A Long Walk in Wintertime (by Libby Purves)

(Amazon UK link)

I am very much enjoying re-reading my Libby Purves novels, interspersed with others of my favourite writers, and some new (to me) books. In the last couple of days I have re-read ‘A Long Walk in Wintertime’, a book which I have only previously read once, back in 2004. I knew I liked it very much but had totally forgotten the story and the characters.

It was perhaps a mistake to read it immediately after finishing Rosie Thomas’s ‘If my father loved me’ as there are a lot of similarities. Alice is the main protagonist in this book; she is married to Daniel who has thrown her a surprise party for her 37th birthday. Her friends are all treated to an evening at the opera, followed by a meal at Alice and Daniel’s relaxed London home. It’s a good way to introduce her closest friends, and the evening ends - as is foreshadowed almost from the start - by a dramatic confession from Daniel which changes the course of their lives.

Alice and Daniel have two children: fourteen-year-old Clemmie, and twelve-year-old Jamie. Clemmie is an organised kind of person who knows what she wants, although she cares very deeply for her family too. She has managed to win a scholarship to a prestigious new sports academy secondary school, and as we meet her she is finishing her packing, looking forward to her new life as a boarder.

Jamie, however, does not enjoy school at all. It’s not that he’s being bullied; he tends to keep away from unpleasant children, and tends to be something of a loner. He’s reasonably bright but not brilliant, and his main talent is art. Unfortunately his art teacher is very disparaging about his gift for design and patterns, and he often feels despair.

Jamie is passionate about playing ‘laserquest’ and other similar games that were so popular in the 1990s when this book was published. This becomes something of an addiction, and he gradually starts skipping school in order to play more games. He has a simple computer too and is interested in technology, but nobody can help him very much.

Daniel’s confession leads to a separation which both he and Alice hope is temporary, and while Clemmie - away at boarding school - seems to deal with it, Jamie does not. And when he’s on a train going to see his father, he decides, on the spur of the moment, to do something unexpected…

It’s not a long book but there’s a lot in it. The characterisation of the main protagonists is excellent, and the last couple of chapters extremely moving. I don’t know that I ever really identified with Alice; she’s rather a hippy in her dress sense, mostly laid-back in her attitudes, and adores opera - to the extent that she works in a low-paying job at the opera house, just so that she can be part of the scene, and hear rehearsals.

But I liked her, all the same. Rather better than I liked her husband. Her friends are a bit two-dimensional; she has one friend who is ambitious and single, and a married couple who are a bit fluffy. She also has a gay couple of friends one of whom is rather camp. Perhaps this would be seen as politically incorrect in today’s environment, but over twenty years ago when this was written, the treatment was probably seen as liberal and positive.

There’s a foray into the world of fairgrounds and the painting of roundabout horses which I gather was researched - it comes across as realistic, to me, and not too educational. I found it very interesting, along with the author’s recognition that sometimes a useful hobby can be of far more value than education in a classroom.

The book isn’t much about winter, and not particularly about walking, either, other than in the metaphorical sense. Even then, Alice and Daniel’s relationship - which is the main focus of the book - doesn’t actually take all that long to be resolved. Although I had entirely forgotten the story, I was hoping for a positive ending, and was not disappointed.

Definitely recommended if you like women’s fiction with quite a strong storyline.

While this book can often be found second-hand in charity shops or online, it's not currently in print other than in Kindle forum.

Review copyright 2019 Sue's Book Reviews