If there ever was a book is underhanded and not pushed on people enough or mentioned enough, this book would be it.
The author manages to take you on a heartbreaking and at the same time heartwarming ride along side a couple that tires to figure out what they can do in life with life and about lif,e if they fit togehter roof not, if they should be together or live each other behind, while all the time clearly showing the reader just how much they still care for the other person.
This book clearly shows unbelievable writing talent, and if you want to be taken on an emotional ride, read this book!

This understated novel about a long-married couple's trip to Amsterdam does not develop as I thought it would. The intimacy and deep knowledge of each others habits, likes and dislikes suggests a happy, or happy enough marriage, but this is not the case. Gerry and Stella are both originally from Northern Ireland, and the Troubles of years before are still impacting their lives today. Now, in old age, Gerry likes to drink and Stella loves God and she made a promise to God years ago as a result of her experience of the sectarian violence. This sounds a painful read, but in fact it is a beautifully written portrait of a marriage, full of insight, humour, pathos and detail.

I found this really hard going especially at the beginning. It frustrated me that even getting a taxi to go away could take so long! It was quite a sad tale of how alcohol can destroy such a long relationship. I just found it all rather boring and quite a plod to get through.

A well drawn portrait of the relationship and history of a couple nearing retirement. Some lovely subtle but recognisable moments between two people who know each other too well.

Follow Gerry and Stella Gilmore as they go on a short break away to Amsterdam.

I found Midwinter Break a refreshing change from your average run-of-the-mill mix of novels. It is a love story but not with young, vibrant, enthusiastic twenty year olds. Gerry and Stella are a retired couple who have been married for many, many years. I thought Bernard described the dynamics of having been married together for a very long time spot on. I really engaged with Gerry and Stella, it was all those little things that couples share subliminally in their married lives. Because of their age, they share mutual things, some of which brought a big smile to my face. They have a routine and rather than drag out the whole day, they restrict themselves to an “ailment hour”, when they are free to discuss their aches and pains!

There is lots of good dry humour sprinkled through this story, for example…

They approached the main terminal, protected behind stainless-steel bollards. ‘This must have cost millions,’ Gerry shouted above the noise of their cases. ‘What’s to stop a motorbike bomber going between the bollards?’

In WH Smith’s Gerry bought a packet of Werther’s Original. He’d kid her on that he forgot. Then surprise her just before take-off.

‘D’you like these?’
She held up a cellophane pack from Marks & Spencer.
‘What are they?’
‘New pyjamas.’
‘Black?’
‘As sin.’
He raised an eyebrow and looked up at her.
‘Why? Did you think it’d be a turn-on - like sleeping with a priest?’
‘Priests usually have enough independence to choose their own pyjamas.’

Stella took her purse and approached the counter. She returned carrying Gerry’s drink and a jug. Gerry lifted his glass and looked at the measure.
‘A well-built ant could piss more.’
‘I asked for a double.’
‘You’re learning.’
‘Killing you with kindness.’

‘I’ve missed the Ailment Hour.’
‘We can do a two-hour stint tomorrow. If you feel well enough.’
‘I’ve got these strange hairs growing beneath my watch…’
‘I was only joking.’

I liked how Midwinter Break focused on just Gerry and Stella. I got the impression that I went away with them to Amsterdam and that I was part of the party. This novel also explored Gerry’s relationship with alcohol and Stella’s relationship with Catholicism. Bernard has an extensive use of vocabulary and I liked his use of detail regarding Gerry’s old job as an architect, the troubles that took place in Northern Ireland and the questioning of religion by both Gerry and Stella.

However, this is essentially a love story but has very little in the way of a plot. There are no big surprises and the reader peacefully bumbles along with Gerry and Stella. All very nice in a very leisurely way, a few drinks, some meals and a nice stroll around Amsterdam. Yes, Bernard does the married life thing very well indeed but this does not lead to an exciting read. It is engaging and comfortable but it is not edge of seat stuff. I wondered where this story was going and expected something big to happen at the end. The ending was disappointing but I found Midwinter Break to be a GOOD read that I will give 4 stars.

