What We Learned from Driving in Winter

by Carissa Foo

Three Singaporean university students in London, as unalike as can be, become roommates and then fast friends. Over three winters in the mid-2010s, Gigi, Yi-En and Clare rely on each other in the face of trauma and big, scary life changes. When news comes of Clare’s disappearance, Gigi and En take a road trip to the countryside to retrace the path of her final days. What We Learned from Driving in Winter explores how we are able to live with tragedy with a little help from our friends.

Genres: Fiction, Slice Of Life

288 pages, Paperback

Published March 1, 2022

About the author

Carissa Foo is a lecturer of writing and literature. She received her Ph.D. in English Studies from Durham University and is currently working at Yale-NUS College in Singapore. Apart from her research interest in modernist women's writing, she also plays the bass guitar and was part of the local band Tuzi, which won the national SuperBand competition and later produced their debut album Hey! When she is not teaching in the university, she teaches conversational English to migrant workers. If It Were Up to Mrs Dada is her first novel.

Reviews

[Filbert · Rating 4 out of 5]

The time period in this book coincided with the years I spent in London during undergrad. All the places, people, memories, and issues then; building a life away from home during those years, housemates, finding my way around in the transition to adulthood, and then the goodbyes.. the difficult goodbyes.. to that previous life.

Not quite sure what to make of this book actually. It was really quite nice reliving those memories of people and places but it was also nostalgic, perhaps to the point of melancholy. I miss them all badly.. but it’s not fun to feel that way. I want to go back but yet I don’t. Does that even make sense.

Sometimes I even find myself wondering if that distant self and all those memories actually existed, or was it all some dream. But if they existed, then why does my current self feel somewhat different? And with this difference, who am I actually after all these years?

I guess that’s really part of growing up and learning that you lose some things while gaining others along the way. Whatever that was, I guess it shaped who I am today, which will shape who I become years from now.

In all, I guess it’s.. nice.

[Yi Wei Leong · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book twice. The first was when I was reeling from grief, and found comfort in how acutely this book described loss. The second time I read this, grief was subdued and quietly playing in the background. Carissa Foo writes with such sensitivity. I will return to these pages again in a couple years time.

[bookishlyfina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not the first time I’ve dabbled in Singlit and got to admit this time it surprises me in a good way. The sinopsis of the book was vague but became clearer after reading about it.

Following the MC, Gigi, a Singaporean studying in London moved into a house with two other Singaporeans, Clare and En, as housemates but they connected and became fast friends. Going through the challenges overseas only to have each other as a source of comfort. They hadn’t received a text from Clare as they usually do and her online presence has totally disappeared, only to find out one night that Clare died in an incident during her solo graduation trip at a beach in Robin Hood’s Bay.

They had trouble coping with the fact that she was gone which made Gigi & En drifted apart, trying to find the closure in their own way. After being apart, they came back together in London to go on the journey that Clare once did in the memory of her and reminisce about their friendship during their time together.

It is about friendship and loss, I felt the tenderness of the story. The moment when knowing one of the lovable character died speaks louder. How the ending lets you feel like you have sync out slowly makes it all came together to a perfect close.

The day they receive a postcard from Clare after she passes, where parts of it hits them differently.
“𝑰 𝒘𝒊𝒔𝒉 𝑰 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒈𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒄 𝒗𝒊𝒆𝒘 𝒊𝒔 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒗𝒊𝒆𝒘 𝒃𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒎𝒆. 𝑰𝒕𝒔 𝒔𝒐 𝒔𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒃𝒆𝒂𝒖𝒕𝒊𝒇𝒖𝒍. 𝑫𝒐𝒆𝒔𝒏'𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒆𝒂 𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒌𝒚?”

[pjospoul · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is kind of difficult to rate. I love it, but I would completely understand if someone else disliked it, because nostalgia is definitely playing a major role in my effusive praise for the novel. (Rose-tinted lenses, yadda yadda yadda.)

It feels like the book was tailor-made for my current tastes, and its perfect mix of familiar and unfamiliar elements kept me engaged on all fronts all the way through. Good prose, if slightly unpolished at times (but in an endearing way which augments its charm); references to Singaporean-ness that don't feel contrived or unnatural; a gentle yet inexorable narrative pressure that accompanies the reader as they approach the novel's (tragic) conclusion.

This book captured my heart (and I do not use that phrase lightly) from very early on; I knew within the first twenty pages that the book was worth a reread. Unfortunately, library books must be returned and I don't have time for a reread. I'd definitely buy it if I came across it in a bookstore.

[Leafartt · Rating 4 out of 5]

i think i liked this ? tbh im not very sure 🤡

a novel about friendship & loss that tugged at my heartstrings at times. although set in the uk, the occasional references to singaporean culture made this feel familiar in a way. the writing was pretty good as well !

[shervon · Rating 4 out of 5]

this feels like exchange x rgs combined. some parts dragged on pretty long but it really just gave an overall melancholic vibe for the entire book. the kind of sadness that just sits at the back of the room, not overwhelming but ever present. honestly i am impressed considering its singlit HAHA

[Matt Constantine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked this, friends in Britain, driving. There’s a sadness throughout that stayed with me even after. I’ve never been to the north of England but someday I’d like to go.

[Suzanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this moody story about four female Singaporean young women studying abroad in England, and what happens when one of them goes missing.

[sylvia · Rating 5 out of 5]

friendship, loss, girlhood. achingly written and beautifully heartbreaking.

[Jinglebells · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very simple and lighthearted read. It’s highly relatable if you’ve studied in Singapore and you’ve spent a few months of your undergraduate life doing a summer/winter exchange overseas. The book explores the friendship between 3 female friends, and I enjoyed the banter between them. And it takes a sudden, dark turn at the end of the book (not sure if I missed out some info but personally I did not see that coming)