During the cold bleakness of winter, 79 year old Somerset Garden travels back to his family home in Pennsylvania, with plans to renovate the old wreck. He needs something to distract him after the death of his wife. A huge blizzard cuts him off from civilization and together with a boy he finds squatting on the property, Somerset begins to remember his bleak past, his father’s rages, his brother’s death and his own wife and son’s link to the violence of his homeland

An interesting and complicated book, with a very different style, reminiscent of the stream of consciousness style of James Joyce in some respects. If you are looking for a quick and uncomplicated read, then this is probably not the one for you. That said, some of the language use and descriptions are poignant and evocative and help to thrust you into another, almost ethereal, world. The main character is a man undergoing great sadness and trauma and the constant loss of himself into other times, places and memories helps to re-create the sense of loss and confusion that he is living moment by moment. There is a great sense of pain in the reading of this novel and the intrusions from endless memories and people both real and imagined, exacerbate the confusion felt by both the character and the reader. The writer has displayed undoubted skill to manage the writing of a book that is very complicated in structure, style and characterisation, but which still manages to hold your attention until the end. The themes of death, loss, memory and pain are prevalent and gripping on every page. It is not easy to follow in parts and it is often hard to know what is real and what is tainted by the ravages of time on the memory, but somehow it has a quality that makes it worth reading - be warned though, you have to persevere and keep with it.

If you are looking for a simple beginning, middle, and end story novel then don't pick up this book. If you want to be blown away with absolutely beautiful descriptive writing do try it. The key and beauty of this book is not in the story line but is in the riveting prose that is almost poetic. Sometimes I enjoy reading a book for enjoyment but other times I love reading just the written word and sentences. Definitely recommended to those who love a bit of magic in their novels.

This book was not a book I would normally choose to read but having read it I am so glad I stayed with it.

Although it was a little confusing at the beginning I thought the writing was beautiful and the subject matter very sad.

I would highly recommend this book to someone that enjoys reading a book that provokes thought and and enjoys good literature.

That book was very different from everything I have read until today. The writing was simply beautiful and mesmerising - the author certainly has a way to treat words in such a manner as to keep the readers captivated.
Despite the enticing prose, I have to admit that it took me some time to fully get into the story. Its fragmented structure initially confused me, but I think it suited the theme of the story nicely. The different voices of the narrator's family speaking (in his head?) were also a bit confusing at first, until you understood who was the one speaking.
All in all, this was a really daunting and thought-provoking book and I really enjoyed reading it.