Status
Available
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Publication
Brooklyn, New York : Melville House, [2018]
Description
Fiction. Literature. Suspense. Thriller. HTML:"[An] atmospheric suspense novel....Pick it up now." �??O, THE OPRAH MAGAZINE Winner of the 2019 Pickley Prize for Debut Novel In the wintery silences of Pennsylvania's Blue Ridge Mountains, a woman befriends a mysterious foreigner�??setting in motion this suspenseful, atmospheric, politically charged debut After surviving a life-altering accident at twenty-two, Kathleen recuperates by retreating to a remote campground lodge in a state park, where she works flipping burgers for deer hunters and hikers�??happy, she insists, to be left alone. But when a hesitant, heavily accented stranger appears in the dead of winter�??seemingly out of nowhere, kicking snow from his flimsy dress shoes�??the wary Kathleen is intrigued, despite herself. He says he's a student from Uzbekistan. To her he seems shell-shocked, clearly hiding from something that terrifies him. And as she becomes absorbed in his secrets, she's forced to confront her own�??even as her awareness of being in danger grows . . . Steeped in the rugged beauty of the Blue Ridge Mountains, with America's war on terror raging in the background, Sarah St.Vincent's Ways to Hide in Winter is a powerful story about violence and redemption, betrayal and empathy . . . and how we reconcile the unforgivable… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member lisapeet
A humane and—in spite of some intense violence—gentle novel that explores the growing friendship between a young widow and a refugee from Uzbekistan, each side of the relationship framed by the the punishing load of secrets they both carry, all set against the winter landscape of rural
The writing here is low-key, appropriately atmospheric, and for the most part well done, though foreshadowing is some dicey business and needs to be done with a lighter touch. But overall the novel was moral in an un-preachy fashion that I appreciate in fiction, and St. Vincent kept it honest enough to keep me engaged.
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Pennsylvania. But aside from its very deliberate thriller-like pacing as those secrets slowly unfurl, the book is more substantially concerned with exploring themes of guilt, forgiveness, loneliness, concealment, and the large and small ways people harm each other. This is one of those books that prove the point that reading fiction can make you a more compassionate person—it grapples with some hard issues of personal culpability and doesn't return pat answers. The writing here is low-key, appropriately atmospheric, and for the most part well done, though foreshadowing is some dicey business and needs to be done with a lighter touch. But overall the novel was moral in an un-preachy fashion that I appreciate in fiction, and St. Vincent kept it honest enough to keep me engaged.
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LibraryThing member auntmarge64
A perfectly paced character study with wonderful dialog and an atmosphere of suspense that keeps the reader wondering - and reading.
In the mountains of Pennsylvania, a young widow named Kathleen works days at a small state park shop that services hikers, campers and hunters. It's winter now, so
As she's closing shop one day, a man arrives at the store looking for the hostel keeper. He's obviously weak, almost starving, and has no transportation, and she opens the hostel for him so he won't freeze over the weekend. As the winter wears on they get to know each better, clearly enjoying each others' company but hesitant to share too much about themselves. Eventually the FBI and state troopers begin to nose around, but by this time time Kathleen and the hostel keeper have gotten to trust the stranger, and they struggle with the problem of who he is, what he's done, and how much they should help him. The stranger's past, and his fate, affect Kathleen in momentous ways, and her own past colors her response to him and leads to life-altering changes for her.
Moving and beautifully written. I couldn't put it down.
In the mountains of Pennsylvania, a young widow named Kathleen works days at a small state park shop that services hikers, campers and hunters. It's winter now, so
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there is little business in either the shop or the hostel next door, and the campgrounds are closed. Kathleen is clearly recovering from serious physical and psychological injuries, although the causes are revealed only slowly. She lives nearby with her elderly grandmother, for whom she provides care. As she's closing shop one day, a man arrives at the store looking for the hostel keeper. He's obviously weak, almost starving, and has no transportation, and she opens the hostel for him so he won't freeze over the weekend. As the winter wears on they get to know each better, clearly enjoying each others' company but hesitant to share too much about themselves. Eventually the FBI and state troopers begin to nose around, but by this time time Kathleen and the hostel keeper have gotten to trust the stranger, and they struggle with the problem of who he is, what he's done, and how much they should help him. The stranger's past, and his fate, affect Kathleen in momentous ways, and her own past colors her response to him and leads to life-altering changes for her.
