alone with her daughters. Their struggle to survive the snowstorms and the starvation is almost too much for them and you can almost feel the cold and the hunger seeping out of the pages.
The truth when it comes is shocking, lives are altered forever and no one escapes unscathed. However, daylight has appeared again and spring is on it's way bringing hope back to the settlers:
"Underneath the snow, on the ground, there are things, things long thought dead: flowers in knots, whole branches held in tight buds. They start to tingle and stir....
In a clearing on the mountain's west side the snow moves. It's being torn away from below. A paw breaks through, and a litter of bear cubs peer out from their den. There's a fluttering in the air. It's the small creatures that dare to return: tits and starlings. They dart through the air, hoping to find last year's nests still intact...."
The author notes that the early 18th century was a time of great change in Sweden, which had been at war for the last 150 years at great cost to its people. Taxes were high, villages were depleted of men for farming, and on top of that there were several years of crop failure as well as the plague. The economy was collapsing, the people starving and the nobility were begging the king to seek peace.
It is into this political background that Paavo and Maija and their daughters Dorotea aged six and Federika, fourteen, arrive from Finland in summer to farm their Uncle's property on the side of Blackasen Mountain. There are six homesteads on the side of the mountain all existing in a hand to mouth existence where they must grow and hunt enough food over the short summer to store away for the cold, dark days of winter if they want to survive. Life is hard and the landscape harsh and unforgiving. Despite being so far from the rest of civilization the settlers are still ruled by the church. A day's walk away is an abandoned town complete with church and a priest who presides over the settlers and serves out harsh justice and penance for those who do wrong in the eyes of the law or the church. In early winter the church will call the people from the mountains around the town to come and reside in the abandoned houses to attend sermons. The Lapps, who have converted from Shamanism to Christianity, also come in with their reindeer herds to make their winter camp and trade with the settlers.
Not long after arriving on Blackasen, Dorotea and Federika discover a man's body lying on the mountain. He is an unpleasant man who nobody likes and at first it is thought that he was killed by a bear but Maija has seen the wounds and knows no animal was involved. Maija and the priest are determined to seek out the truth but there has been a long history of betrayals and disappearances on the mountain. The settlers do not trust Maija and are suspicious of her motives. Everyone has secrets they want to keep hidden and the facts are uncovered slowly, layer by layer. Federika is also driven to solve the mystery. She is haunted by visions of the dead man and is drawn to the Lapps and their spiritual relationship with the land and the mountain. She knows that the mountain will not be appeased until the evil done on it has been revealed and the guilty punished.
The winter of 1717 was especially long and hard, a 'wolf winter', a winter to end all winters. Paavo leaves for the coast to find employment leaving Maija alone to survive the winter alone with her daughters. Their struggle to survive the snowstorms and the starvation is almost too much for them and you can almost feel the cold and the hunger seeping out of the pages.
The truth when it comes is shocking, lives are altered forever and no one escapes unscathed. However, daylight has appeared again and spring is on it's way bringing hope back to the settlers:
"Underneath the snow, on the ground, there are things, things long thought dead: flowers in knots, whole branches held in tight buds. They start to tingle and stir....
In a clearing on the mountain's west side the snow moves. It's being torn away from below. A paw breaks through, and a litter of bear cubs peer out from their den. There's a fluttering in the air. It's the small creatures that dare to return: tits and starlings. They dart through the air, hoping to find last year's nests still intact...."
February 18, 2015
Wolf Winter was a wonderfully chilly read that I read mostly wrapped up in my duvet – set in the 1700’s we meet a family who have just arrived on Blackasen Mountain. It is a new start for them but when the sisters discover a body, they become embroiled in the myths, legends and realities of life in this harsh environment.
I found that this one gripped me more and more as time went on – early in the novel the scene setting is superb, which by the time the really haunting part starts to kick in has put you right into the atmosphere – it is one of those books that envelops you in its aura, a wintery, beautifully written tale with some wonderfully drawn characters.
It is part crime fiction part family drama – with some strong female leads, the most intriguing of which for me was Elena who is actually more peripheral. Maija and her daughters, who sit right at the heart of the story, are elegantly described and I loved how the author gave a real sense of what it was like for women in that time through their thoughts and actions. Maija is determined to discover what happened to the dead man but is held back by superstition and hidden secrets – and there is a storm brewing..
I was highly intrigued by how much influence the Church had, the priest who does not care but somehow does, is an excellent character through whom we can see the nuances of how things worked, this arc I found completely fascinating. The story also has a haunting, dark edge to it that can be quite disconcerting, occasionally reading late at night I found myself jumping at shadows.
Overall a terrific novel – atmospheric and authentic, I look forward to more from this author. I will be first in line.
Highly Recommended.
Happy Reading Folks!
