Things are not helped by memories which have begun to resurface of a troubled time in their native Ireland. Stella is tired of his lifestyle, worried about their marriage and angry at his constant undermining of her religious faith. Gerry, once an architect, is forgetful and set in his ways. Their relationship seems safe, easy, familiar - but over the course of the four days we discover the deep uncertainties which exist between them. A holiday to refresh the senses, to do some sightseeing and generally to take stock of what remains of their lives. A retired couple, Gerry and Stella Gilmore, fly from their home in Scotland to Amsterdam for a long weekend. Sixteen years on from his last novel, Bernard MacLaverty reminds us why he is regarded as one of the greatest living Irish writers. Full of scenes that are rendered with exquisite accuracy and care, allowing the most detailed physical descriptions to be placed against the possibility of a rich spiritual life, this is a novel of great ambition by an artist at the height of his powers.’ Colm Toibin ‘ Midwinter Break is 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. Winner of the Bord Gais Novel of the Year A Guardian / Sunday Times / Irish Times / Herald Scotland / Mail on Sunday Book of the Year
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