Our March meeting took place in Brighton, to discuss Winter by Ali Smith - following on from Autumn last year that was popularly received.
Winter feels very contemporaneous whilst evoking Shakespeare, Dickens - and even far more ancient and mythological stories; it celebrates a second female artist (Barbara Hepworth); it cleverly connects with Autumn in a subtle feat of intertwining characters; and manages to explore the complexity of sisterhood through differing sister narratives; all whilst manipulating multiple fictional time periods against the backdrop of recognisable, real ones: this is a sophisticated and 'knowing' piece of meta-fiction.
I missed the meeting this month, but gather that opinion was somewhat divided. It's certainly not an easy, or a comfortable read as it evolves new ways of telling. I for one am looking forward to Spring.