I found that this one gripped me more and more as time went on – early in the novel the scene setting is superb, which by the time the really haunting part starts to kick in has put you right into the atmosphere – it is one of those books that envelops you in its aura, a wintery, beautifully written tale with some wonderfully drawn characters.
It is part crime fiction part family drama – with some strong female leads, the most intriguing of which for me was Elena who is actually more peripheral. Maija and her daughters, who sit right at the heart of the story, are elegantly described and I loved how the author gave a real sense of what it was like for women in that time through their thoughts and actions. Maija is determined to discover what happened to the dead man but is held back by superstition and hidden secrets – and there is a storm brewing..
I was highly intrigued by how much influence the Church had, the priest who does not care but somehow does, is an excellent character through whom we can see the nuances of how things worked, this arc I found completely fascinating. The story also has a haunting, dark edge to it that can be quite disconcerting, occasionally reading late at night I found myself jumping at shadows.
Overall a terrific novel – atmospheric and authentic, I look forward to more from this author. I will be first in line.
Highly Recommended.
Happy Reading Folks!
July 22, 2017
4 ½ stars
This is the second book this year where I only half read one review before hand, where the average rating is not fantastic, where I suspected this would be a slow read BUT where I end up LOVING the experience.
So yes the story started off slower than what I normally prefer but by the 15% mark the story had me in its icy claws.
The story starts with the arrival of a new family in Blackasen Mountain, a desolate place with only 6 homesteads. As a family brought up in a fishing village, there is a lot of difficult adapting to be done. It’s clear from the start that the dynamics between husband and wife is strained. Paavo is a weak man and Maija resents him for this as much as he resents her for her outspokenness.
Then the eldest daughter finds a man in a field nearby. Slashed across his abdomen, dead.
Locals believe this is a wolf or bear attack but those that have seen the body knows differently.
The constant feeling of impending doom (both by the weather and the people) influenced my view of some of the characters, going back and forth about whether they are just hard to read or guilty of something more.
This is a bitter harsh environment where survival consumes your every thought but this small community is also full of hidden agendas, superstitions and rumours of witchcraft. I found the inclusion of the local natives, the Lapp People fascinating and will most definitely read more by this author.
Loved the setting, loved the atmosphere and loved the ending.
If you enjoyed Burial Rites then you will most probably enjoy this too
This is the second book this year where I only half read one review before hand, where the average rating is not fantastic, where I suspected this would be a slow read BUT where I end up LOVING the experience.
So yes the story started off slower than what I normally prefer but by the 15% mark the story had me in its icy claws.
The story starts with the arrival of a new family in Blackasen Mountain, a desolate place with only 6 homesteads. As a family brought up in a fishing village, there is a lot of difficult adapting to be done. It’s clear from the start that the dynamics between husband and wife is strained. Paavo is a weak man and Maija resents him for this as much as he resents her for her outspokenness.
Then the eldest daughter finds a man in a field nearby. Slashed across his abdomen, dead.
Locals believe this is a wolf or bear attack but those that have seen the body knows differently.
The constant feeling of impending doom (both by the weather and the people) influenced my view of some of the characters, going back and forth about whether they are just hard to read or guilty of something more.
This is a bitter harsh environment where survival consumes your every thought but this small community is also full of hidden agendas, superstitions and rumours of witchcraft. I found the inclusion of the local natives, the Lapp People fascinating and will most definitely read more by this author.
Loved the setting, loved the atmosphere and loved the ending.
If you enjoyed Burial Rites then you will most probably enjoy this too
December 28, 2015
3.5 stars
"Late autumn this year had violence in her hair, angry crimson, orange, and yellow. The trees wrestled to free themselves of their cloaks, crumpled up their old leaves and threw them straight out into the strong wind rather than just let them fall to the ground. Dry leaves ran across the yard with the crackle of fire."
Set in 1717, Swedish Lapland, Maija, her husband Paavo and her daughters Frederika and Dorotea have left their native Finland, leaving their friends and families behind, as well as their past. Their new home is at the base of Blackåsen Mountain adding a dark, mystical history to an already strange, new land.
Goat tending leads Fredericka to find a mutilated body, a neighbor. The locals seem willing to dismiss this as a wolf attack. Maija, who inspected the body at his widow’s request, believes he died at the hands of a man. Only Maija seem to be concerned about the dead man’s widow or their children and what will become of them. Frederika, meanwhile, is drawn to the mountain, finding her own answers to other questions.
Expecting the arrival of the “wolf winter,” soon, Paavo leaves Maija and their daughters Frederika and Dorotea to find work in a less remote location, and Maija struggles to survive along with her daughters. As the snow gets deeper and deeper, the settlers’ stories begin to be exposed. The need to share what few resources they have force them to join together, but Maija is still not sure whom she can trust.
"Late autumn this year had violence in her hair, angry crimson, orange, and yellow. The trees wrestled to free themselves of their cloaks, crumpled up their old leaves and threw them straight out into the strong wind rather than just let them fall to the ground. Dry leaves ran across the yard with the crackle of fire."
