Andrew Miller occasionally sets his books in the present but excels at historical fiction whether that be the eighteenth century of my favourite Ingenious Pain or 1962/3, when Britain was in the grips of a brutal cold snap, in his new novel. The Land in Winter follows two very different couples, incomers to the Somerset village where they’re neighbours.
This, she thought, was the gate that Death would enter by. She opened it, closed it behind her, and set off across the field where exactly nothing was happening.
The son of a railwayman, Eric enjoys the status of country doctor, oblivious to the unhappiness of his wife Iris, a fish out of water in this remote, rural setting. He’s glad to be away from his wife’s middle-class parents and their expectations, engaging in an affair with what he regards as discretion. Their nearest neighbours are Bill, defying his father’s wishes to become a lawyer in the dubious family business to take up farming instead, and Rita who remembers her days dancing at Bristol’s Pow Wow club while trying to fend off the voices in her head. Neither couple has much in common with the other but both Iris and Rita are pregnant and lonely opening them to an unlikely friendship, cemented by preparations for the Boxing Day party Iris has planned. Shortly afterwards, a blizzard cuts off swathes of the country, maintaining a grip through most of the first month of the new year, resulting in a series of tumultuous events for both couples.
I come from ill-gotten gains, my dear. There’s nothing remotely posh about us. Posh people think my father’s a jumped-up little immigrant, which he is. They’d send him back if they could work out where he came from.
Miller’s novel is set over a few months when Britain grappled with winter conditions it hadn’t endured since 1947 just a short time after the end of the Second World War whose effects are still very apparent: much of Bristol is still a bombsite, Rita’s father is haunted by what he witnessed liberating Belsen while Bill’s father has his own ghosts as does Gabby, Eric’s partner. This new generation, too young to have taken part in the war, is far from unscathed by it. It’s a theme subtly woven through Miller’s novel as is class, neatly conveyed often in a few words or actions. As ever his period detail is evocative and his characterisation strong, shifting the narrative smoothly between the four main protagonists, unfolding each of their very different stories. An engrossing, atmospheric novel whose ending, as with Now We Shall Be Entirely Free, Miller leaves open to interpretation.
Sceptre Books London 9781529354270 384 pages Hardback (read via NetGalley)
Oh goodie! I happen just to have collected this, having reserved it from the library. A treat in store (As soon as I’ve tackled Norh Woods for bookgroup).
Excellent! Good luck with NW. I haven’t read it but I seem to remember it’s quite hefty.
I rate Miller—Now We Shall Be Entirely Free was one of my favourite books the year it came out, and although The Slowworm’s Song didn’t entirely do it for me, I haven’t forgotten it either. This sounds a bit more like the latter than the former, but he’s always worth tracking down.
I much prefer his historical fiction to his more contemporary novels. I hope you enjoy this as much as Now We Shall Be Entirely Free. Totally irrelevant, but I met him when I was a bookseller and he’s a throughly nice man!
Is that irrelevant? I like hearing/knowing this!
Also, I loved NWSBEF as well, and I am so glad you mentioned it in the end because I was squinting at the effort of trying to remember which one I had so admired.
He was always welcome in the bookshop where I worked, unlike some local authors!
Good to know there is a new Miller on the bookshelves. I loved Now We Shall be Entirely Free. He was at Listowel Writers Week a few years ago, utterly charming man.
He is! He was a local author for me when I was a bookseller.
I have to read this one. I do so enjoy his novels, despite having a couple to read on the shelves.
This one hit the spot for me. I hope you enjoy it when you get to it, Annabel.
I’ve never read Miller although I keep meaning to. This sound like an intelligent, thoughtful read.
I think his style would suit you, Cathy.
This sounds excellent, Susan, the atmosphere reflecting (and adding to) the equations between the protagonists!
The extreme weather certainly heightens the tension. Very much enjoyed this one.
This sounds excellent. I really must get back to Miller! Like you, I loved Ingenious Pain.
Still my favourite!
Yes, this does sound wonderful, and I am pleased also that my Ron Rash has arrived at the book shop. Loved that review. I’m in London and it’s very grey! But friendships and my daughter will brighten the scene…
One for winter reading! Have a lovely time in London. I think there may be some sun on the way. Hope you enjoy the Rash.
Somehow I had missed there was a new Miller on the way, until it turned up in store recently. I love his work and will read anything he writes – contemporary of historical! Looking forward to seeing how he tackles the postwar era.
I enjoyed it very much, as you can probably tell! He captures the feeling of being cut off, and the mayhem that can ensue, so well.