WARNING: THERE MAY BE SPOILERS BELOW
Inside the factory, Ephraim anxiously scans the growing crowd, looking for his two sons. As anxious questions swirl around him "Where are they taking us? How long will we be gone?" he can't quell the suspicion that it would be just like his oldest son to hole up somewhere instead of lining up for the Germans, and just like his youngest to follow . . .
Yasia, a farmer's daughter who has come into town to sell produce, sees two young boys slinking through the shadows of the deserted streets and decides to offer them shelter . . .
As these lives become more and more intertwined Rachel Seiffert's prose rich with a rare compassion, courage, and emotional depth, an unflinching story is told: of survival, of conflicting senses of duty, of the oppressive power of fear and the possibility of courage in the face of terror.
As proof of everything coming full circle, this is the kind of book I would have reviewed back in January or February. And I admit, that’s part of the reason why A Boy in Winter intrigued me. Also, we’ve been getting super cold weather lately, and we got our first snow of the year a few days ago, another reason why I felt compelled to pick this book up.
There's not much that’s particularly special or unique at A Boy in Winter. While I can’t specifically point to any books that have this exact or a similar story-line and characters, it’s more the feeling I got while reading. I didn’t really feel anything about any of the characters, because I felt like there wasn’t much they could do that would surprise me or make me actually feel something.
That being said, I did like the setting. As I’ve said before, I like books that take place in the Eastern Bloc because I find the history of those countries fascinating. It was interesting to read about the Ukraine countryside, even if I think Seiffert could have explained some things more, like what marsh people are and things like that.
And I also just like stories like this. While I am not necessarily a multi-perspective kind of person, I still like stories that follow multiple people and how they all interconnect, some of my favorite books ever do that.
And while I do think the historical parts were good, if I were Seiffert's editor I would have maybe cautioned her about the ending. It didn't bother me, personally, but I can see some of the more... sensitive mindset take issue with it.
This is a perfectly fine novel. I didn’t hate it, but it wasn’t particularly special and it’s definitely not a future favorite. But it’s no secret that I’ve been feeling a kind of ennui about recent releases in historical fiction, mostly of the WWII variety, but this was a perfectly passable one. It’s the kind of book that’s probably best read on a snow day, the best time to read historical fiction-y books.
8 out of 10
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