Set in 1717, Swedish Lapland, Maija, her husband Paavo and her daughters Frederika and Dorotea have left their native Finland, leaving their friends and families behind, as well as their past. Their new home is at the base of Blackåsen Mountain adding a dark, mystical history to an already strange, new land.
Goat tending leads Fredericka to find a mutilated body, a neighbor. The locals seem willing to dismiss this as a wolf attack. Maija, who inspected the body at his widow’s request, believes he died at the hands of a man. Only Maija seem to be concerned about the dead man’s widow or their children and what will become of them. Frederika, meanwhile, is drawn to the mountain, finding her own answers to other questions.
Expecting the arrival of the “wolf winter,” soon, Paavo leaves Maija and their daughters Frederika and Dorotea to find work in a less remote location, and Maija struggles to survive along with her daughters. As the snow gets deeper and deeper, the settlers’ stories begin to be exposed. The need to share what few resources they have force them to join together, but Maija is still not sure whom she can trust.
May 23, 2015
This book came to my attention when I heard the author interviewed on local radio—she is Scandinavian, but she now lives in Calgary with her family. What I heard in the interview intrigued me and I waited quite a long time to receive the book from our public library. Wolf Winter is basically a medieval murder mystery set in 16th century Sweden.
Should you read this book? Well, if you like historical fiction, murder mysteries, and Scandinavian fiction, all with a touch of the supernatural, this will be your book. The author is extremely good at producing an aura of creeping dread (to go with the usual rather bleak and somewhat gloomy haze that permeates most of Scandinavian fiction). The reader is left to decide for themselves whether the supernatural elements really happen or if the circumstances are all the result of damaged people (somewhat reminiscent of The Turn of the Screw, I felt).
None of the characters is overwhelmingly good—they all have their own baggage and problems that they are dealing with, some more complicated than others. Correspondingly, no one is absolutely evil, although a couple of characters move closer to that line than most do.
Not a book for everyone (what book is?), but very enjoyable for me.
Should you read this book? Well, if you like historical fiction, murder mysteries, and Scandinavian fiction, all with a touch of the supernatural, this will be your book. The author is extremely good at producing an aura of creeping dread (to go with the usual rather bleak and somewhat gloomy haze that permeates most of Scandinavian fiction). The reader is left to decide for themselves whether the supernatural elements really happen or if the circumstances are all the result of damaged people (somewhat reminiscent of The Turn of the Screw, I felt).
None of the characters is overwhelmingly good—they all have their own baggage and problems that they are dealing with, some more complicated than others. Correspondingly, no one is absolutely evil, although a couple of characters move closer to that line than most do.
Not a book for everyone (what book is?), but very enjoyable for me.
March 15, 2020
A solid 4 stars. I think Cecelia Ekbäck did a stellar job building this story. It did take me about 50 pages to get used to her writing style. Found it a tad difficult to follow at the beginning, but either I or the book or both found its flow shortly thereafter. I'll get the one negative out of the way and that's the way the characters talk seem unrealistic to the time the story was set (1717). Perhaps that's because and as mentioned in the Q and A with the author, she was undecided on when to set the plot. She had written the book with it being set in the 21st, 20th and 19th century before settling on the 18th century. In the end, it wasn't really a big deal as I got used to it, it didn't really take much away.
I will liken the plot to the central piece of the story, Blackåsen Mountain in that it's a slow, dark climb all the way to the top, with these streaks of bright light shining through as you climb. I really enjoy that style of writing.
The majority of it was written from the perspective of its main characters. Maija (strong hearted, take charge, get to the bottom of it type), her teenage daughter Frederika (bold, bright, full of unexplored newly found characteristics) and the settlements Priest, (self oriented yet passionate towards others, carries around a huge chip on his shoulder). There were many MANY beautiful, lyrical sentences weaved throughout. These little concentrated dabs of warmth throughout a cold and dark paragraph was a common occurrence. The main characters were very likeable and their relationships throughout the book were very nicely ever so lightly, yet weightily intertwined. Some ends were left untied, some which make sense to me, some I'm not quite sure what I think of as of yet. There is a great deal of magical realism in this book, much more than I was anticipating. For the most part I found it worked well and I was able to follow.
Overall I thoroughly enjoyed this book, the writing beautiful, the story very well conceived. The way it was written I could see it being turned into a TV series.
I will liken the plot to the central piece of the story, Blackåsen Mountain in that it's a slow, dark climb all the way to the top, with these streaks of bright light shining through as you climb. I really enjoy that style of writing.
