Gerry, once an architect, a mediocre one in his estimation, cannot get through a day without his drinking but his love for his wife is plain to see. Gerry and Stella Gilmore are retired, now living in Scotland, and facing the midwinter of their lives and their marriage. This is a profoundly moving and perceptive examination of the anatomy of a long marriage.
*Thank you to Netgalley and Random House UK, Vintage Publishing for my ARC in exchange for an honest review*. I want to gather his words into a great big hug and keep them close forever! The author has told the story with love and compassion, and there was a particular scene that takes place in Anne Frank's house in Amsterdam, involving an earring, that makes me want to weep just thinking about it - so moving.īernard MacLaverty's insight into love in later years is simply beautiful to witness. The writing is simply exquisite, and captures so well the problems that come with age, not just in medical terms, but also how the passing years bring about a need to re-examine life and decisions. I liked the way the author gave snippets of information in the form of flashbacks, especially to the 'troubles' in Northern Ireland, and the dreadful day when Stella became one of the many statistics of the troubles, fortunately one who lived to tell the tale. Stella has her own agenda for this trip, which doesn't include her husband, while Gerry is happy to be left to his drinking ( secret or otherwise ). The small silences that older marriages are comfortable enough to endure, become virtual non communication for them. They may not share common interests, but they still share intimacies that come from a long marriage, from knowing a person as well as you know yourself - the way Gerry still takes Stella's hand when crossing the road, or the habit they have of sharing a kiss whenever they're in an elevator.Īs the story begins, Stella and Gerry are about to take a trip to Amsterdam, and it's told with an unflinching honesty that I found heartbreaking. Approaching their late sixties, they no longer share common interests - Gerry has his drinking, whilst Stella has her religion, a faith which has never deserted her, even at the lowest point in her life. They may not share common interests, but they still share intimacies that come from a long marriage, from knowing a person as well as you know yourself - the way Gerry still takes Stella's hand when crossing the road, or the habit t Irish born Stella and Gerry are at a crossroads in their lives. Irish born Stella and Gerry are at a crossroads in their lives. Forty years after his first book, MacLaverty has written his masterpiece.more Yet it is also a profound examination of human love and how we live together, a chamber piece of real resonance and power. MacLaverty is a master storyteller, and Midwinter Break is the essential MacLaverty novel: accurate, compassionate observation effortlessly elegant writing and a tender, intimate, heartrending story. 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. Things are not helped by memories that have begun to resurface of a troubled time in their native Ireland. Stella is tired of his lifestyle, worried about their marriage, and angry at his constant undermining of her religious faith.
Gerry, once an architect, is forgetful and set in his ways. But over the course of the four days we discover the deep uncertainties that exist between them. Their relationship seems safe, easy, familiar. 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 Sixteen years on from his last novel, Bernard MacLaverty reminds us why he is regarded as one of the greatest living Irish writers.
Sixteen years on from his last novel, Bernard MacLaverty reminds us why he is regarded as one of the greatest living Irish writers.
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