Gerry is a retired architect and lecturer. His wife Stella used to be a teacher. Like the author himself, they are Irish but have lived for a long time in Glasgow. Their marriage is a long-lived one and, to all appearances, they are close and in love. Yet, their relationship is growing hollow, drained by Gerry's alcoholism and Stella's increasing exasperation at his constant criticism of her committed Catholic faith. Things come to a head during a brief stay in Amsterdam - the "Midwinter Break" of the title - where we learn that the marriage is also darkened by the shadow of the Irish troubles.

Reading Bernard MacLaverty is like watching a master craftsman at work. He brings a keen sense of observation to bear on the couple’s marriage and on the subjects of old age, sectarian violence, alcoholism and faith. These are the catalysts for the couple drifting apart, even though there is much to show that at heart they do care for each other. As for the author’s attitude towards religion, I liked the fact that, despite no longer being a believer let alone a practising Catholic, he treats Stella’s faith with both understanding and delicacy.

This is, in many ways, a brilliant novel. But be prepared – because of its subjects, I found it also unremittingly bleak

This was my first experience of Bernard McLaverty’s writing and I loved his understated and observant style.

Stella and Gerry have been married for 40 years and have one son, who much to Stella’s regret lives many miles away in Canada with their only grandson. The couple live in Glasgow, thanks to Gerry’s job as an architect, but both hail from the north of Ireland. Gerry is a functioning alcoholic, something which has blighted the later years of their marriage and brought Stella to the brink of leaving him. Their midwinter break to Amsterdam is a chance for both of them to examine their relationship and decide whether it’s worth clinging on to.

What could have been a rather mundane or even grim account of a dying marriage was in fact an empathetic, insightful and very human story. Despite all his flaws Gerry is a frustratingly likeable and sympathetic character, but even so my loyalties always lay with the stoic and long-suffering Stella as she struggled to do what was right for her and her family. The flashbacks to the couple’s earlier lives during the Troubles in their home country added an interesting and poignant note, and despite the melancholy subject matter McLaverty manages to inject several notes of humour and humanity into the storyline.

It probably helped that I read the book during my own break in Amsterdam (a city I love and so I really enjoyed seeing it through Gerry and Stella’s eyes) but I’m sure I would have felt the same wherever I read it. Off to investigate Grace Notes now.

If you are looking for a page turner fast action book this is not for you. It is a cleverly crafted story about an ageing marriage. Stella takes Gerry and herself to Amsterdam where she hopes to see a way forward for herself. She has her religion and Gerry his alcohol. The story is current but their thoughts return to previous incidents in their lives so building a picture of what has gone before. They reside in Scotland but are of Irish extraction and lived through life changing atrocities there that have an impact on their story. An excellent and well written analysis of a marriage in need of something. I will now look for other novels by this author

Gerry and Stella Gilmore travel to Amsterdam from their home in Glasgow but the story begins in Belfast. Northern Ireland is their shared past and its traumas and lasting impact provides the guts of this novel. Each partner carries scars of their past which they struggle with silently. Their marriage is one of companionship, love and familiarity and Bernard McLaverty has wrtten a timeless novel of perseverance, quiet courage and mutual respect. These characters will stay with you after reading.

Thanks to Random House UK, Vintage Publishing and Netgalley.

Stella and Gerry are retired. Originally from Northern Ireland, they have long since moved to Glasgow to flee The Troubles. Over the course of their break, we move back and forth in time with their memories, including past violence in Belfast that shaped their lives. The wet and chilly atmosphere of winter in Amsterdam reflects the state of the marriage. While there are no dramatic incidents, there is acute emotional tension. The narrative is quiet but compelling. This wise and beautiful book was worth waiting the 16 years since his last novel for. For fans of William Trevor and Graham Swift. (The novel has been described by Colm Toibin as: "...a work of extraordinary emotional precision and sympathy, about coming to terms - to an honest reckoning - with love and the loss of love, with memory and pain... This is a novel of great ambition by an artist at the height of his powers.")

