The Winter Wives
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- Create Date：2021-08-09 10:51:43
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Linden MacIntyre
- ISBN：0735282056
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Summary
A thrilling new psychological drama from Scotiabank Giller Prize winner Linden MacIntrye， weaving threads of crime， disability and dementia together into a tale of unrequited love and delusion。
Two old friends， who first met in university， get together for a weekend of golfing: Allan， a football hero， worldly and financially successful， and his quieter friend， nicknamed Byron， lame from a childhood injury， a smart fellow who became a lawyer but who has never left home， staying put so he could care for a mother with Alzheimer's。
During a long night of drinking， the fault lines between them start to show。 One of the biggest: the two men married sisters， though Allan was the one who walked down the aisle with Peggy， the sister both of them loved， and Byron had to settle for Annie。
Out on the course the next morning， Allan suffers a stroke。 In one traumatic moment， he loses control of his life， his wife and his business empire， which turns out to have been built on lies and the illegal drug trade。 And Byron has to suddenly confront his own weaknesses and strengths， his tangled relationship with Allan and the Winter sisters--both the one he married and the one he thought was the love of his life。 No one will anticipate the lengths to which Byron will go to make sense of his life。
Two old friends， who first met in university， get together for a weekend of golfing: Allan， a football hero， worldly and financially successful， and his quieter friend， nicknamed Byron， lame from a childhood injury， a smart fellow who became a lawyer but who has never left home， staying put so he could care for a mother with Alzheimer's。
During a long night of drinking， the fault lines between them start to show。 One of the biggest: the two men married sisters， though Allan was the one who walked down the aisle with Peggy， the sister both of them loved， and Byron had to settle for Annie。
Out on the course the next morning， Allan suffers a stroke。 In one traumatic moment， he loses control of his life， his wife and his business empire， which turns out to have been built on lies and the illegal drug trade。 And Byron has to suddenly confront his own weaknesses and strengths， his tangled relationship with Allan and the Winter sisters--both the one he married and the one he thought was the love of his life。 No one will anticipate the lengths to which Byron will go to make sense of his life。
Reviews
Brandon
，
When Allen is struck down by a debilitating stroke during a game of golf with his friend and business partner Byron， the relationship between the two begins to deteriorate。 Life-long friends from college – each married to one of a pair of sisters – have to now come up with a plan to deconstruct their business empire built atop drugs and money-laundering while Allen is still cognitive enough to do so。Byron is dealing with his own problems。 Dementia， a disease that claimed the life of his mother When Allen is struck down by a debilitating stroke during a game of golf with his friend and business partner Byron， the relationship between the two begins to deteriorate。 Life-long friends from college – each married to one of a pair of sisters – have to now come up with a plan to deconstruct their business empire built atop drugs and money-laundering while Allen is still cognitive enough to do so。Byron is dealing with his own problems。 Dementia， a disease that claimed the life of his mother several years earlier， is threatening to afflict Byron as well。 Can Byron keep his wits about him in the face of mounting legal issues and an alleged conspiracy to oust him from the company he， Allen and the Winter Sisters built？It has been nearly two years since my last run-in with Linden MacIntyre when I picked up his non-fiction book， THE WAKE – the story about a deadly tsunami that ravaged the coast of Newfoundland。 I absolutely loved that one， so when I saw he had a new novel on the way， I jumped at the chance to read it。McIntyre takes us through the current medical and legal upheaval affecting the lives of the four main characters， while also throwing in flashbacks to help to flesh out the story as the narrative moves along。 It’s clear when Linden elects to jump around， so I was never lost or confused as to when a certain event was taking place。 There were points where I had a hard time putting down the book as there were explosive allegations and moments where the action moved forward without time to take so much as a breath。With all that said – there is a moment about three quarters of the way through the story that completely took me out of it。 For the majority of the book， I really found myself identifying with Byron and his standoffish nature， his reluctance to move away from his homestead in Nova Scotia where he somewhat secluded himself from the real-world consequences and day-to-day operations of the company Allen and the Winter Sisters built。 However， he does something so seemingly out of character and so repulsive that once it happens， I had a hard time getting back into the story。 I more or less limped over the finish line to find out where everything lay when all the dust settled。With THE WINTER WIVES， Linden doesn’t exactly make a case for any of the four leads being good people， although we get a pretty strong sense that Byron lives by a particular moral code that’s seemingly absent from the other three。 Once that is broken however， I feel like I’m still being asked to perceive Byron the same way as the author continues to load piles of sympathy on him。 But it feels wrong at this point。 If the complexity of the narrative hadn’t been executed so strongly up to that point， I may have just written the whole thing off。THE WINTER WIVES is essentially a strong， but ultimately flawed novel。 。。。more
