Wintering
By Peter Geye
Knopf Publishing Group, Hardcover, 9781101946466, June 7, 2016, 320pp.
The Short of It:
One man escaping his past, another man revisiting it to find closure.
The Rest of It:
In the dead of winter, Gunflint, Minnesota is a harsh, unforgiving landscape of ice floes, waterfalls and treacherous rivers. For Harry Eide, the landscape calls to him and reminds him of a trip he took years ago with his son Gus. Harry leaves his sickbed and vanishes into the surrounding wilderness, forcing his son Gus to remember the first time Harry ran off into the wilderness thirty years earlier. That time, to escape a bad marriage.
The story alternates between two timelines, the past and the present as Gus remembers that trip he and his father took over thirty years ago and the impact that Harry’s disappearance has on the present day.
What a book.
There’s heartache and longing, family secrets and feuds. There’s a lot of manly stuff going on in the way of survival (low rations, an encounter with a bear, finding shelter) but even if that’s not your thing, you’ll find yourself being pulled in by this story that spans 60 or so years.
Geye has a way with words and he’s a master at pulling the reader in. His novels tend to be on the quiet side but this one has a little bit of action and I found myself sitting on the edge of my seat for the last third of the book.
If Geye’s name sounds familiar, you may have read Safe from the Sea or The Lighthouse Road. Well, if you haven’t you must and if you have, then you need to pick up Wintering because it’s another solid read. I’m confident that Geye could write anything and I’d love it. I enjoy his writing that much.
Source: Review copy provided by the publisher via Edelweiss.
Disclosure: This post contains Indiebound affiliate links.
Book Chatter 
Wow…
I remember when everyone was raving about Safe from the Sea. I grabbed a copy and still haven’t read it. I need to get to it!
You have to read Safe!
This one is on my wish list! I’ve read all Geye’s other books…and loved them.
He’s all kinds of awesome in my book.
I have adored all of Geye’s books, even as they were punching a hole in my heart. I need to get this one.
He definitely writes from the heart.
See now I’d have to read this one in Winter😜I’m season specific whenever possible.
But I read this in the heat and it made me feel cooler!
You had me at ‘What a book!’, Ti ❤ I will be reading this soon thanks to your fantastic review ❤
Geye is so good at writing books “about men” that totally transcend that. I cannot wait to get a hold of this one!
Wow I didn’t realize you knew this author’s other works. He sounds like a great writer. I like these kinds of books — being out in the wilds and escaping something.
When I was a co chair for the Indie Lit Awards, we awarded his first novel the Lit Fiction winner. Ever since, I’ve been reading and loving his work. He is super nice to book bloggers and readers in general which makes him super cool.
I’m listening to this one right now and enjoying it. (I remembered you read it). I haven’t read Safe From the Sea and it sounds like I need to as well.
Wintering is great but Safe from the Sea is still my fave. You must read it. It’s short too.