Hi ,
It looks like you're using an ad blocker.



The revenue generated from the adverts on the site is a critical part of our funding - and it's because of these ads that I can offer the site for free. But using the site for free AND blocking the ads doesn't feel like a great thing to do, which is why this box is so large and inconvenient. Some sites will completely block your access, but I'm not doing that - I'm appealing to your good nature instead. Did you know that you can allow ads for specific sites, whilst still blocking them on others?

Thanks,
Ian Williams aka Fetch
or for an ad-free Fetcheveryone experience!

Mind of Winter - Dec 2024 Book Group discussion thread

6 watchers
westmoors
westmoors
Dec 2024
4:21pm, 20 Dec 2024
9,301 posts
  • Quote
  • Pin
westmoors
So this seems to have gone down better than my previous choosings.
LindsD
LindsD
Dec 2024
4:45pm, 20 Dec 2024
71,711 posts
  • Quote
  • Pin
LindsD
:)
Little Nemo
Little Nemo
7 Jan
1:15pm, 7 Jan 2025
16,230 posts
  • Quote
  • Pin
Little Nemo
I found this a difficult read to begin with. It had an odd repetitive style which I found quite irritating. It also felt very claustrophobic being stuck inside the narrator's head. The endless descriptions of the daughter's bedroom door, the preparation of the Christmas dinner and her wanting to write stuff down but not finding the time got a bit too much at times.

Eventually I realised that it was all going to set in the one location over one day and then it worked better for me. I liked having a main character who was sometimes quite unlikeable and seemed to struggle with being a mother. She was also a bit contradictory - she'd had major surgery to reduce her risk of cancer and yet she never took her daughter to the doctor and was anti-vaccine? But I guess it had to be like this otherwise her heart failure would have been spotted.

From half-way onwards I wondered if there was going to be a supernatural twist to it. It reminded me of a book I've read where a childless couple find a child in the snow and bring her up as their own. I'm sure there are fairy stories like this too and in the end the girl disappears when she grows up as she's not really human. I supposed this is a different take on this, the girl wasn't who they originally chose so in a way she was never theirs.

I found the ending was maybe a little too neat. I think I would have preferred it to have a more ambiguous ending with room for some spooky stuff. The fact that it could all be explained by the mother having a breakdown because her daughter had died felt too much like ticking off all the plot points and tying a big bow around it all.

Once I got used to the writing style I found it an easy book to read and I did like some of her descriptions - especially the snow.

Thanks to Westmoors for choosing it, I'll look out for more of her work at the library.

I gave this book a 6.

Got something to say?

To join the discussion, sign in or join us.

About This Thread

Maintained by McGoohan
Our December 2024 book, and the final book of Season Eight of Fetch Book Group chosen by Westmoors is Mind of Winter by Laura Keunssberg telling of her time as a political journalist with the BBC....

...

... is Mind of Winter by Laura Kasischke and therefore contains much less Boris Johnson than I had feared. It is instead a spooo-oo-oooky Christmas tale.

Please post your thoughts below like your Christmas wishlist for Santa, tossed into the fireplace but carried aloft up the chimney on the heat and carried hence to the North Pole by a little Christmas magic. So... do that.
  • Show full description...

Related Threads

  • bookgroup

Report This Content

You can report any content you believe to be unsafe. Please let me know why you believe this content is unsafe by choosing a category below.



Thank you for your report. The content will be assessed as soon as possible.










Back To Top

Tag A User

To tag a user, start typing their name here:
X

Free training & racing tools for runners, cyclists, swimmers & walkers.

Fetcheveryone lets you analyse your training, find races, plot routes, chat in our forum, get advice, play games - and more! Nothing is behind a paywall, and it'll stay that way thanks to our awesome community!
Get Started
Click here to join 114,325 Fetchies!
Already a Fetchie? Sign in here