Moving and beautifully written. I couldn't put it down.
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LibraryThing member Beamis12
The gorgeous Blue Ridge mountains in Pennsylvania, provide a perfect place for Kathleen to hide and attempt to heal herself.Taking care of her elderly, I'll grandmother, estranged from her parents. A horrible accident has left her with many scars, screws and other pieces of metal, how she survived
This is a slow burner of a book, the more one reads, the more one is drawn into the story. Disclosures are made at the right times, and bring the reader closer and closer to the truth. It blurs the line between good and evil, connects the lines between abuses of the personal and those perpetuated by a government. I admit after finishing, turning once again to the wise and knowing wiki, to read about the human rights violations and terror that have happened in Uzbekistan. Happening in so many countries, but also in so many homes. Each leave tragedy, sorrow, and pain in it's wake, scars mentally and physically, the only difference the scale of the event.
The tone is melancholy, lonely, as two strangers from very different places connect, and begin to tell their stories. Hidden, places to heal, no expectations, strangers who owe nothing to each other. A fantastic read for a book discussion, so many issues, many things to debate. The ending, for me, a total surprise.
ARC from Melville House.
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is a mystery. As is what actually happened to her, her now dead husband and their lives. She works at a small, infrequently visited store and grill, and it is here that she meets the stranger. A young man hiding, on the run from the authorities in Uzbekistan. Their ensuing friendship will profoundly and emotionally bring changes into their lives.This is a slow burner of a book, the more one reads, the more one is drawn into the story. Disclosures are made at the right times, and bring the reader closer and closer to the truth. It blurs the line between good and evil, connects the lines between abuses of the personal and those perpetuated by a government. I admit after finishing, turning once again to the wise and knowing wiki, to read about the human rights violations and terror that have happened in Uzbekistan. Happening in so many countries, but also in so many homes. Each leave tragedy, sorrow, and pain in it's wake, scars mentally and physically, the only difference the scale of the event.
The tone is melancholy, lonely, as two strangers from very different places connect, and begin to tell their stories. Hidden, places to heal, no expectations, strangers who owe nothing to each other. A fantastic read for a book discussion, so many issues, many things to debate. The ending, for me, a total surprise.
ARC from Melville House.
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LibraryThing member RidgewayGirl
Kathleen works as the sole employee of a small convenience store in a national park in the mountains of eastern Pennsylvania. She's effectively hiding out; living in her hometown but spending all of her time at the store, which is frequented only by hikers and hunters, or at home, where she lives
This is a difficult book to describe. It's almost a thriller, but more of a character study and exploration of culpability and our responsibilities to each other, combined with a vividly described setting. The author has used her background to write a very well put together story that touches on the political situation in Uzbekistan and domestic violence.
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with her grandmother. Occasionally, her best friend can get her out for a few hours, but she insists she's content, recovering from the accident that took her husband's life. At the tail end of the season, when even the hunters are becoming scarce, a man shows up at the hostel next to the store. He's from Uzbekistan and clearly hiding from someone. This is a difficult book to describe. It's almost a thriller, but more of a character study and exploration of culpability and our responsibilities to each other, combined with a vividly described setting. The author has used her background to write a very well put together story that touches on the political situation in Uzbekistan and domestic violence.
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LibraryThing member maryreinert
I think this had potential, but somehow tried to tell too many stories. Kathleen is a single woman who has been in a terrible car accident. She runs a store near a remote state park. It's getting winter so very few customers. Across the way is a hostel, also barely staying open in the winter. A
Kathleen is living with an aged grandmother and is apparently from a pretty dysfunctional family. She has a story, the stranger has a story, her story comes apparently in the second half of the book unveiling her marriage to a cruel man who later dies in the auto accident.
I think the author was trying to tell a story about being kind to those that deserve no kindness. "Do unto the least of these...." but I'm not sure that goal is accomplished. There is a lot of mental angst and self-questioning. Disappointing.
