Source: Public Library
Audio, 13 CDs
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The Winter Sea by Susanna Kearsley, narrated by Rosalyn Landor, was our January book club selection, which I read in December. Carrie McClelland has been writing for some time and she has lived a life with her characters as most authors do, but in this case, her ancestors begin to speak through her. A novel about the failed attempt to return the exiled James Stewart to the crown in the spring of 1708 in Scotland, McClelland is pulled in another direction when she realizes that her novel needs a new point of view. In so choosing Sophia Patterson, her late-night writing takes a very different turn, as she uncovers her own family’s past. In alternating points of view between Carrie as she meets the owner of a cottage she rents for writing and his sons and Sophia’s point of view, the story of her family comes alive.
The dramatic landscape and winter sea call to Carrie, like it called to her ancestors. In many ways, Kearsley’s narrative asks whether memories can be inherited through DNA? It also seeks to touch upon how much of our personalities and inclinations come from the people in our families who have gone before us. The courage and power of love is palpable in Kearsley’s prose, and her characters face a number of obstacles beyond their control, at least in Carrie’s novel. The life of an author can be lonely, and Carrie falls a bit quickly in love. However, the author focuses not only on the romance of these characters in the present and past, the Jacobite Movement is well fleshed out, with intrigue and danger. Landor is a passionate narrator, and she makes all of the twists and turns believable.
The Winter Sea by Susanna Kearsley, narrated by Rosalyn Landor, is wonderfully crafted, combining history with romance in a fantastic way. Landor does an excellent job with the Scottish accents and dialects.
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What the book club thought:
Everyone seemed to enjoy this book for the most part. A couple members wanted a bit more of a supernatural element to tie together the past and present storylines. It seemed like things happened to connect Carrie McClelland with her ancestors’ past, but it is unclear why. The Past narrative worked better for me, but others didn’t seem bothered by the past or modern story’s disconnect. It was definitely an engaging story with an expected happy ending, at least expected by most of us.