Midwinter Break - Couverture rigide

MacLaverty, Bernard

Couverture rigide

ISBN 10 : 1911214217 ISBN 13 : 9781911214212

Editeur : Jonathan Cape, 2017

A propos du livre

Revue de presse

"Its portrayal of the tightening vice of alcohol addiction is unparalleled. But its profound exploration of its love, companionship, faith, work and our search for meaning in life made it a tender masterpiece, and one of the year’s essential reads." (Justine Jordan Guardian, **Books of the Year**)

"MacLaverty doesn’t publish novels very often but when he does they are outstanding." (Peter Kemp Sunday Times, **Books of the Year**)

"A gem of a novel." (Allan Hunter Herald Scotland, **Books of the Year**)

"Alive with utterly convincing actuality, this affecting, funny and acute book is a triumph of quiet masterliness." (Peter Kemp Herald Scotland, **Books of the Year**)

"It's an immersive and astonishing book." (Jackie Kay Herald Scotland, **Books of the Year**)

"[An] intense, emotionally vivid portrait of an elderly couple’s relationship in crisis." (James Marriott The Times, **Books of the Year**)

"A marriage under strain after 40 years? A mini-break marred by bitter cold weather? An escapist dream that’s about to be nixed by reality? Gloomy though it sounds, this warm, intimate portrait of ageing love is one of the wittiest, wisest novels of the year." (Mail on Sunday, **Books of the Year**)

"Midwinter Break is a work of extraordinary emotional precision and sympathy, about coming to terms - to an honest reckoning - with love and the loss of love, with memory and pain. Full of scenes that are rendered with exquisite accuracy and care, allowing the most detailed physical descriptions to be placed against the possibility of a rich spiritual life, this is a novel of great ambition by an artist at the height of his powers." (Colm Tóibín)

"A quiet, brilliantly written novel that packs a tremendous punch." (Penelope Lively)

"An artist with a subtle feel for the ordinary, MacLaverty’s wry, outstanding novel about the tests that time, age and life impose on love resonates with humanity and emotional intelligence." (Eileen Battersby Financial Times)

Présentation de l'éditeur

A Guardian / Sunday Times / Irish Times / Herald Scotland / Mail on Sunday Book of the Year
Winner of the Bord Gáis Novel of the Year


‘Midwinter Break is a work of extraordinary emotional precision and sympathy, about coming to terms – to an honest reckoning – with love and the loss of love, with memory and pain. Full of scenes that are rendered with exquisite accuracy and care, allowing the most detailed physical descriptions to be placed against the possibility of a rich spiritual life, this is a novel of great ambition by an artist at the height of his powers.’ Colm Tóibín

Sixteen years on from his last novel, Bernard MacLaverty reminds us why he is regarded as one of the greatest living Irish writers. A retired couple, Gerry and Stella Gilmore, fly from their home in Scotland to Amsterdam for a long weekend. A holiday to refresh the senses, to do some sightseeing and generally to take stock of what remains of their lives. Their relationship seems safe, easy, familiar – but over the course of the four days we discover the deep uncertainties which exist between them.

Gerry, once an architect, is forgetful and set in his ways. Stella is tired of his lifestyle, worried about their marriage and angry at his constant undermining of her religious faith. Things are not helped by memories which have begun to resurface of a troubled time in their native Ireland. As their midwinter break comes to an end, we understand how far apart they are – and can only watch as they struggle to save themselves.

Bernard MacLaverty is a master storyteller, and Midwinter Break is the essential MacLaverty novel: accurate, compassionate observation, effortlessly elegant writing and a tender, intimate, heart-rending story – but it is also a profound examination of human love and how we live together, a chamber piece of real resonance and power. Forty years on from his first book, Bernard MacLaverty has written his masterpiece.

À propos de cette édition

• Éditeur: Jonathan Cape
• Date d'édition: 2017
• ISBN 10: 1911214217
• ISBN 13: 9781911214212
• Reliure: Relié
• Nombre de pages: 256