The majority of it was written from the perspective of its main characters. Maija (strong hearted, take charge, get to the bottom of it type), her teenage daughter Frederika (bold, bright, full of unexplored newly found characteristics) and the settlements Priest, (self oriented yet passionate towards others, carries around a huge chip on his shoulder). There were many MANY beautiful, lyrical sentences weaved throughout. These little concentrated dabs of warmth throughout a cold and dark paragraph was a common occurrence. The main characters were very likeable and their relationships throughout the book were very nicely ever so lightly, yet weightily intertwined. Some ends were left untied, some which make sense to me, some I'm not quite sure what I think of as of yet. There is a great deal of magical realism in this book, much more than I was anticipating. For the most part I found it worked well and I was able to follow.
Overall I thoroughly enjoyed this book, the writing beautiful, the story very well conceived. The way it was written I could see it being turned into a TV series.
August 18, 2020
Wolf Winter, Cecilia Ekbäck’s debut novel, introduces a world full of darkness, frost, beauty, and rot –both in nature and the human soul–, along with a desolated country of snow and hunger. Beautifully written, detailed and atmospheric, it tells the story of Maija and her daughters, Frederika and Dorotea, who struggle to survive far from Finland, their native land, after alighting in a settlement in mystic mountain Blackåsen. Inevitably separated from Paavo, Maija’s husband and father of the girls, they find themselves grappling with financial instability and absence of the necessary resources to survive the winter, the harshest in years. Concurrently, the settlers are forced to face the violent killing of a humble man who is thought to have been hunted by the wolves, while Maija, whose daughters discovered the body, believes the fatal strike was executed by human hand.
The characters are all real and imperfect, tormented by their pasts and unable to completely let them go in this desperate exile of theirs; Maija is not who we think she is and, pleasantly yet tragically enough, neither is the priest who, slowly and smoothly, becomes her partner in harrow. Frederika, on the other hand, who, vulnerable and frightened as she is, slowly discovers that she can hear the heartbeat of the nature and thus grows apart from her family, is hopelessly drawn by Antti, the mysterious young Lap who knows what happens to her and can teach her how to handle it.
Powerful and suspenseful, dark and emotional, complex and full of mystery, Wolf Winter is a compelling read, beautifully written and skillfully alive despite its magical-realism elements, that lives with you and insists on coming back regardless of the time passed since you read it.
The characters are all real and imperfect, tormented by their pasts and unable to completely let them go in this desperate exile of theirs; Maija is not who we think she is and, pleasantly yet tragically enough, neither is the priest who, slowly and smoothly, becomes her partner in harrow. Frederika, on the other hand, who, vulnerable and frightened as she is, slowly discovers that she can hear the heartbeat of the nature and thus grows apart from her family, is hopelessly drawn by Antti, the mysterious young Lap who knows what happens to her and can teach her how to handle it.
Powerful and suspenseful, dark and emotional, complex and full of mystery, Wolf Winter is a compelling read, beautifully written and skillfully alive despite its magical-realism elements, that lives with you and insists on coming back regardless of the time passed since you read it.
June 9, 2016
Wolf Winter by Cecilia Ekback is a dark historical thriller set in 17 17 Maija Paavo & their daughter move to Lapland Blackasen Mountain everything seems to be going well until a body is found skinned & virtually cut from head to toe no one seems to care except for Maija she tries to solve the mystery but is finding that the mountain holds dark secrets of witchery & spirits from people who have gone missing there previously.
The people of Lapland (lapps as they are known) think it could be a wolf or bear but Maija thinks it was done by a human!!
What Maija finds as she searches for the truth is the people of Lapland are not what they seem? Can she keep her daughters safe from the mountain or will they perish like those before them?
I found this book very atmospheric & dark with the history of the story this was my first historical fiction read by this author wont be my last
The people of Lapland (lapps as they are known) think it could be a wolf or bear but Maija thinks it was done by a human!!
What Maija finds as she searches for the truth is the people of Lapland are not what they seem? Can she keep her daughters safe from the mountain or will they perish like those before them?
I found this book very atmospheric & dark with the history of the story this was my first historical fiction read by this author wont be my last
April 11, 2017
2 de 5 estrellas ⭐️⭐️ (no está mal)
La ambientacion es fantástica. Me habría encantado que fuese una novela costumbrista. No es soportado el realismo mágico que contiene la novela... Los personajes no están suficientemente logrados. Al final lo que prometía ser una novela inolvidable se convierte en una novela que pasara de largo por mi memoria.... una pena
La ambientacion es fantástica. Me habría encantado que fuese una novela costumbrista. No es soportado el realismo mágico que contiene la novela... Los personajes no están suficientemente logrados. Al final lo que prometía ser una novela inolvidable se convierte en una novela que pasara de largo por mi memoria.... una pena
September 17, 2015
“A man,” Frederika said and wiped her mouth, “in the glade, and he is dead.” On page seven of Cecilia Ekback’s premier novel, Wolf Winter, fourteen-year-old Frederika describes to her parents what she and her younger sister Dorotea discovered near their new home on Blackasen Mountain in the Swedish Lapland. What an introduction! My blood was coursing through my veins at a dizzying rate!
