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The Wood at Midwinter
The Wood at Midwinter | Susanna Clarke
18 posts | 11 read | 9 to read
From the internationally bestselling and prize-winning author of Piranesi and Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, an enchanting, beautifully illustrated short story set in the world of Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell. 'A church is a sort of wood. A wood is a sort of church. They're the same thing really.' Nineteen-year-old Merowdis Scot is an unusual girl. She can talk to animals and trees-and she is only ever happy when she is walking in the woods. One snowy afternoon, out with her dogs and Apple the pig, Merowdis encounters a blackbird and a fox. As darkness falls, a strange figure enters in their midst-and the path of her life is changed forever. Featuring gorgeous illustrations truly worthy of the magic of this story and an afterword by Susanna Clarke explaining how she came to write it, this is a mesmerizing, must-have addition to any fantasy reader's bookshelf.
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BookBr
The Wood at Midwinter | Susanna Clarke
Pickpick

Just a little short story, a wee fable for the time of snow. Still, it echoes with truth and also magic, with questions about the meaning of love and who we are and how we think. A beautifully illustrated book, whose pages sing the solitude of snowfall.

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BookBr
The Wood at Midwinter | Susanna Clarke
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Oh, it‘s such a pretty little book😍

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BookBr
The Wood at Midwinter | Susanna Clarke
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Picking this up to keep the vibe that this week‘s snow brought…

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Jen2
The Wood at Midwinter | Susanna Clarke
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Pickpick

Perfect for the season!

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AnneCecilie
The Wood at Midwinter | Susanna Clarke
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Pickpick

This is a short story and a short one of that ad well.

About a young woman and her love of animals

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BookBelle84
The Wood at Midwinter | Susanna Clarke
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Mehso-so

A nice little story on a snowy day. I would have liked a bit more.

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Bookwomble
The Wood at Midwinter | Susanna Clarke
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Pickpick

This was the perfect follow-up to the previous story I read, Blackwood's "The Man Whom the Trees Loved". Another tale in which the forest is alive and holds communion with souls sensitive to its slow, vital energy.
Merowdis is the beloved sister of Ysolde, an unearthly child whose connection to animals & the woods is discouraged by her parents, and enabled by her sister.
The story is a gothic fairytale full of Jungian archetypes, interweaving ⬇️

Bookwomble ... Christian and pagan mythic elements: an ideal Yuletide tale.
Clarke's story is shorter than I'd imagined, as it has an afterword in which she speaks of her creative process, and the influences out of which she spun both this work and Piranesi. If I thought I couldn't love Clarke more, I was wrong, as she tells of her lifelong love of Kate Bush's music, and the album 50 Words for Snow is a direct influence here, and that Merowdis's saintly ⬇️
1mo
Bookwomble ... demeanor is partly explained as an aspect of the neurodivergence of Clarke's father.
On its own, it is an interesting and atmospheric, if small, tale, but taken in context of Clarke's other works, it has a larger dimension. Sit it alongside the stories in The Ladies of Grace Adieu, and it becomes a vibrant miniature, another silver thread in the tapestry of the world of Jonathan Strange and Mister Norrel. 5❄️
1mo
The_Book_Ninja Your last paragraph:🤌🏼👨🏼‍🍳 1mo
See All 8 Comments
Lesliereadsalot Great review! This book really spoke to you! 1mo
TrishB Lovely review ❤️ I‘m on board with anyone loving Kate. 1mo
Bookwomble @The_Book_Ninja Thank you 😊🙏 I'm trying to make my reviews fit into the Litsy character count, but rarely achieve it! 1mo
Bookwomble @Lesliereadsalot Thank you 😊 I know this book left you a little cold, so I appreciate your appreciation 😁 1mo
Bookwomble @TrishB Thank you 😊 If somebody likes Kate Bush, it's a positive sign, isn't it? 💖 1mo
42 likes8 comments
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Bookwomble
The Wood at Midwinter | Susanna Clarke
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"A church is a sort of wood. A wood is a sort of church. They're the same thing really." ???

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WildAlaskaBibliophile
The Wood at Midwinter | Susanna Clarke
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I couldn't face the world yesterday, so I chose to stay protected inside the bubble of comfort and safety of home. I stayed off of social media and the news. I read, I cocooned, I drew. I finished this pumpkin charcoal drawing I had been working on a little at a time. Today I'm back at work but am remaining largely offline, and I found this gorgeous book that sounds very autobiographical. I can't wait to immerse myself in it!

Deblovestoread Glad you did what you needed to take care of yourself! 💙 1mo
Seabreeze_Reader A lovely 🎃 drawing. 🧡 I hear you about mostly staying offline. Unfortunately, I haven't felt like reading though. 1mo
Princess-Kingofkings Until I read your comments, I thought I was looking at a black and white photo of a pumpkin. Your talent is stunning! 1mo
AnnCrystal 👏🤩👍🙏💝. 1mo
35 likes4 comments
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Lesliereadsalot
The Wood at Midwinter | Susanna Clarke
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Mehso-so

The cover is so beautiful for this teeny tiny 60 page fantasy story. I love Susanna Clarke but this one didn‘t do too much for me.

