Winter Solstice by Rosamunde Pilcher

Title: Winter Solstice
Author: Rosamunde Pilcher
Genre: Contemporary fiction, cozy read
Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books, 2000
Source: Personal copy

After losing the man she loves, Elfrida Phipps moves to a small cottage in a new village. She instantly falls into a close friendship with the Blundell family. However, when tragedy strikes, Elfrida and her new found friends bond together in order to survive the terrible experience, and over Christmas form new relationships that change their lives.

I first read Winter Solstice in high school, and I remember thinking it was one of the sweetest novels I had read. For the last couple of years I have been thinking of rereading it at Christmas, and this year I finally got to it. I am completely happy that I did; the story was even better than I remembered, and definitely put me in the Christmas mood.

The novel's charm is strongly focused in the setting and the characters. The story follows the characters from a small village in the English countryside to a cozy bed and breakfast owned by a loving family and finishes up in a Scottish estate. The descriptions of unmarked snow, delicious food and cozy holiday decorations fit both a Christmas and cozy read cliche, but the story manages to be comforting and refreshing, rather than typical and formulaic. Lately it seems as if everything I read or watch deals with the English countryside (Downton Abbey, Persuasion, etc.) and it makes me want to visit so much!

The characters are just as charming as the setting. The story is told from the (3rd person) point of view of five different characters, alternating chapters. Each character is from a very different area of life from the others: the aging, eccentric actress, Elfrida; the grieving, soft-spoken organist, Oscar; Elfrida's cousin, the heart-broken Carrie; Lucy, the neglected teenage daughter of Carrie's older sister; the stranger that breaks into their idyllic retreat, Sam. They all have different struggles to overcome, but they all work together to heal each others' wounds rather than selfishly butting heads and seeking their own interests.

Writing this, I can picture myself reading it and thinking, "What a cheesy, stereotypical comfort read." I'm not sure how to convey that despite the cozy elements, the book is completely unique and satisfying. It was even more enjoyable to me the second time around, and I plan to read it again in the future. This is a great, unique, and understated tale that is a perfect read for the holidays.

4 stars

Warnings: a smattering of language, vague allusions to the bedroom

Sunday Salon: Challenge FRENZY

SHappy pre-Thanksgiving, Americans, and happy almost-Christmastime, people who celebrate Christmas, and happy winter, everyone else. I started that sentence out wanting to be so very politically correct but it came back and bit me in the butt, as usual. I am looking forward to this week -- I plan on going home to Boise for Thanksgiving, if the weather cooperates. My parents are hosting Thanksgiving at our house for the first time ever, and we are excited to be in control of a few things. Mostly, the fact that we are having dinner at 2pm instead of 6pm.

Remember how a few weeks ago, I was feeling so wishy-washy about challenges and how I wasn't sure if I wanted to do them anymore since I couldn't possibly finish them all this year? Well, about that... so many interesting challenges have popped up this month that I want to join them all. Le sigh. So here are all the ones that I am interested in. Will I finish them all? Assuredly not. Will I enjoy tracking down the books I want to read for them and then ignoring them completely? Of course.

The Christmas Spirit Reading Challenge. Because, as evidenced by the madness that went on during R.I.P. VI, I am very much a seasonal reader. I'm just planning on doing two rereads this year, so the level is Mistletoe:

:: Winter Solstice by Rosamunde Pilcher - Comfort reading at its best. I'm pretty into comfort reading right now, as I'm sure you'll be seeing on the blog in a couple of weeks, so this fits right in.

:: Dash and Lily's Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan - Loved this one last year, and I've dipped into it a few times since last year. I'm excited to revisit, probably on my lovely CRUISE!

Shakespeare Reading Month. I love The Bard, and it's been way too long since I've read any of his plays. I went through a phase in high school when I read most of the comedies, but I've never touched the histories, so I am going to pick up either Henry VIII or Richard III. I'll also continue my slow trek through the sonnets.

The 2012 Harry Potter Reading Challenge is too perfect for me -- I was planning on rereading all of the Harry Potters and then watching the movies next year, probably in the summer, although I've had a hankering lately and might cave sooner. I might do all audiobooks this time, we will see.

November's Autumn is hosting a classics challenge that is a little different. You read seven different classics, and then on the fourth of each month you return to the webpage and answer a question about the classic that you read. This overlaps perfectly with the other classics challenges I am participating in, and I love the idea of everyone answering a prompt about the classic they are reading, so I couldn't resist. {And also, how gorgeous is the name November's Autumn? It made me feel like Anne of Green Gables, geeking out about it.}

And then, as an eclectic blogger, how could I resist Ellie's Mixing it Up Challenge?  The premise of this one is to read books in different genres. Ellie lists sixteen, and I am going for the level of the Mixing Bowl, meaning I will try from 9-12 different categories. Many of them will be categories I am used to, just because that is the nature of the beast, but I am going to try a graphic novel, some humor, and maybe even a travelogue -- all things I haven't experienced before. Hooray!

And then, this morning, I stumbled across the New Adult Challenge. So many people have been saying they wish there were books about adults in their early twenties, and I couldn't agree more, being in that range myself and working on a novel that fits into that range. So I am going to try out this challenge at the Just Graduated level and read 3 books. I am probably going to read The Bronze Horseman by Paullina Simons and get my little fingers on the Jessica Darling books. Or possibly read The Piper's Son by Melina Marchetta, because Jellicoe Road was fantastic.

Okay, and finally, finally, {unless I forgot someone}, the Wolf Hall readalong. I have been wanting to read this baby, and was happy to see this excuse for it. I love readalongs, and haven't been participating in any but my own for months. The schedule is:
{November 28} - Open the book.
{December 4} - Post about parts 1 and 2
{December 11} - Post about parts 3 and 4
{December 18} - Post about parts 5 and 6

I might cheat and post on Saturday, because I like my Sunday Salon posts and I don't like double-posting. We'll see.

I'm not even going to tell myself no more, because that just seems to invite me to give in on more and more challenges. Even though I know I'm going crazy, I can't wait for all of these. I love thinking about the new year and what I will read. I love thinking about books, period. I hope that I possibly inspired you to check out something new. Now I have to go update my sadly abandoned challenge page!