Winter Stories is a collection of touching stories about family, love, and acts of kindness. We follow three stories, a mother and daughter, a struggling father, and three siblings on the run.
I found every story to be relatable is some aspect and incredibly moving. While reading, I felt that I could understand the thought processes of the characters and their struggles. I was engaged with all the characters and truly interested in how each story would end. I think the author did an incredible job of conveying the complexities of anxiety, resilience, and the power of empathy in changing the course of individuals' lives.

Winter Tales is a collection of three short stories. All three stories are short, easy to read and impactful. They portray characters that are on the outskirts of society in a way that gets us into their worlds and heads.

Thank you Netgalley and Rishøi for this ARC.

I really enjoyed this set of stories! They were easy to read. In this busy society, I can enjoy anything that causes me to stop and reflect on my own attitude and perception of things. These stories absolutely did that. Thank you so much to the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this copy

Winter Stories is a poignant collection that features three vivid, emotional portraits of individuals living on the fringes of society. With few words, the author captures themes of hope, loyalty, and quiet kindness during difficult times. Highly recommend

Thank you to Ingvild Rishøi, Netgalley and Grove Atlantic the arc of this book.

I’ve read the author’s earlier book, and her work includes these shorter stories about redemption and characters who are nontraditional or on the outskirts of society. Always quick reads that are pushing me (in a gentle way) to look at the world differently.

Winter Stories is a compilation of three short stories, each taking place in Norway. After reading and enjoying Brightly Shining, I was looking forward to reading Winter Stories. I thought these short stories were incredible- Rishøi has a way of giving such meaning in little words. I highly highly recommend this book to readers of short story literary fiction or readers of Claire Keegan.

The way the stories creep in through pacing, the cover seems very fitting. No flashy impressions, the details become clearer later. (The cover is different on Goodreads.)

I believe all 3 stories were written in this sort of stream of consciousness style where it's like run-on sentences. I like originality, I can appreciate the benefits of writing like that. It lends to a more personal account. It frees up the story to be heard and felt without judging based on artistic merit, allows you to read and care about the essence without the frills. I was fond of how empathetic her stories were. She brought me to the innermost thought and emotional landscape of the narrated voices.

The second story was absolutely painful to get through with this writing style for me, though. I imagined I'd be giving 2 stars. I admit when I'm reading short stories I start to get impatient, so honestly it may have been that.

It was residually difficult once I began the third story, but eventually the myriad details, at first seeming extremely mundane, took shape and gave a new direction, revealed the pulled back layers of why we care about the characters.
I dunno, it was really interesting, I liked what I'd read by the time I reached the end. I respect her approach. If she hadn't written in run-ons, the writing would have been too basic and lacking art or elegance (worded so conversationally and simply, I mean). This was stripped down perfection. I just had to temper my frustrations to reach the end to achieve that beauty.

Having familiarized with her style, I definitely would read her work again.

Many thanks to the author and NetGalley for the advanced e-book copy and the privilege to read it.

I sometimes have a difficult time with short story collections because I inevitably enjoy certain stories more than others, but I thoroughly enjoyed all three stories in this collection. Despite reading this in the summertime, I was transported to the snowy winter atmosphere that Rishøi created in each story. I appreciate the difficult themes tackled in such a short span of time; Rishøi gives a voice to those who are failed by societal systems and how things like poverty, despair, and alcoholism can impact people's lives and relationships. I think "Siblings" was my favorite of the three, especially as an eldest sibling. The depiction of grief and the burden of managing other emotions in the household felt very raw and real to me. I also enjoyed how well the setting was captured. The backdrop felt distinctly Norwegian with such strong elements of nature incorporated into the stories. Overall, a collection I would greatly recommend and one that will have me looking into Rishøi's other works!

I discovered Ingvild Rishoi last year with her brilliant Christmas novella, Brightly Shining. I was eager to read more of her work when Winter Stories became available on NetGalley (thanks also to Grove Atlantic). Like Brightly Shining, the three stories in Winter Stories explore characters on the fringes - a cash-strapped single mother, an absent father seeking a second chance with his son, and an older sister caring for her younger siblings. And like Brightly Shining, the stories are heartbreaking. I enjoyed them, but not as much as Brightly Shining. While Brightly Shining is tragic, it also has a lot of humour, which I missed in these stories. Still, I highly recommend them.

3.67 Stars
One Liner: Poignant for sure

Ingvild Rishøi is a popular Scandinavian author. This award-winning book is a collection of three stories about people from the fringes of society.
The stories are independent of each other. The common theme is winter, which is the book title, Winter Stories. The Norwegian atmosphere and the stark winter weather are the best parts of the book. They play a tangible role in every story.
The plots are dark and deal with heavy themes, and there’s a small ray of kindness/ hope at the end. I was hoping for something like Claire’s Keegan works. Don’t make the same mistake.

