A Boy in Winter
Published on 1. February 2018
Book
Paperback/Softback
256 pages
978-1-84408-999-4 (ISBN)
Description
Early on a grey November morning in 1941, only weeks after the German invasion, a small Ukrainian town is overrun by the SS. Deft, spare and devastating, Rachel Seiffert's new novel tells of the three days that follow and the lives that are overturned in the process. Penned in with his fellow Jews, under threat of transportation, Ephraim anxiously awaits word of his two sons, missing since daybreak. Come in search of her lover, to fetch him home again, away from the invaders, Yasia must confront new and harsh truths about those closest to her. Here to avoid a war he considers criminal, German engineer Otto Pohl is faced with an even greater crime unfolding behind the lines, and no-one but himself to turn to. And in the midst of it all is the determined boy Yankel who will throw his and his young brother's chances of surviving to strangers. A Boy In Winter is a story of hope when all is lost, and of mercy when the times have none.
Reviews / Votes
Seiffert's prose is not showy, but graceful and precise. The misery of the dank streets is relieved by flashes of light and humanity The Economist A fine novel that locates small, flickering lights of hope in an otherwise desolate landscape -- Nick Rennison Sunday Times Seiffert's cool tone never wavers - her spare, beautiful prose is a joy to read -- Helen Dunmore Guardian Rachel Seiffert writes short, fast narratives about the big historical events that have shaped our time ... The primal energy in this novel is a moral sore that will never heal. How could Seiffert's beloved Opa (grandad) not know what was going on? How, knowing, could he and her Oma not resist? Yet had they resisted, Seiffert would not be here, in 2017, to write for us. One closes this fine novel sensing the confused pain it must have caused Rachel Seiffert to write it -- John Sutherland The Times Rachel Seiffert's new novel A Boy in Winter stretches over only three days, through which you encounter all the emotions of the time, horror and instinct for survival, family loyalty, and above all perhaps, bravery -- James Naughtie BBC World TVMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Little, Brown Book Group
Product notice
Paperback (UK-B)
Dimensions
Height: 208 mm
Width: 139 mm
Thickness: 25 mm
Weight
206 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-84408-999-4 (9781844089994)
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Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Person
Rachel Seiffert's first novel, The Dark Room, was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize and was made into the feature film Lore. She was named as one of Granta's twenty Best of Young British Novelists in 2003, and in 2011 she received the E.M. Forster Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Field Study, a collection of short stories, received an award from PEN International. Her second novel Afterwards was long-listed for the 2007 Orange Prize as was her third, The Walk Home. Her books have been published in eighteen languages. Rachel Seiffert lives in London with her family.