Toni Osborne
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A psychological dramaThis dialogue driven tale weaves multiple threads of crime， disability and dementia into a drama of unreciprocated love and misconception。The main players:Allan is successful financially Byron is a lawyer with a lame leg who is taken care of his mother who has Alzheimer。 Peggy and Annie Winter: the two sisters who married them The plot in a few words: It all starts when Allan and Byron get together for a weekend of golfing。 Out on the course Allan suffers a stroke and loses A psychological dramaThis dialogue driven tale weaves multiple threads of crime， disability and dementia into a drama of unreciprocated love and misconception。The main players:Allan is successful financially Byron is a lawyer with a lame leg who is taken care of his mother who has Alzheimer。 Peggy and Annie Winter: the two sisters who married them The plot in a few words: It all starts when Allan and Byron get together for a weekend of golfing。 Out on the course Allan suffers a stroke and loses control of his life， a life built on lies and illegal drug trade。 Byron has to confront his weaknesses as well as his strengths and his relationship with Allan， his wife and the one he thoughts was the love of his life。。。。My thoughts in a few words:There is a lot going on in this moody drama from repressed memory， traumatic childhood injury to confused reality， to fakes names， abuse， consent and even suicide。 The story is mainly told by the characters each their turn as they chit chat back and forth reliving their past and narrating the present。 The style is typical for this author richly written， taut and absorbing， smooth sailing in a steady pace from start to finish with some surprises we hardly see coming。 It is also funny and poignant and at times shocking。 Layered with love， deceit， friendship this story will leave us wondering if we truly know the people we have known the longest。。。。。。I was captivated by this story and enjoyed passing time reading it， although it may be a type of story that is not for everyone。My thanks to Penguin Random House Canada and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book: these are my thoughts。 。。。more
Helen
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The first chapter drew me in， but then my interest waned。 I didn’t particularly care for any of the characters and the numerous “f” words irritated me。 The pace of the story did pick up in the second half of the book and there are twists and turns other readers might find enjoyable。 I’m sorry to not be more positive。 The author is obviously very talented but the book just didn’t do anything for me。 I won this book in a Goodreads giveaway and this is my honest review。…To me， reading Peggy Winter The first chapter drew me in， but then my interest waned。 I didn’t particularly care for any of the characters and the numerous “f” words irritated me。 The pace of the story did pick up in the second half of the book and there are twists and turns other readers might find enjoyable。 I’m sorry to not be more positive。 The author is obviously very talented but the book just didn’t do anything for me。 I won this book in a Goodreads giveaway and this is my honest review。…To me， reading Peggy Winter has always been like reading poetry… 。。。more
Lynn B
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Great Writer。I always recommend him to people 。 Loved it last book "The Wave" 。 Can't wait to read this one。 Great Writer。I always recommend him to people 。 Loved it last book "The Wave" 。 Can't wait to read this one。 。。。more
Krista
，
I knew the Winter sisters from high school。 We moved in different circles at university， but I’d see one or both from time to time and， like everybody else， they seemed to be intrigued by my apparent friendship with the Great Chase。 If I could have seen the future， it wouldn’t have surprised me that， one day， he and Peggy Winter would be close。 They were beings from the same genetic pool。 Like Allan， she was tall， athletic。 She followed sports， and could discuss team standings as if they real I knew the Winter sisters from high school。 We moved in different circles at university， but I’d see one or both from time to time and， like everybody else， they seemed to be intrigued by my apparent friendship with the Great Chase。 If I could have seen the future， it wouldn’t have surprised me that， one day， he and Peggy Winter would be close。 They were beings from the same genetic pool。 Like Allan， she was tall， athletic。 She followed sports， and could discuss team standings as if they really mattered to her。 She was， physically， unlike her sister， Annie， who was classically blond with startling blue eyes。 