We Can’t Help Everybody – 3.5 Stars
This is the story of a young single mother struggling to make ends meet and her five-year-old daughter, who doesn’t fully understand the situation but suffers just the same. The mother’s dilemma and the daughter’s nature are contrasted well.
The Right Thomas – 4 Stars
This is the best story in the collection. I didn’t think it would be when I started, but it is really done well. Thomas is a struggling alcoholic just out of prison, trying to connect with his young son. His panic attacks, the rage, the defeated acceptance, and the struggle – everything is revealed in stages. It’s a story you will like more after you sit with it than immediately after reading.
Siblings – 3.5 Stars
An overburdened teenager wanting to do her best for her little half-siblings decides running away is their best option. But why? We get the answer in instalments, and as with the other stories, we do feel sad for the poor girl. Yet, there’s something about the narration that stops me from giving it a higher rating.
The blurb uses statements such as ‘in these powerful and emotionally charged tales’ and ‘it is a poignant reminder of the power of hope, loyalty, and unexpected kindness during dark times.’
While the storylines are undoubtedly powerful, I didn’t feel the same way about the narration, nor did I find them emotionally charged. However, I do agree with the second statement about the power of hope and unexpected kindness.
The writing style is a combination of short sentences, looped narration, and random flashbacks for backstory. While it tries to give us a glimpse of the characters’ arcs, it also maintains a sense of distance between the people on the pages and the reader. They are intriguing, but not compelling. You do feel sad for the characters, but the distance remains.
There’s an attempt to make them layered, which doesn’t fully deliver. Additionally, the main characters seemed surreal when they should have been relatable. It’s like the stories about people on the fringes of society still keep them on the fringes instead of showing how they are one of us, which they are, since none of these events are uncommon or rare.

To summarize, Winter Stories is the kind of literary work that wins awards, so I’m not surprised to see that the book indeed did get an award. Short stories are subjective, so your preferences may differ. I do recommend reading the collection.
Thank you, NetGalley and Grove Atlantic, for the eARC. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.

This book consists of three short stories, all beautifully written, immediately captivating and oddly relatable. I devoured every word, every paragraph and thoroughly enjoyed the way each character had a unique way of thinking and expression.

Three stories that were poetic, tragic and heartfelt. I was invested in each one.

Thank you NetGalley and Grove Atlantic for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

Highly recommended for fans of literary fiction. A bit bleak at times, WINTER STORIES is a serious and elegant trio of stories that explore poverty and the desire for a better life. I thoroughly enjoyed the author's writing style. The stories are atmospheric and emotionally resonant. The collection ultimately explores what loved ones will do to protect each other. The working class characters are struggling-- and memorable in their attempts to break the cycle.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advance e-galley; all opinions in my review are 100% my own.

I quite liked this. Three completely different stories and I appreciated each journey. I found the last one took a bit longer for me to get into and it didn't leave as much of an impact as the other two, but it was still a good addition.
A strong collection all in all. Would be interested to read more from this author.

A collection of well written short stories, although I struggled to have a strong emotional response from any of them. I enjoyed the atmospheric nature of the tales, and the themes explored, but I think they were just a bit too short for me to have any deep level of connection to them.

I was totally involved with the 3 main characters in these short stories. I was so sad when I finished. We hear so little about people like these who the system has failed. Each one has to go through dark times but each is left with hope. Such beautiful writing. I certainly lived every moment

Big Thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for the advanced copy! I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own

'Winter Stories' is a collection of three short stories by Ingvild Rishoi with a winter theme, as all of them take place during the winter months, but follow three different characters as they deal with life and family. All of the stories are interesting with unique characters and unfold slowly, revealing their depth as the stream of thoughts moves forward.

However, it takes a few pages to get familiar with the writing style and to understand how the narrative is constructed. But, in the end, it is all worth it, as the intriguing characters deal with their problems and with those close to them.

This review is also posted on Goodreads and Storygraph.

We have three stories that make up this book by Ingvild Rishøi. Each one of them is made up with bad feelings that are not right with each of them. They are known to be unworthy of each trouble that they are plagued with. We have different endings in each case and they may not be what you would have them do, but in every case it's what the author wants.

Winter Stories, a collection of three stories, felt pretty similar in tone to the author's Brightly Shining (tr by Caroline Waight) that I read last Christmas - melancholic, mildly atmospheric and largely heartbreaking/devoid of hope. Despair reigns over the scape of the stories written in pared down prose. Men here mostly shirk off their responsibilities, quite like the alcoholic father in Brightly Shining and women/girls have to run around doing errands and ekeing out a living.

The collection begins with story 'We can't help everybody', story of mother-daughter duo who despite their financial hardships help a stranger only to receive a helping hand from another stranger who appears on the scene like an angel.

The Right Thomas, the next story, slightly longer than the first one is about a man who can't set things right about his ways. He has serves a sentence in the prison, is unable to connect with his son the way he would like to because of his carefree ways and alcohol addiction. By forgetting what he sets out to do on an evening before heading back home to his son, remembering it suddenly and then forgetting it again, this story kinda loops around itself.

Siblings, the last and the longest story, is about an elder sister suffering from trauma of an overburdened childhood and loss/death of her father finding it difficult to balance her own needs with caring for her self-indulgent mother and younger half-sister and half-brother.

In all the stories, there is a slight element of tension on what's next. The setting is bleak and the characters suffer from stress and anxiety. With both Winter Stories and Brightly Shining, all set in Norway, you feel an environment of stillness and emotional frigidity with meager desire/action for bringing change, maybe reflective of the geography of the ice covered land itself.
Rating - 3.5 stars
Thank you Net Galley and Grove Atlantic for the ARC.

Winter Stories would be a good companion read to Rishøi's novella, Brightly Shining. The first story in this collection was my favorite, but I quickly lost interest in the other two.

A collection of short stories (three stories) that revolves around themes of family and the lengths they go in protecting their frail bonds with each other against forces that are beyond their control: poverty, social expectations and fleeting love.
These families all belongs to the working class and products of broken family and their dysfunctions are expected by society to continue into the next generations but all three protagonists of each of these stories tries with all they have, despite their self-doubt and the prevailing expectations by others that they ‘might’ fail in their pursuit, that they can break the cycle of broken family and broken dreams throught their own perseverance and unwavering love for their own precious family.

A con of this novella is its slow pace and descriptions.

Anyway, a solid 3,75 star for this book. Thank you netgalley for the digital arc.