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stranger appears with a foreign accent. He and Kathleen spend time together and he tells her he is from Uzbekistan and has left the country because he has done terrible things mainly "betraying" people.Kathleen is living with an aged grandmother and is apparently from a pretty dysfunctional family. She has a story, the stranger has a story, her story comes apparently in the second half of the book unveiling her marriage to a cruel man who later dies in the auto accident.
I think the author was trying to tell a story about being kind to those that deserve no kindness. "Do unto the least of these...." but I'm not sure that goal is accomplished. There is a lot of mental angst and self-questioning. Disappointing.
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LibraryThing member arubabookwoman
Kathleen runs a small country store attached to a hostel in the remote Pennsylvania hills. She has obviously suffered some type of trauma in the past from which she has not yet recovered. One day a man she first thinks seems to be a Russian checks into the hostel, and it soon becomes apparent that
This book seems to be trying to be a psychological thriller, or perhaps even a spy thriller, and it is trying to present the reader with serious issues of moral ambiguity. It fails. It does not have the depth of detail to create an entirely believable situation. It is all rather simplistic.
I did like to read about Kathleen's dysfunctional family, her abusive ex-husband, and the down-and-out community in which she lives. As a domestic drama, the book could have been okay; as a political thriller, a failure.
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he is hiding from something or someone. Nevertheless he and Kathleen begin to develop a relationship.This book seems to be trying to be a psychological thriller, or perhaps even a spy thriller, and it is trying to present the reader with serious issues of moral ambiguity. It fails. It does not have the depth of detail to create an entirely believable situation. It is all rather simplistic.
I did like to read about Kathleen's dysfunctional family, her abusive ex-husband, and the down-and-out community in which she lives. As a domestic drama, the book could have been okay; as a political thriller, a failure.
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LibraryThing member BookConcierge
Digital audio narrated by Sarah Mollo-Christensen
A young widow is trying to recover from her own trauma by working in a remote state park deep in Pennsylvania’s Blue Ridge Mountains. Kathleen is fine, she insists, and happy to be left alone. But when a stranger with a heavy accent comes into the
This is a tightly written, marvelous psychological / political thriller. The characters are skittish, guarded, and yet reveal themselves by their actions. Kathleen and Daniil recognize in one another a certain similarity – both are running from the truth, both profess to need solitude even a way to hide away, and yet both want desperately to confide and reveal their pain and their hopes. They both crave and fear connection. It’s difficult to believe that either of them will ever achieve happiness; their pasts are just too traumatic.
This short novel includes some major issues: domestic abuse, drug addiction, military and political intrigue / espionage. The landscape is practically a character, and adds to the feeling of isolation, loneliness and imminent danger. The reader is kept in suspense to the very end.
Sarah Mollo-Christensen does a marvelous job of narrating the audiobook. I particularly liked the way she voiced Daniil and Martin.
A young widow is trying to recover from her own trauma by working in a remote state park deep in Pennsylvania’s Blue Ridge Mountains. Kathleen is fine, she insists, and happy to be left alone. But when a stranger with a heavy accent comes into the
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store/lodge where she works flipping burgers she is intrigued. He says he’s a student from Uzbekistan, but he’s clearly unprepared for the winter conditions in the park. To Kathleen, Daniil seems shell-shocked, almost terrified, clearly hiding from someone or something. This is a tightly written, marvelous psychological / political thriller. The characters are skittish, guarded, and yet reveal themselves by their actions. Kathleen and Daniil recognize in one another a certain similarity – both are running from the truth, both profess to need solitude even a way to hide away, and yet both want desperately to confide and reveal their pain and their hopes. They both crave and fear connection. It’s difficult to believe that either of them will ever achieve happiness; their pasts are just too traumatic.
This short novel includes some major issues: domestic abuse, drug addiction, military and political intrigue / espionage. The landscape is practically a character, and adds to the feeling of isolation, loneliness and imminent danger. The reader is kept in suspense to the very end.
Sarah Mollo-Christensen does a marvelous job of narrating the audiobook. I particularly liked the way she voiced Daniil and Martin.
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Subjects
Language
Original publication date
2018-11-06
Physical description
225 p.; 24 cm
ISBN
9781612197203