This is a beautiful tale, told from the perspectives of both Gerry and Stella who visit Amsterdam for a weekend break in January. They have been married for many years and seem to still love each other but life has brought disappointments and heartache and perhaps this is the chance to overcome these. The narrative offers finely sketched detail of the long weekend with images of the city, its people and places as well as the hotel and the airport all carefully crafted. Gerry is dependent on Stella but also on alcohol, Stella feigns ignorance of the extent of his alcohol dependence while herself wishing for a new and alternative lifestyle. Big themes of love and religion are explored through minute details of a postcard for their grandson, silk pyjamas, padlocks on a bridge and an ear-ring. I have enjoyed all Bernard MacLaverty's work and this is one I shall both recommend and read again.

This is a profoundly moving and perceptive examination of the anatomy of a long marriage. Gerry and Stella Gilmore are retired, now living in Scotland, and facing the midwinter of their lives and their marriage. Gerry, once an architect, a mediocre one in his estimation, cannot get through a day without his drinking but his love for his wife is plain to see. Stella was a teacher, but her son and grandson live in Canada, leaving her feeling she needs more in her life and Gerry is not enough. They fly to Amsterdam, ostensibly for a long weekend, with Stella harbouring a hidden agenda. They explore the city both as a couple and separately. Stella feels the best of her was inspired by her Catholic faith, and she is in search of a more spiritual religiously guided life. On a previous visit to the city, she encountered the Dutch order of the Beguines. Gerry has never taken her religious faith seriously, and as she contemplates a different future, an honest look at each other and their marriage is inevitable.

Gerry and Stella have an ease with each other that speaks of an intimate, close and long relationship, enjoying an active sex life with each other. Along with this are their incommunicative silences, secrets, deceptions and everyday frustrations with each other. The compromises that go into the reality of a marriage are beautifully captured. Both remember events from the Irish troubles, that Stella was personally affected by when she was pregnant. Her body has the physical and emotional scars from what happened to her. Her focus on a religiously devoted life is driven by a pledge Stella is haunted by and feels she failed to honour. This becomes clear as Stella becomes aware that the future she is planning may be out of her reach. What is to become of her? What choices will Stella make? Will their marriage survive?

The story takes place over the 4 days of the Amsterdam break. MacLaverty writes with depth and sensitivity about the strengths and frailties of a marriage entering its twilight years. His psychological understanding of his characters and relationships has a truly authentic feel and is what makes this book such a superb accomplishment. His approach is understated, this is not a novel with drama or fast pacing. If that is what you are looking for, you will be disappointed. A thought provoking and brilliant read. Many thanks to Random House Vintage for an ARC.

In MacLaverty's quietly beautiful fifth novel, a retired couple faces up to past trauma and present incompatibility during a short vacation in Amsterdam.

Northern Ireland's Bernard MacLaverty is the author of five novels and multiple short story collections. The main characters of his new book, Midwinter Break, are Stella and Gerry Gilmore, an Irish couple who live in Scotland and are in perhaps their late sixties or early seventies. Stella, a former English teacher, has thrifty, precise habits and solves crossword puzzles to keep her mind sharp. In the years since he retired as an architect, Gerry, once thoughtful and enthusiastic, has started drinking to excess; it's now rare for him to be without a bottle of whiskey to hand.

This short novel opens on the night before Stella and Gerry set off for the Netherlands on a brief vacation, and ends in the airport on their way back home. The limited time span and settings – the couple's home in Glasgow plus various locations in Amsterdam, mostly interiors – are qualities that would lend themselves well to a film or theater adaptation. The characters visit a number of the city's most famous tourist destinations, including the art treasures of the Rijksmuseum, and grab a drink in the dubious red light district. Those who have never visited Amsterdam will enjoy the virtual tour as much as those who are familiar with the city.