Wolf Winter is historical fiction in that it depicts fictional characters in fictional situations, but in the context of a real historical period. The story begins in June of 1717 when Paavo, Maija, and their two daughters swap homesteads with Paavo’s uncle and move inland from Finland to Sweden because Paavo suffers from “terrors” and can no longer fish at sea. What the author reveals of the history is sketchy, general background information about Swedish politics, of Sweden being constantly at war, about conflicts between the monarchy and nobility, and the difficulties encountered by the common folk and the Laplanders. We do get a sense of the church combating superstitions, sorcery, witchcraft, and belief in spirits, except God and devil, of course. Punishments for sin are severe and very public. The author researched this period extensively, but rather making me feel like I was reading a period piece, Ekback immersed me in her prose. I should also point out that she drew from her Lapp heritage in spinning this marvelous mystery, which was quite mystical at times.
Wolf winter, according to Ms. Ekback, is a term used by Swedes to refer to a long, bitterly harsh winter, especially “back in the day” when there was starvation. But, she says, it also refers to a personal experience in one’s life that is extremely difficult, e.g., the loss of a loved one, a serious illness, something that reminds one of one’s own mortality and sense of aloneness. (http://www.powells.com/blog/interview....) Her book certainly contains all of that. I grew up in some awfully cold, snowy winters in northern Minnesota. But the settlers in the 1700s did not have any modern conveniences to keep them safe, warm, well fed, and connected with their neighbors. As I read about the storm raging, I huddled against the iciness in my bones. I covered my ears against the howling of the wind. I strained my eyes to pierce the darkness.
We learn of the death of the man, Eriksson, and the quest for answers from the perspectives of Maija, Frederika, and the priest Olaus. Maija is a strong, driven woman who simply must learn the truth. At times, she seems quick to judge; at others, she is open and accepting. Frederika, who is no longer a young girl but not yet a woman, is slowly finding her gifts. I found her to be a fascinating person. The priest, whose name is seldom used, was someone I had a hard time liking, although when I learned his story, I did like him in the end. My other favorite character was little Dorotea, who seems so sweet and innocent, yet so brave.
The pace and the tension are varied. At times, as daily tasks are described, it is slow and steady. Then it quickens as danger approaches. The mood is often eerie and foreboding. Sometimes the cause is natural; the environment is severe and unforgiving. Sometimes it is man-made; the settlers are Christian, yet they are fearful and superstitious. The Lapps have their own customs and beliefs. And again, sometimes the apprehension is supernatural. Ms. Ekback blends many voices in the minds and hearts of her characters, especially Maija, Frederika, and Fearless, the Lapp spiritual leader. The presence of ghosts is confusing at times, especially when Maija’s late grandmother Jutta suddenly converses with her or with Frederika. As Frederika becomes wrapped up in her own investigation into Eriksson’s death, along with the day-to-day struggle for survival, the story takes on a life of its own.
For the most part, I loved Ekback’s prose. She illustrates the stoicism of the Scandinavian people, their work ethic, and their simplicity. Even with phrases such as, ““his heart scurried into his throat,” (page 228) she captured my imagination. The author’s first language is Swedish, so writing this book in English was a challenge for her. There were a few sentences that just didn’t make sense to me, but overall, I found myself drawn in by the magic wilderness and the mountain. Oh, that mountain! It’s a fictional place, thank goodness. It is the symbol of evil, of hardship, of darkness. The wolves, too, bring panic and death. Are they real or imagined? There are themes of fear, prejudice, mistrust, trust, loyalty, hard work, love, and spirituality. No one is what he or she appears to be on the surface. All of this makes for a chilling, almost magical tale that had me guessing and then guessing some more.
4-1/2 stars
Wolf Winter is historical fiction in that it depicts fictional characters in fictional situations, but in the context of a real historical period. The story begins in June of 1717 when Paavo, Maija, and their two daughters swap homesteads with Paavo’s uncle and move inland from Finland to Sweden because Paavo suffers from “terrors” and can no longer fish at sea. What the author reveals of the history is sketchy, general background information about Swedish politics, of Sweden being constantly at war, about conflicts between the monarchy and nobility, and the difficulties encountered by the common folk and the Laplanders. We do get a sense of the church combating superstitions, sorcery, witchcraft, and belief in spirits, except God and devil, of course. Punishments for sin are severe and very public. The author researched this period extensively, but rather making me feel like I was reading a period piece, Ekback immersed me in her prose. I should also point out that she drew from her Lapp heritage in spinning this marvelous mystery, which was quite mystical at times.