Peggy’s hair was auburn， her eyes deep-set and dark， some days green and some days hazel， depending on the light。 Allan never seemed to notice Peggy at the time， which I found odd。 Then I discovered that feigning indifference is sometimes a subtle tactic to get attention。 And it worked for Allan。 Peggy wasn’t used to being overlooked。 The Winter Wives is an intriguing， moody read。 Author Linden MacIntyre sets us down in medias res — a round of golf with two old friends， we learn that their wives are sisters， one of the men collapses — and it takes the rest of the book to fill in just who these people are， how they met， what they do， what compelling circumstances led to that golf game。。。and what happens next。 And even with all of these questions answered， the reader is still left wondering: can we really ever know another person， or for that matter， ourselves？ I see that the publisher is calling this a “thrilling psychological drama”， and I don’t know if that quite captures what’s going on here — but as an examination of memory， relationships， lies， and losses， MacIntyre has written a compelling novel that left me with plenty to think on。 （Note: I read an ARC through NetGalley and passages quoted may not be in their final forms。） When Allan fell， we were at the tee on the tenth hole of a golf course。 It would take a long time to absorb the full impact of what happened there。 Up close， death is like a mountain we happen to be standing on。 Maybe we can see a piece of it， but the whole remains unreal until there’s distance。 We follow the first person POV of Byron — a rural Nova Scotia lawyer who helped his widowed mother run a farm and a lobster boat while attending university — and as his recollections meander across the events of his life， we learn that his friendship with the imposing Allan （a fellow student， on a football scholarship from Toronto， who’ll do anything to get rich） is his most important and pivotal relationship。 When Allan eventually marries local beauty Peggy Winter and whisks her away to a jetsetting life in the sun， Byron will more or less stumble into a marriage with her sister Annie; an apparently less ambitious woman than her sister who is satisfied to stay home on the farm and help take care of Byron’s mother as she deteriorates with Alzheimer’s。 Although the two couples don’t seem to spend much time physically together over the years， their business affairs will become intricately enmeshed; and as Allan’s health rapidly declines via a series of strokes， Byron will need to get to the bottom of what has really been going on for all this time。 Annie once explained her theory that memory is a parallel reality。 Basically， an extended falsehood， a lifelong lie。 At best， a kind of literature。 But for me， memory is embedded in sensations， not narrative。 Sound and smell。 Touch。 Music。 Aroma。 Colour。 Revulsion from the smell of blood。 Muddy lanes and sodden fields in spring。 Fresh-cut hay in summer。 The tang of apples in the fall。 I associate particular events with certain seasonal conditions。The sharp heat of August feels unlike the warmth of a mellow morning in September or October; autumn has its own unique sensual pungency。 And so I can， with relative certainty， “remember” that the series of events I am going to try to reconstruct happened mostly in the autumn and the winter of an extraordinary year。 Ironically， I clearly remember the moment when I was told that there was a very real possibility that I could lose important aspects of my individuality。 Memory， for one。 Ultimately， my independence。 Specifically， I recall the particular chill of a winter rainfall。 Due to a traumatic childhood injury （that left him with a limp， repressed memories， and an enduring concussion-related brain fog）， Byron seems oddly detached from himself and his own experiences。 As he approaches sixty， and having had a mother with dementia， Byron worries that he’s about to lose even more of himself — right at the moment he learns that the people around him may not be who they appear to be。 Reality is confused by what people are led to believe （especially in the courtroom and in the gossiping community）; people have fake names and nicknames （even “Byron” is a nickname that Peggy gave to the main character in high school because of his limp）; the narrative explores foggy questions of consent， abuse， and suicide （medically assisted and a leap from a bridge）; and I’m left wondering why this book is titled The Winter Wives instead of “The Winter Sisters” （if they kept their maiden name after marriage， it’s never mentioned， so I wonder if MacIntyre is hinting at a fundamental marriage-long lack of commitment by the sisters？） There’s a lot to unearth in The Winter Wives， and with Byron’s faulty memory and disconnectedness， it makes for a compelling， if nebulous， examination of reality and selfhood。 Moody is the word that feels most fitting and that ultimately made for a satisfying experience。 。。。more
Penny （Literary Hoarders）
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HYPERVENTILATING！！！！！！！！！ A NEW LINDEN MACINTYRE！！！
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Winter Wives
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Winter Wives&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The Winter Wives&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0