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Midwinter Break

By Bernard MacLaverty
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Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
Midwinter Break by Bernard MacLaverty follows an elderly couple, Gerry and Stella, on a winter holiday to Amsterdam. This apparently simple trip slowly reveals the complexities of their long marriage, exploring themes of love, faith, and the challenges of aging, as past secrets and differing dreams come to light.
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Format: Paperback / softback
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

This book may appeal to you if you enjoy introspective and beautifully written explorations of marriage and long-term relationships. Set against the backdrop of a winter trip, it delves deeply into themes of love, memory, and regret, offering a poignant and vivid portrayal of two characters at a turning point in their lives.

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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, 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.

An intense exploration of love and uncertainty when a long-married couple take a midwinter break in Amsterdam.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

An intense exploration of love and uncertainty when a long-married couple take a midwinter break in Amsterdam.

Midwinter Break

A Guardian / Sunday Times / Irish Times / Herald Scotland / Mail on Sunday Book of the Year

Winner of the Bord Gais 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...this is a novel of great ambition by an artist at the height of his powers. Colm Tóibín

A retired couple, Gerry and Stella Gilmore, fly to Amsterdam for a midwinter break. A holiday to refresh the senses, to see the sights and to generally take stock of what remains of their lives. But amongst the wintry streets and icy canals we see their relationship fracturing beneath the surface. And when memories re-emerge of a troubled time in their native Ireland, things begin to fall apart. 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.

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

Midwinter Break by Bernard MacLaverty received high praise for its nuanced portrayal of an elderly couple's relationship, marked by its exploration of love, companionship, and the struggle with alcohol addiction. Critics commend the novel's tender, intimate, and emotionally precise writing, highlighting its combination of poignant realism and humanity. The book is celebrated as a masterful exploration of the complexities of a long marriage, with exceptional dialogue and richly drawn characters that resonate deeply with readers.

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781784704919

Publisher: Vintage Publishing

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 04 January 2018

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Vintage

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 17.0mm

Width: 129.0mm

Height: 196.0mm

Weight: 68g

Pages: 256

Collections

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About the Author

Bernard MacLaverty lives in Glasgow. He has written five previous collections of stories and five novels, including Grace Notes, which was shortlisted for the Booker Prize, and Midwinter Break, the Bord Gais Energy Irish Novel of the Year. He has written versions of his fiction for other media - radio and television plays, screenplays and libretti.

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