Wolf winter, according to Ms. Ekback, is a term used by Swedes to refer to a long, bitterly harsh winter, especially “back in the day” when there was starvation. But, she says, it also refers to a personal experience in one’s life that is extremely difficult, e.g., the loss of a loved one, a serious illness, something that reminds one of one’s own mortality and sense of aloneness. (http://www.powells.com/blog/interview....) Her book certainly contains all of that. I grew up in some awfully cold, snowy winters in northern Minnesota. But the settlers in the 1700s did not have any modern conveniences to keep them safe, warm, well fed, and connected with their neighbors. As I read about the storm raging, I huddled against the iciness in my bones. I covered my ears against the howling of the wind. I strained my eyes to pierce the darkness.
We learn of the death of the man, Eriksson, and the quest for answers from the perspectives of Maija, Frederika, and the priest Olaus. Maija is a strong, driven woman who simply must learn the truth. At times, she seems quick to judge; at others, she is open and accepting. Frederika, who is no longer a young girl but not yet a woman, is slowly finding her gifts. I found her to be a fascinating person. The priest, whose name is seldom used, was someone I had a hard time liking, although when I learned his story, I did like him in the end. My other favorite character was little Dorotea, who seems so sweet and innocent, yet so brave.
The pace and the tension are varied. At times, as daily tasks are described, it is slow and steady. Then it quickens as danger approaches. The mood is often eerie and foreboding. Sometimes the cause is natural; the environment is severe and unforgiving. Sometimes it is man-made; the settlers are Christian, yet they are fearful and superstitious. The Lapps have their own customs and beliefs. And again, sometimes the apprehension is supernatural. Ms. Ekback blends many voices in the minds and hearts of her characters, especially Maija, Frederika, and Fearless, the Lapp spiritual leader. The presence of ghosts is confusing at times, especially when Maija’s late grandmother Jutta suddenly converses with her or with Frederika. As Frederika becomes wrapped up in her own investigation into Eriksson’s death, along with the day-to-day struggle for survival, the story takes on a life of its own.
For the most part, I loved Ekback’s prose. She illustrates the stoicism of the Scandinavian people, their work ethic, and their simplicity. Even with phrases such as, ““his heart scurried into his throat,” (page 228) she captured my imagination. The author’s first language is Swedish, so writing this book in English was a challenge for her. There were a few sentences that just didn’t make sense to me, but overall, I found myself drawn in by the magic wilderness and the mountain. Oh, that mountain! It’s a fictional place, thank goodness. It is the symbol of evil, of hardship, of darkness. The wolves, too, bring panic and death. Are they real or imagined? There are themes of fear, prejudice, mistrust, trust, loyalty, hard work, love, and spirituality. No one is what he or she appears to be on the surface. All of this makes for a chilling, almost magical tale that had me guessing and then guessing some more.
4-1/2 stars
March 26, 2017
Cecilia Ekbäck’s novel is worth the admission price for the title metaphor alone. According to the afterword, the expression “Wolf Winter”—in Swedish Vargawinter—refers to an unusually bitter and long winter, but it is also used to describe the darkest of times in a human being’s life—the kind of time that imprints on you that you are mortal, and, at the end of the day, always alone. That's a remarkable charge of meaning for a single word.
Actually, Wolf Winter has a fair amount to recommend it besides the title, especially for a first novel. The writing is excellent—as spare and bleak and chill as you might hope for in a novel set in eighteenth-century Swedish Lapland. Ekbäck conjures this remote world with great vividness. The narrative plays out mainly in the cruel, wolf-haunted, mountainous terrain of Blackåsen, where a motley assortment of settlers eke out a desperately poor living in their far-flung homesteads. The other main settings are a desolate town, near-deserted all year round apart from Church festivals, and a Lapp—or Sami—camp, scene of a single disturbing episode. The tense relationship between the Swedish and Finnish settlers and the native Sami is one of the running themes of the novel, as is the tension between Christian belief and a more ancient, spirit-rich, pantheistic sensibility.
Ekbäck uses a murder mystery format to structure the narrative, and the novel bowls along happily in that vein for quite a while, piling suspicion upon suspicion and clue upon clue. I was gripped for about the first two thirds of it, but after that point, the narrative began to unravel. There are too many twists and revelations and dark secrets unveiled in close succession, as if Ekbäck couldn’t decide among a number of potential endings and decided to throw them all into the mix. The magic-realist element, delicately etched in at first, is laid on with a trowel towards the end of the novel. Ekbäck’s attempts to integrate her fictional narrative with the political history of the period are rather strained and flimsy, as well.
Still, I don't want to be too negative about this novel. Its was an absorbing read for the most part, its narrative glitches redeemed by the quality of the writing. I’ll be intrigued to see how Ekbäck’s writing develops from here.