Unfortunately, the author's determination to follow these characters through all the wearisome tasks of travel, including airport check-in, getting on a train, finding their hotel, etc., along with the everyday indignities of older age, means the narrative turns mundane at times. Their days quickly take on a repetitive quality: Gerry drinks while Stella naps; they go out to a tourist attraction and then recuperate with coffee; they later go out to dinner; and so on. Undoubtedly this building up of routine is meant to reflect the often predictable nature of a long marriage, but it can seem tedious. Some sequences also overstay their welcome, like Stella's overwrought meditations in the Anne Frank House and Gerry's mental litany of all the things Stella knows.

Luckily, flashbacks and glimpses into the characters' thoughts open up a new dimension so that readers should not feel they are stuck with a boring old couple on a staid holiday. Although it's told entirely in the third person, the novel moves fluidly back and forth between Stella and Gerry's perspectives, revealing how they perceive each other and hinting at a traumatic incident they experienced some four decades ago in Northern Ireland when Stella was pregnant with their son, Michael.

MacLaverty sensitively explores how Gerry's drinking is bringing his marriage to a crisis point – another possible connotation of the title's "break." "I have a sense of drift. I want to do something with the time I have left. Other than watch you drink," Stella expresses to Gerry. She feels she and Gerry are "in different places" in their lives, especially given her religious bent. While Gerry gave up on Catholicism long ago and feels "all religion should be in museums," Stella has become more devout over the years and uses her time in Amsterdam to explore how she might live a more pious life (see 'Beyond the Book').

This religious theme was intriguing for me, as were the allusions to classic Christian writings. For instance, Gerry recalls his half-hearted New Year's resolution to give up drinking: "But not yet, O Lord, not yet," he thinks, in an echo of St. Augustine's Confessions. Stella quotes Julian of Norwich's "All shall be well" refrain on several occasions, and also cites Bede's image of life as a bird flying into and out of a room – fleeting. Secular literature is also a point of reference, like a late scene in which Amsterdam is engulfed in snow that brings to mind the ending of James Joyce's "The Dead."

I imagine the religious content could be a turnoff for readers who are unfamiliar with Christianity and/or have a different frame of reference. Gerry also sometimes struck me as a clichéd picture of the jolly drunk. However, my overall response was one of admiration for what this couple has survived and sympathy for their current situation – with hope that they'll make it through this, too.

A beautifully nuanced story. Warm, tender and funny, as well as moving.

Stella and Gerry, in late middle age are having a break in Amsterdam. They have the kinds of habits that only develop over a long marriage – kissing in a lift if they’re on their own, always holding hands to cross roads. Then there’s ‘ailment hour’ when they devote no more than sixty minutes to their various aches and illnesses. Gerry’s a retired architect and sees life in terms of space and distance; Stella is more spiritual and has reached the stage where she can’t live with Gerry’s problems with alcohol. They spend time together and apart visiting the sights of Amsterdam and keeping warm, and as Gerry keeps up a constant stream of jokes and gently mocks the religion that Stella has been turning to more and more, his alcoholism is outlined in all its self-deceptive steps. Drink brings a ‘distancing’ for Gerry; he can ‘spread his wings, rising on the thermals of the first couple of glasses’ but he’s constantly monitoring in case Stella sees him and, making sure of his ‘Traveller’s Friend’, to know he has access to alcohol. He knows his health is suffering and he sees ‘stars against the night sky. Marcasite jabs and darts.’ He fears he might have a stroke.

Looking at a painting together of The Jewish Bride Stella describes it as a painting about touch: ‘Hands. Hands everywhere,’ and goes on to say ‘You can see he cherishes her… but she’s not so sure…’ which also describes their own relationship. She wants a change and one reason she’s chosen Amsterdam is to explore the possibility of joining a women’s religious community. For her the break of the title could be more permanent than a holiday, but ‘how could changes be made at her age? To even think of leaving seemed such an impossibility.’

