A Place Called Winter (by Patrick Gale)

(Amazon UK link)

I’ve only previously read one book by Patrick Gale - ‘The Whole Day Through’ - and while I quite liked it, it didn’t inspire me to look for any more of his books. But our reading group had allocated ‘A Place Called Winter’ for this month’s read, so I was quite looking forward to it.

It starts well, if rather dramatically. Harry - who is the viewpoint character throughout - describes in some detail a rather archaic ‘treatment’ for unspecified crimes in a psychiatric hospital. We learn later that it’s probably around 1920 when this was happening, and that it’s somewhere in Canada.

Although Harry has clearly been subject to this treatment many times, it turns out that he’s having a dream - and he wakes up somewhere different. He’s not quite sure where it is, but the sun is shining, and there are clothes, and no attendants or restrictions. He learns that he’s been released from the hospital to a compound owned by a man called Gideon. Gideon is a doctor but believes that many of the patients - those who are not violent or dangerous - benefit more from pleasant surroundings and in-depth discussion rather than heat, cold or other restrictive ‘treatments’.

Harry’s first session with Gideon leads us to a lengthy flashback, and this is the pattern for the whole novel: short sessions in the ‘Bethel’ community, and then many more chapters as his life progresses to the point at which he has a kind of breakdown due to extreme trauma and is taken to hospital.

The first section recounts his young adulthood; we don’t learn much about his childhood, but by the time he’s in his twenties he’s independently wealthy, and doesn’t see the need for a job. He lives with his younger brother Jack who is training to be a vet. Jack is handsome, confident and sporty, all things which Harry lacks. And yet they get on very well. Jack insists on taking Harry to meet some new friends of his and romantic attachments are formed…

I felt that the book went a bit downhill from this point. Harry’s life becomes secretive and somewhat sordid. The author manages to avoid too much gratuitous detail, but there are some necessary hints and descriptions which I found quite unpleasant. And Harry doesn’t have much character. He feels flat, unreal, right through the book, so I never managed to identify with him at all.

It’s a pity about this, because as the author explains in an epilogue, Harry is based on a real person: the author’s own great-grandfather, who was exiled to Canada for something scandalous. The book is fictional, although it uses clues in his grandmother’s diary and meticulous research, which makes the settings seem quite authentic, even if the people are less believable.

It’s hard to say much more without giving spoilers. Suffice it to say that Harry sails to Canada with the idea of becoming a farmer, even though he has never done any manual labour in his life. He’s persuaded to learn about farming first, by becoming a hired helper, and much of what happens seems believable, and quite interesting, even if the writing is a tad long-winded sometimes.

There’s a villain in the story - a really awful person with no morals to speak of; and yet he’s the one who gives Harry the excellent advice to get some experience first before acquiring on his own plot of land. What the villain does in other places is unspeakably evil, but again it was rather hard to believe in him since he starts off quite friendly, albeit evidently out to make himself some money.

The story is interesting from the social history point of view, including detail about some of the attitudes of Edwardian society to various lifestyles and practices. But the device of it being told to a friendly psychiatrist makes it feel disjointed; and the events at Bethel are not really explored much. I’d love to have known more about the native American customs and beliefs, but these are only touched upon. And a developing friendship comes abruptly to an end, as if the person concerned was no longer of interest to the author.

The writing is mostly good, and the story is well-told. But I didn't feel any connection to any of the characters (except, perhaps, Petra - but she doesn’t appear until over half-way through the book, and is treated very badly by the author in more than one way). And the final pages, with a sort of happy ending, feel contrived.

There’s a lot in the book, and on the whole I’m glad I read it. But - as with the other book I read by Patrick Gale - I won’t be re-reading it. 

Having said that, 'A Place Called Winter' was shortlisted for at least one prize, and is highly regarded by many, so my opinion may be in the minority. If it's not important to you that characters be well-rounded and sympathetic, you might enjoy it considerably more than I did.

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