Rating: ⋆⋆⋆⋆/5
Comments: What impressed me most about Love Begins in Winter, a collection of five stories, was the language. It’s so well-written – poignant, if I may say. Every word seems to have been meticulously, yet effortlessly, chosen, and the way each phrase fits together is perfection. In terms of conventions, the stories in this collection are gorgeously done.
In terms of the actual stories, Van Booy does a great job, too. His characters, as well as the situations in which they find themselves, are highly unusual, but also highly compelling. They’re very realistic, and I felt for them. If I hadn’t read the majority of Love Begins in Winter on the bus, something I now realize was a huge mistake, I probably would have cried much more than I did. And, even with the embarrassment of being in public, there were a few pages where tears came to my eyes and I had to busy myself adjusting my hood and looking out the window.
Love Begins in Winter is an excellent collection of (long) short stories, sentimental without being sappy, and unlike any I’ve ever read. I look forward to reading Van Booy’s work again.
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Details: Paperback, pub. Harper Perennial, 2009. 226 p.
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