The point of view moves seamlessly from Stella to Gerry, and from present to past, showing the intensity of their relationship when they first met: ‘To her ear his speech seemed fresh-minted’ and he remembers how her skin was ‘flawless, translucent, smooth. It seemed to have light coming from it in the dark.’ Particularly poignant when a separation is a strong possibility. We find out that when Stella was pregnant, during the Troubles in Ireland, she was accidentally shot – ‘Death had winged her.’ In hospital she’d vowed to ‘devote the rest of my life to You’ if the child lived. Now she suffers from flashbacks to the shooting, and also guilt because she hasn’t kept her side of the promise. She wants to ‘live a more devout life’ and tells Gerry: ‘we’ve cut the cloth of our lives wrongly. It doesn’t fit.’

Towards the end of the novel, their flight home delayed for hours because of snow, they reach an uneasy compromise. They’re so much part of each other and Stella knows he’ll only quit drinking if she helps him. For Gerry ‘her presence was as important as the world. And the stars around it. If she was an instance of the goodness in this world then passing through by her side was miracle enough.’

Midwinter Break is a subtle and beautifully written novel.

It's a miniature masterpiece, with lots of rewards for close reading.

Irish born Stella and Gerry are at a crossroads in their lives. Approaching their late sixties, they no longer share common interests - Gerry has his drinking, whilst Stella has her religion, a faith which has never deserted her, even at the lowest point in her life. They may not share common interests, but they still share intimacies that come from a long marriage, from knowing a person as well as you know yourself - the way Gerry still takes Stella's hand when crossing the road, or the habit they have of sharing a kiss whenever they're in an elevator.

As the story begins, Stella and Gerry are about to take a trip to Amsterdam, and it's told with an unflinching honesty that I found heartbreaking. The small silences that older marriages are comfortable enough to endure, become virtual non communication for them. Stella has her own agenda for this trip, which doesn't include her husband, while Gerry is happy to be left to his drinking ( secret or otherwise ).


I liked the way the author gave snippets of information in the form of flashbacks, especially to the 'troubles' in Northern Ireland, and the dreadful day when Stella became one of the many statistics of the troubles, fortunately one who lived to tell the tale.

The writing is simply exquisite, and captures so well the problems that come with age, not just in medical terms, but also how the passing years bring about a need to re-examine life and decisions. The author has told the story with love and compassion, and there was a particular scene that takes place in Anne Frank's house in Amsterdam, involving an earring, that makes me want to weep just thinking about it - so moving.

Bernard MacLaverty's insight into love in later years is simply beautiful to witness. I want to gather his words into a great big hug and keep them close forever!

*Thank you to Netgalley and Random House UK, Vintage Publishing for my ARC in exchange for an honest review*

This novel reads like a love song to a long marriage which deals with the complexity of relationships, how they can stifle and yet save you at the same time, but also how obsessions can splinter off (triggered off) and act as a thorn that risks tearing at the fabric of togetherness.

The writing style is sparse but precise, and great importance is given to details of day-to-day living (this upholds the narrative and appears to have upheld the marriage). There are beautiful descriptive pieces and yet at times the novel can almost read like a to-do list, time is recounted very factually. McLaverty is a master at needling and emphasizing features of routine, making the claustrophobia and unease in situations stand out starkly upon a backdrop of apparent normality.

The author has very cleverly removed the couple from familiar surroundings, friends and family and almost appears to be watching how they sink/swim along with us (the writing feels that fresh).
The narrative passes smoothly from one character to the other, one realises that they really have grown up together and are extremely united. They sense the individual pain the other is in but cannot always react appropriately although love is apparent in the deeply respectful way that they treat one another.

Their marriage hinges around a traumatic event that took place early on in their life together (the trauma, the book insinuates, is the reason the couple’s individual obsessions separate and thrive). Bernard McLaverty seems to be asking the question of how united can we be when left to deal with trauma in extremely different ways while unwilling to compromise.

I just couldn't get into this book. I managed about a fifth and neither the narrative or the characters or the writing itself inspired me to continue.

Did not like this book at all. Could not finish this drivel