"A Sweeping Alaskan Epic"
All The Winters After
Genres: Women's Fiction Contemporary
Posted: February 2, 2016
The summary you'll see below offers a good basis, so I won't get into that. Instead, can I tell you how this one made me feel?
I found myself swept away by the narrative of this complicated, layered family in this complicated, layered land. I know nothing of Alaska (beyond what I've learned in my repeated viewings of The Proposal, let's be honest) and I'm one of those folks who considers myself a life-long learner. I love learning about people and places that I have no first hand knowledge of and the fact this was set in Alaska was the reason I picked it up in the first place. On that front, it did not disappoint. I feel like I got a gentle but thorough history of America's Final Frontier, while also learning about some incredibly realistic characters.
But I asked if I could tell you how it made me feel, so let me do that. It made me feel thankful for my family and grateful for the opportunity to love. Cheesy, I know, but true. There were moments in this narrative, as the two main characters began to reveal piece of themselves to each other I actually paused and took a breath. It felt like I was trespassing on intimacy, and man, does that take craft. I am in awe of Halverson's work here.
I'd absolutely recommend ALL THE WINTERS AFTER for anyone who loves life-like descriptions (there's definitely more narrative than dialogue) and rich worlds.
Book Summary
Alaska doesn't forgive mistakes
That's what Kachemak Winkel's mother used to tell him. A lot of mistakes were made that awful day twenty years ago, when she died in a plane crash with Kache's father and brother--and Kache still feels responsible. He fled Alaska for good, but now his aunt Snag insists on his return. She admits she couldn't bring herself to check on his family's house in the woods--not even once since he's been gone.
Kache is sure the cabin has decayed into a pile of logs, but he finds smoke rising from the chimney and a mysterious Russian woman hiding from her own troubled past. Nadia has kept the house exactly the same--a haunting museum of life before the crash. And she's stayed there, afraid and utterly isolated, for ten years.
Set in the majestic, dangerous beauty of Alaska, All the Winters After is the story of two bound souls trying to free themselves, searching for family and forgiveness.
Sourcebooks
February 1, 2016
On Sale: February 16, 2016
Featuring: Kachemak Winkel; Nadia
384 pages
ISBN: 1492615358
EAN: 9781492615354
Kindle: B0143J7KII
Hardcover / e-Book