Actually, Wolf Winter has a fair amount to recommend it besides the title, especially for a first novel. The writing is excellent—as spare and bleak and chill as you might hope for in a novel set in eighteenth-century Swedish Lapland. Ekbäck conjures this remote world with great vividness. The narrative plays out mainly in the cruel, wolf-haunted, mountainous terrain of Blackåsen, where a motley assortment of settlers eke out a desperately poor living in their far-flung homesteads. The other main settings are a desolate town, near-deserted all year round apart from Church festivals, and a Lapp—or Sami—camp, scene of a single disturbing episode. The tense relationship between the Swedish and Finnish settlers and the native Sami is one of the running themes of the novel, as is the tension between Christian belief and a more ancient, spirit-rich, pantheistic sensibility.
Ekbäck uses a murder mystery format to structure the narrative, and the novel bowls along happily in that vein for quite a while, piling suspicion upon suspicion and clue upon clue. I was gripped for about the first two thirds of it, but after that point, the narrative began to unravel. There are too many twists and revelations and dark secrets unveiled in close succession, as if Ekbäck couldn’t decide among a number of potential endings and decided to throw them all into the mix. The magic-realist element, delicately etched in at first, is laid on with a trowel towards the end of the novel. Ekbäck’s attempts to integrate her fictional narrative with the political history of the period are rather strained and flimsy, as well.
Still, I don't want to be too negative about this novel. Its was an absorbing read for the most part, its narrative glitches redeemed by the quality of the writing. I’ll be intrigued to see how Ekbäck’s writing develops from here.
June 11, 2017
Los puntos más fuertes de este libro son la ambientación y el terror creciente a medida que la trama va a avanzando. Realmente me mantuvo intrigada y llegue a disfrutar la lectura por momentos.
Sin embargo, no me termino de convencer. La historia va demasiado lenta, hay capítulos enteros que no avanzan y por momentos, dudaba cuál era el verdadero tema del libro. No es malo que haya muchas subtramas y flashbacks, pero los tiempos se mezclaban con demasiada frecuencia. La autora saltaba del pasado a el presente con tanta frecuencia que me mareaba.
Los personajes eran (o me pareció a mí), demasiados liberales para la época. Si colocamos a estas mismas personas en una novela contemporánea, no habría gran diferencia.
Y por último, esta mi gran y eterno problema con el realismo mágico. Soy escéptica, me pase rodando los ojos la mitad de la novela, no podía creerme las cosas que sucedían en ese pueblo de montaña. Me gusta la fantasía y me gusta el realismo, pero la mezcla entre ambos me hace ruido, no puedo digerirla.
Sin embargo, no me termino de convencer. La historia va demasiado lenta, hay capítulos enteros que no avanzan y por momentos, dudaba cuál era el verdadero tema del libro. No es malo que haya muchas subtramas y flashbacks, pero los tiempos se mezclaban con demasiada frecuencia. La autora saltaba del pasado a el presente con tanta frecuencia que me mareaba.
Los personajes eran (o me pareció a mí), demasiados liberales para la época. Si colocamos a estas mismas personas en una novela contemporánea, no habría gran diferencia.
Y por último, esta mi gran y eterno problema con el realismo mágico. Soy escéptica, me pase rodando los ojos la mitad de la novela, no podía creerme las cosas que sucedían en ese pueblo de montaña. Me gusta la fantasía y me gusta el realismo, pero la mezcla entre ambos me hace ruido, no puedo digerirla.
April 5, 2021
Set in 1717 in the north of Sweden, midwife Maija, her husband Paavo and their two young daughters have swapped their home in Finland with her husband's uncle to a house at the foot of Blackåsen Mountain. The daughters stumble upon the body of a dead man (Eriksson) in a remote area; while the other settlers blame a wolf, Maija is certain the wounds are too clean for that and decides to start asking questions. While the Nordic setting and political background around whether a monarch should rule Sweden could have made for an interesting story, especially with the involvement of the Church, the characters were very dull and I did not feel any tension nor connection. It was a struggle to finish. 1.5 stars, rounded up.
October 10, 2015
**4.5/4.75 stars **
This atmospheric novel drips with a sense of foreboding, but underlying that darkness is respect and admiration for the environment and the harsh Swedish winters of the mid 1700s.
While I generally don’t favor mysteries, I suppose, at its heart, this book is a who-done-it. And while the reader is left with a multitude of potential suspects (and lots of conjecture among the characters as to who – or what – is responsible), the novel is so much more: it’s literary historical fiction with breathtaking natural descriptions; it’s character-driven fiction as three point-of-view characters reveal their deep personal struggles and growth; and it also contains supernatural elements. The book questions the role of the church, of loyalty, fear – all the things that made survival for settlers at Blackasen Mountain so very trying.
I am a fan of any author who can conjure nature as a character, and Ekback does this in spades. One example of the beautifully haunting landscape imagery:
The snow is leaving. The mounds sink and settle, pour out and down. It’s already down to its first layers: coarse and grainy, so transparent the ground is almost visible right through. The river tries to break through her lock. She groans. Down by her outflow she begins to gnaw at the lake ice. Then she pushes through with a scream….
