CBR 17 BINGO: Purple (see cover)
Illustrated by Victoria Sawdon
It’s been five years since the publication of Piranesi, and 21 years (!) since the release of the spellbinding Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, so I know I’m not the only fan who squealed with delight at the arrival of a new (tiny) book by Susanna Clarke. I love the existence of this book, but I must warn you up front that it’s a short story, and barely that. You can read it in 20 minutes, tops, if you ignore the illustrations (which you absolutely should not do).
I would characterize The Wood at Midwinter as a fairy tale, for lack of a better label. The story is about Merowdis, a 19-year old woman who is described by her sister Ysolde as a saint and who finds peace only when she is walking through the woods with her dogs Pretty and Amandier and her pig Apple. Merowdis admits that she is too disobedient to be a nun but doesn’t wish to marry her suitor, George, either. She dreams of having a baby, though–tough break for her! During one walk through the woods, she encounters a strange being, and the trees seem to speak to her about her future.
There’s not much more to it than that. As I said, very simple story, and if you go in expecting Jonathan Strange, you’re going to be disappointed. In the Afterword, Clarke writes that the story (pieces of which had been milling about in her head for years) came about when BBC Radio 4 asked her to write a short story to broadcast before Christmas. Thinking of it in those terms, as a pre-Christmas fairy tale, The Wood at Midwinter becomes a tale to read while sitting around a warm fire in December, perhaps becoming a seasonal favorite to read with family.
Some may complain (as I saw one person on Goodreads do) that this book is a cash grab: minimal content dressed up as a Christmas gift. That is definitely the cynical way to look at it (and I should confess, I received it as a Christmas gift, so if that was the strategy, it paid off). If I were to rate this book on story alone, it wouldn’t get more than 3 stars. But I am a sucker for a beautiful book, and I have to add at least 1 star for the rich purple and gold cover, not to mention the playful illustrations by Victoria Sawdon.
by Victoria Sawdon, from The Wood at Midwinter
This book exudes magic, as does everything that Clarke writes. Is it about the connectivity between people and nature? Is it a pagan-Christian crossover fairy tale? I’m honestly not going to think about it that deeply. Sometimes holding a beautiful book your hands and reading about a girl in a magical forest is enough.