Description

An unforgettable story about loss and new love from Colm Toibin, the bestselling author of Brooklyn and Long Island.

‘The most striking example of Toibin’s emotional control . . . [An] eloquent expression of the bond between a mother and a son’ – The Guardian

One snowy morning, after arguing with her husband, Miquel’s mother walks out from their home high up in the Pyrenees and does not return. With his younger brother stationed far away on military service and his father cast out by the people of the town, Miquel and his father are left to fend for themselves. Together they will be forced to battle the elements, and their resentment of each other, through the long winter.

Miquel’s desperate searching for his mother is only interrupted when Manolo, an orphaned servant boy from the next village, arrives to help out in the house. As Miquel is forced to confront the reality of his mother’s absence, Manolo, with his silences and longing gaze, offers the promise of new love, and another kind of life.

‘A Long Winter evokes loss, loneliness, guilt and survival in a few masterly strokes’ – Independent

Publisher Review

A superbly powerful tale of betrayal and desertion. Quintessential Toibin. * Spectator * Toibin is the consummate cartographer of the private self, summoning with restrained acuity . . . the thoughts his characters struggle to find words for — Clare Clark * Guardian * If you’ve ever told you mother to “go away” in a fit of anger, read this story and weep. * The Independent * Tremendously powerful * The Stinging Fly * A beautiful tale of filial grief, sexual hunger and hard-won acceptance of mutability and loss * Kirkus Reviews *