And…
The river scrambles its banks. The lake swallows its shores. Water gushes into the forest until the trees are knee-deep. And now the marsh too begins to bubble as she thaws.
Fans of Burial Rites (which I felt was more character-driven – and was one of my favorite novels of all time) will enjoy this book, even with its mystery components. In fact, I think this book skillfully spans genres and will impress readers of both commercial fiction and literary. There are many symbolic and thematic considerations within the pages of this novel: about the weight of carrying ghosts from the past, about the weight of love, ambition, tradition, community and duty to country and church, as well as to self. It really was a lovely read with a lot of surprising twists and turns that will have me thinking for quite some time.
This atmospheric novel drips with a sense of foreboding, but underlying that darkness is respect and admiration for the environment and the harsh Swedish winters of the mid 1700s.
While I generally don’t favor mysteries, I suppose, at its heart, this book is a who-done-it. And while the reader is left with a multitude of potential suspects (and lots of conjecture among the characters as to who – or what – is responsible), the novel is so much more: it’s literary historical fiction with breathtaking natural descriptions; it’s character-driven fiction as three point-of-view characters reveal their deep personal struggles and growth; and it also contains supernatural elements. The book questions the role of the church, of loyalty, fear – all the things that made survival for settlers at Blackasen Mountain so very trying.
I am a fan of any author who can conjure nature as a character, and Ekback does this in spades. One example of the beautifully haunting landscape imagery:
The snow is leaving. The mounds sink and settle, pour out and down. It’s already down to its first layers: coarse and grainy, so transparent the ground is almost visible right through. The river tries to break through her lock. She groans. Down by her outflow she begins to gnaw at the lake ice. Then she pushes through with a scream….
And…
The river scrambles its banks. The lake swallows its shores. Water gushes into the forest until the trees are knee-deep. And now the marsh too begins to bubble as she thaws.
Fans of Burial Rites (which I felt was more character-driven – and was one of my favorite novels of all time) will enjoy this book, even with its mystery components. In fact, I think this book skillfully spans genres and will impress readers of both commercial fiction and literary. There are many symbolic and thematic considerations within the pages of this novel: about the weight of carrying ghosts from the past, about the weight of love, ambition, tradition, community and duty to country and church, as well as to self. It really was a lovely read with a lot of surprising twists and turns that will have me thinking for quite some time.
December 23, 2017
This book meets criteria for literary fiction as well as historical fiction. It is set in 18th century northern Sweden, Lappland. The crown is sending peasants from the south to move into Lapp (now called Sami) territory in what are familiar patterns of colonialism. The nomadic Lapps herded reindeer and followed an animist religion. Their Christianization and eroding of their territory were central to the Crown's vision. Set in a time when the king of Sweden Charles XII spent most of his lifetime out of the country waging war for Swedish control of the Baltic. The Swedish people were burdened with crippling taxes, and most of the men forced into the army.
The heroine Maija, her husband Paava, and two daughters move from Finland to Swedish to occupy a homestead Paava's uncle has abandoned. The homestead is in the shadow of a mountain that is believed to hold an evil power over the area. The locals and the priest see it as the place the devil lives. There is a murder which Maija is the first to decry as that. As winter approaches, and the family is low on money, Paava returns to the coast to work leaving his family alone in the wilderness outside to the settlement where a few families live.
The book tells the story of the struggles against multiple evils, some among the locals, of the Lapp people to keep on, and Maija and her daughters to survive a brutal winter. Maija is descended from women with powers that Christianity rejects but the Lapps recognize. Her daughter Frederika has inherited these powers, and comes to recognize and cultivate them. The story maintains a balance between the realities of a brutal winter, life under a sometimes brutal king, and suggestions of other powers without slipping into the realm of fantasy. Instead the reader feels this was the worldview of Swedes and Lapps of the time. The story is threaded with suspense until the very end.
The heroine Maija, her husband Paava, and two daughters move from Finland to Swedish to occupy a homestead Paava's uncle has abandoned. The homestead is in the shadow of a mountain that is believed to hold an evil power over the area. The locals and the priest see it as the place the devil lives. There is a murder which Maija is the first to decry as that. As winter approaches, and the family is low on money, Paava returns to the coast to work leaving his family alone in the wilderness outside to the settlement where a few families live.
The book tells the story of the struggles against multiple evils, some among the locals, of the Lapp people to keep on, and Maija and her daughters to survive a brutal winter. Maija is descended from women with powers that Christianity rejects but the Lapps recognize. Her daughter Frederika has inherited these powers, and comes to recognize and cultivate them. The story maintains a balance between the realities of a brutal winter, life under a sometimes brutal king, and suggestions of other powers without slipping into the realm of fantasy. Instead the reader feels this was the worldview of Swedes and Lapps of the time. The story is threaded with suspense until the very end.
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