The biting chill of winter is beginning to descend, and what better way to stave off the inevitable fatigue than to cosy up with a warm drink, soft lighting, and a seasonally appropriate book? Here are my recommendations for the best fitting books for the winter season:
- The Bear and the nightingale – katherine arden (2017)
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Arden’s novel, following a young girl navigating the tribulations of being able to communicate with creatures of myth in a heavily religious society, is built around traditional Russian folklore. This is a murky story, with elements of something more sinister fraying its edges, making it the perfect winter read – it even has a character who is the personification of Frost! It is a tale exploring the formation of identity in girlhood and will leave you feeling the scathing chill of not only the winter winds outside your room, but of Arden’s beautifully crafted writing style.
- drive your plow over the bones of the dead – Olga tokarczuk (2009)
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The translation of Polish writer Tokarczuk’s 2009 novel – recently adapted into a theatre production of the same name – tells the story of a woman obsessed with the poetry of William Blake, and her investigation of a series of local deaths. This is a hauntingly thought-provoking piece of art that reflects on society’s treatment of those it deems ‘mad’, and constitutes what I would consider essential reading for those looking for a slightly eccentric, provocative story that delves into the depths of the human mind. It’s one you can really dig your teeth into.
- wuthering heights – emily brontë (1847)
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Wuthering Heights is often labelled a romance, with the line ‘whatever our souls are made out of, his and mine are the same’ being known to those who have never read the book. And whilst there is certainly a love story present, this is also a book that examines human fallibility, and is one of the most poignant depictions of grief I think I have ever encountered. Brontë’s entrancing descriptions of the wild moors produce a natural world teeming with life, almost savage in its sentience, truly encapsulating the wilderness of this season.
- averno – louise glück (2006)
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This collection of poetry, based around the myth of Persephone, is full of unsettling imagery, exploring the traditional tale from an unusual perspective. Personally, I find poetry provides the perfect winter read, with the delicately vivacious constructions of language providing feelings of warmth and curiosity for the world around us. Glück’s collection explores the dissonance of life’s joys and anguishes, and highlights the allure of the natural world available for us to explore – something to make this bleak season more bearable.
- salt slow – julia armfield (2019)
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Armfield’s debut collection of short stories draws upon mythology as a way to explore the body and the visceral bodily horror many women face in their lifetimes. These are stories that once read, will stay with you, perhaps eternally, festering and tormenting. To describe these unsettling stories with the delicacy deserved is impossible; no more can be said than to urge you to read them, and allow the mangled narratives to draw you into their world. What better time to digest such tales of bodily horror than winter?