Deblovestoread I almost picked this up solely for the cover as I did some self care book buying last night. 1mo
Lesliereadsalot You could read the whole thing standing up in the bookstore! @Deblovestoread 1mo
18 likes2 comments
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Bookwomble
The Wood at Midwinter | Susanna Clarke
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Some new ones 📚

•Life as a Late-Identified Autistic is aimed at a somewhat younger target audience than the title led me to believe, but it still looks interesting, and as a quicker read than I'd anticipated, one I might get to sooner.
• The Wood at Midwinter I'll read immediately. Big font, wide spacing, lots of illustrations, so it's even shorter than its already scant 64 pages might suggest. ⬇️

Bookwomble • The Robots of Dawn makes up for the others in page count! Picked this up from a gentrified 〰️ Manchester coffee shop's “take one, leave one“ shelf. Sorry/Not-Sorry to say I took one and didn't leave one! 🫰💸☕💸
• Marmite flavour rock is a confection nobody asked for! I don't know whether to eat it or add it to my Cabinet of Curiosities, along with my Yeti scalp and mermaid scales 🐵🧜‍♀️
(edited) 1mo
Lesliereadsalot Running out to get The Wood at Midwinter! I love her! (edited) 1mo
Dilara I looked at your picture before I read the accompanying text, and thought: Marmite-flavoured rock, surely not!? and immediately, my brain switched to other possibilities - a place called Marmite, a different brand with the same name... Anything to get rid of this mental image! But now I'm curious 😊 1mo
Bookwomble @Lesliereadsalot Me, too 🙂 I see from your review that you were rather underwhelmed. I've not got to it yet, but will tomorrow, probably. 1mo
Bookwomble @Dilara Ah, I might move to Marmite Town 🤎 I imagine it as an umami Wonka wonderland 😆 1mo
40 likes5 comments
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Bookwomble
The Wood at Midwinter | Susanna Clarke
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One of the things I miss about Broadhurst's Booksellers is that they would've drawn this to my attention at publication. As it is, publication was 24 October 2024, so I'm not too far behind the curve, and it's on its way to me from Blackwell's.
It's a 64 page short story originally written in 2022 for a BBC audio broadcast. I'd love to have another novel from Susanna, but with her chronic fatigue syndrome I'm grateful for anything she publishes.

AllDebooks It's a beautiful edition 😍 2mo
Suet624 I had no idea she had chronic fatigue syndrome. :( 2mo
Bookwomble @Suet624 It's why we'll probably never get her planned sequel to Jonathan Strange and Mister Norrel, but does mean we got the shorter, but still magical, Pirenasi. 2mo
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Bookwomble @AllDebooks It's illustrated, though I've not seen any of the artwork yet. I'm looking forward to receiving it 😊 2mo
Suet624 Ooooo... Piranesi ... loved that book. 2mo
AllDebooks @Bookwomble JS and Mr Norrell is one of my all time favourite, go-to comfort reads. Just got the 20th anniversary edition as I've worn out my og paperback 2mo
Larkken Beautiful! And agreed, would love another novel from her. 2mo
44 likes7 comments
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bookish_wookish
The Wood at Midwinter | Susanna Clarke
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Pickpick

I wasnt lying when i said a quick read! About 20 mins because i read slow! The illustrations are beautiful and really give life to the story. At the end Susanna gives an explanation on how the story came to be and it was very interesting. I definitely recommend giving this one a read.

tpixie Lovely illustration!! 2mo
29 likes1 stack add1 comment
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bookish_wookish
The Wood at Midwinter | Susanna Clarke
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I know its the night before Halloween, but library books wait for no one so im diving into this quick read!

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emz711
The Wood at Midwinter | Susanna Clarke
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Yes! I love book mail that I forgot I pre-ordered!

emz711 It's here! Yay! 2mo
28 likes1 comment
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ChaoticMissAdventures
The Wood at Midwinter | Susanna Clarke
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Mehso-so

I got a hold of Susanna Clark's newest. Out October 22, 2024 this slim short is rather more of a one scene play. At 60 pages there isn't much to it. It is a fairytale, one written almost for children. I honestly wasn't too impressed (I need shorts this short to be hit me on the head amazing). The most interesting part is at the end talk about her influences it was interesting to read how much Kate Bush and Jorge Luis Borges shaped her writing

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emz711
The Wood at Midwinter | Susanna Clarke
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Yay!

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emz711
The Wood at Midwinter | Susanna Clarke
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Became my 1000th book on my tbr. Can't wait for it to come out! So glad she's still writing