RL
On one level this is a well-observed story about the social and emotional tensions that unfold during a week-long family holiday, with three women and their families. However, the carefully drawn intimate tensions and longings between these women - with their roots far back in childhood experience - are also used to mirror broader political tensions which colour the women's relationships. On another level this novel explores the contemporary frictions surrounding Brexit, class, national identity, wealth and power inequalities. Winter does a wonderful job of letting us inside each woman's mind in turn, and showing how each experiences differently the conversations and incidents that take place during the week, and has a very different perspective on wider political events. As the novel progresses we gradually come to understand better *why* each of them has come to see things as they do, and to feel empathy for their differing perspectives that transcends political rifts. Without resolving any of these painful political currents (which are also traced back through the centuries, through reference to historical writings), the novel invites us to step back and take a wider view on society, to understand where other people are coming from, and to question our own inherited assumptions. There is so much food for thought here - it would be a great book for a book club discussion!
