Winter Rose (A Winter Rose Novel)

The first time I read Patricia McKillip, I didn't get very far. The book was the  Riddle-Master , and I was completely unprepared for her complex use of language. But there must have been something in her style that intrigued me, because I tracked down "Winter Rose" not long afterwards, and since then have been a big fan of all her work. Out of all Patricia McKillip's books (at least the ones I've read) "Winter Rose" is perhaps the most opaque. McKillip's language has always been eloquent and atmospheric, often obscuring both plot and characterization, but in this case the plot *itself* is also rather vague and ambiguous. Based on the ballad of Tam Lynn, this is a dreamy and mysterious tale of family secrets, unrequited love and the allure of faerie.At the risk of making this book sound boring, there is little in the way of plot in "Winter Rose". Moving in and out of the domestic circle and what may or may not be lucid dreams, the unprepared reader might be surprised at how little action there is. Instead, "Winter Rose" is a mystery that must be unfurled - not just in the understanding of the central figure in the story (the stranger on his buttermilk horse), but in the protagonist's understanding of her own being.Rois and Laurel Melior are sisters, and yet complete opposites. Whereas fair-headed Laurel is beautiful, sensible, kind-hearted and thoroughly domesticated, younger sister Rois is wild and free-spirited, liable to wander in the woods for hours at a time. They live with their father in a humble farmhouse, but while Laurel is engaged to marry her childhood sweetheart, Rois has no interest whatsoever in affairs of the heart. That is, until the day Corbet Lynn steps out of the shadows in order to reclaim his ancestral home and restore it to its former glory.Right from the start Corbet causes a stir among the village. There are rumours and whispers surrounding his lineage: that Corbet's father killed his grandfather, and that with his dying breath, Nial Lynn cursed all future generations. Of course, what exactly this curse entails changes from storyteller to storyteller, but Rois can sense that there is more to the enigmatic Corbet than what he lets on in casual conversation. Though he seems to be a benevolent figure, his presence among them is soon causing trouble. Capturing the hearts of both sisters, Laurel begins to waste away (as did the girls' mother long ago) whilst Rois is drawn into his dangerous fey-like world in which a dangerous queen holds sway.Touchingly, the bond between the sisters is never sacrificed, even when both are aware of each other's feelings for Corbet. Rois proves herself a pure and selfless heroine when she takes measures to save Corbet - partly for the sake of her sister's life, and with full knowledge that in doing so, she might not win his love in return.As always, McKillip's style is filled with dense imagery and symbolism, perhaps more so in this book than any other. Her creation of winter is particularly evocative: I think it will make you feel a little chilly even when reading it on the warmest summer day! But as I said earlier, the plot of this story is borderline-incomprehensible. Rois travels in and out of dreams and hallucinations, and is never quite sure what is real and what isn't. Come the conclusion, neither is the reader. For the record, this is not a bad thing. I have no doubt that it was in fact McKillip's intention, and the mystery that it creates (in keeping with the theme of secrets and illusions) makes it thought-provoking as opposed to frustrating. At least, it did for me, and what with such dreamy prose throughout, it would be rather foolish to expect anything other than an ambiguous ending.One minor pet peeve of mine was the name "Rois." Given the emphasis on roses throughout the story, I assumed that the name of the main character was meant to be pronounced "rose." But the odd spelling meant that I kept hearing it as "Royce," rhymes with "Joyce". After a while, it kinda got on my nerves. Couldn't the girl just be called "Rose"?But that's (obviously) very minor. On the whole, this is one of McKillip's most successful novels; full of magic and mystery. Certainly not for everyone, but those who take the time to read it thoughtfully - and perhaps even more than once - will be amply rewarded.

Filled with strange fairytale logic, this novel walks a fine line between ethereal and incoherent. I think what pulls it together is the gorgeous prose. The story of a girl named Rois who looks nothing like a rose, it shifts disturbingly between reality and dream (or at least, what appears to be a dream) without warning. I found it easier to follow if I assumed the dreams were actually real.“Winds shook me apart piecemeal, flung a bone here, a bone there. My eyes became snow, my hair turned to ice; I heard it chime against my shoulders like wind-blown glass. If I spoke, words would fall from me like snow, pour out of me like black wind.”McKillip's writing is beautiful and I enjoyed the first-person voice she uses here. This is a bottle story, perhaps a murder mystery, with the plot bouncing back and forth between the same locations, and things get more eerie as it goes on.

I bought this on a whim and am so glad I did. It’s beautifully written as well as being an engrossing tale. It’s poetic but not pretentious. It’s a different telling of the Tam Lin fairy story (one of my favorite tales) and it applies a very interesting juxtaposition to the original. I couldn’t put it down - I read it in one sitting. I wish it was longer!

It is hard to describe a Patricia McKilip book: her prose has carefully chosen groups of words that are lyrical and evoke such beautiful images. I bought this book when it first appeared in paperback, and since then I have been searching for the half sized hardback copy. Finally found one here at Amazon and I was lucky to receive a very nice copy.The story will grab you from the first page and will keep you to the end, wanting more. It is well worth the price you can afford.

McKillip does it again! Another story that warrants re-reading over and over! I love the richly woven tapestry of the stories she writes, and this one did NOT disappoint! Wonder and enchantment is saturated in every chapter of this riveting, cannot-put-down tale about a girl who is unlike any other and captures the hearts of readers as she bravely follows along dancing to drums only she can hear to unravel the mysteries and find herself. Excellent tale with old-fashioned true storytelling at it's finest!

