Midwinter by Fiona Melrose

 

Landyn Midwinter and his son Vale live on the family farm in Suffolk, England.  Times are hard to be a farmer and Landyn hasn't been that successful.  When Vale was a boy, the family moved to Africa where the government was trading free land and loans for farming expertise.  That trip ended in a disaster when Landyn's wife, Vale's mother, was killed by a group of local men one night.

Now the two men live together, warily circling each other on a daily basis.  Vale still blames his father for his mother's death.  Landyn does also plus he worries constantly about Vale and what his twenty something son will do with his life.  When Vale and his best friend are involved in an accident that cripples the best friend, another barrier is constructed between the two.

But there is also hope.  Landyn loves his son and would do anything to make things better and easier between them.  Vale is struggling but the reader feels that he will eventually be all right and will make a life that suits him.  Landyn's love of the animals and nature rings through and his ability to say the right words to everyone except Vale will be his salvation.  

This book was a finalist for the Baily's Prize for Fiction.  It is a debut novel for Melrose and I'm interested in following her career.  Like the characters in the story, she has split her life between Africa and Suffolk and knows the farming life.  The writing in this novel is haunting, the imagery true to life and compelling.  Her ability to delve into the relationship between these two introverted men is interesting.  This book is recommended for readers of literary fiction.