“I walked through a storm and fell asleep in an empty house; when I woke there was a dead man beside me…”Two sisters are preparing for harvest to end and winter to arrive, one is engaged to a farmer, and one is as wild as the autumn winds and her namesake, Rois (Rose). Their lives are changed when a blond stranger named Corbet appears to reclaim his family’s old house, now in great disrepair. His father had abandoned it many years ago, as most in the village believe, after killing his own father, Corbet’s grandfather.Corbet enlists the help of some men of the village to repair only a few of the rooms, before he disappears as well, but not after he has enjoyed many nights at dinner with the two sisters, leaving with both their hearts, trapped between worlds only one girl can find.Rois will face an ancient, powerful magic, “the dead of winter”, that few have seen and lived, to save the one she truly sees and knows, as no other can.For anyone who has ever pined over love lost, or searched for magic in the snow or autumn winds or in a deep well, The Winter Rose is a poetically-written, tragic, romantic fantasy that will enthrall and warm you through the long winter.

Winter Rose really does have some exquisite passages. Set in a fairy-tale-like cottage, it begins with a series of mysterious rumors that swirl as thickly as the falling winter snow. It draws you in immediately with its evocation of old events never fully resolved and its acute portrait of the world's many beautiful details. The beginning is promising as could be, but the story becomes jumbled, repetitive, and is ultimately left unresolved. The characters lack dimension or meaningful motivation, and the end leaves you with more questions raised than answered.

A dream like reverie whose mysterious boundaries cross worlds both mundane and fey.

Not for everyone: the story is dark, very dark. I wouldn't say it's for young adults (despite the age of the main character) since it dwells in a type of folklore that isn't happy nor cheerful, but probably more close to the shade of the original folk stories that inspired it. I love this writer and this book was no exception: an original story, gripping and hauntingly beautiful.

Solstice Woodに続きますが独立した作品です。McKillipの作品はどれも大好きですが、Winter RoseはRiddle-Master やThe Bards of Bone Plain、The Changeling Sea のように筋は単純というか曲がりくねっていても一本道な部類に属します。McKillipの作品はどれも幻想的で魅了されますがCygnetシリーズのように少し複雑になると全体の構成を把握するのに緊張を要求されます。若いときにはそれも英語の勉強になりますが老齢の今となってはその根気はありません。そのような私にとっても幻想的な雰囲気にひたりつつ安心して楽しんで読み進められます。

I enjoyed Patricia McKillip's 'Winter Rose' immensely. In fact I only received it this morning and finished it in one day - I couldn't put it down.If you like poetry and descriptions of nature which are breath-takingly beautiful, you will love this book. The story follows a unique protagonist, Rois, in a tale that weaves its way through love, the passages between worlds and the harsh trial winter imposes upon an agrarian community. The atmosphere of the novel is completely surreal, seeming to flit from reality to dreamscape in a seamless and lyrical way, which kept me wanting more until the very end.McKillip's characters are believable and fascinating and the pace of the story is smooth, never dragging. As an aspiring writer myself, I hold nothing but admiration for the beautiful twists and turns of the language and the lasting imagery the author conjures from the written page.Highly recommended in every sense, especially if you are looking for unconventional fantasy.An original tale, superbly told. One can only be enriched by the experience!

Synopsis [by Goodreads.com]Sorrow and trouble and bitterness will bound you and yours and the children of yours...Some said the dying words of Nial Lynn, murdered by his own son, were a wicked curse. To others, it was a winter's tale spun by firelight on cold, dark nights. But when Corbet Lynn came to rebuild his family estate, memories of his grandfather's curse were rekindled by young and old - and rumours filled the heavy air of summer.In the woods that border Lynn Hall, free-spirited Rois Melior roams wild and barefooted in search of healing herbs. She is as hopelessly unbridled - and unsuited for marriage - as her betrothed sister Laurel is domestic. In Corbet's pale green eyes, Rois senses a desperate longing. In her restless dreams, mixed with the heady warmth of harvest wine, she hears him beckon. And as autumn gold fades, Rois is consumed with Corbet Lynn, obsessed with his secret past - until, across the frozed countryside and in flight from her own imagination, truth and dreams become inseparable...ReviewThis really is a fairy-tale, told in a traditional, yet unconventional way. The story is told in Rois' 1st-person POV and she is a very unique and special character to share her view of the events with. She is well-liked in the village, where she lives with her sister Laurel and their farming father, even when it is apparent that Rois is different: she roams the woods, does not wear shoes [if avoidable] and sees what others cannot. Shadows in the woods that are more than shadows, winds and storms that are more than air. I loved her the moment she tells the reader: "And I would never stay where I was not free; I would simply walk out the door and vanish, vows or no." She calls herself her fathers "fae child". And it's her being different that makes her the center of the mystery of the Lynn familiy and their abandoned estate Lynn Hall that starts to come back to life when Corbet Lynn arrives in the village and rebuilds Lynn Hall.At times it was a bit hard to follow Rois' thoughts about all the strange things she sees and encounters, which is why I gave the book four instead of five stars: I just could not read it without a break. But the story is interesting enough that I kept taking the book back up - the more I read, the more I wanted to know, if Rois could help Corbet, Perrin, Laurel - and herself. What the curse really had been, where Corbet's father had vanished the night his Grandfather had been killed and most of all: what lies beneath Rois' abilities? At the same time that Rois started wondering what she was, I did and in the end, I yearned more for the solution of this riddle, than the question if Corbet could be saved and whom, if anyone at all, he loved.It's hard to talk about the events in this book, since so many of them do not happen in the "human time", als Rois calls it, but in "Time out of time", when Rois is not in the world anymore, but someplace and sometime else. So there isn't much happening and at the same time she experiences so much. That is the charm of this story: it really feels like a fairy tale, I never knew, up until the last page, what would happen - and I delighted in the conclusion.So you could say that with each page I got more and more enchanted and tangled up into the tale. If you like Juliet Marillier and Robin McKinley, you will like this tale just as well.