I literally walked into the shop after finishing this saying “what the hell did I just read?”. You should know up front that I’m all about those types of books so this was right up my alley.
In short, ‘A Good Winter’ is a story told from the perspective of Olga, a super unreliable narrator with an incredibly pessimistic view of almost everyone. I absolutely despised Olga (I’m fairly certain you’re not supposed to “like” her) but I have an immense appreciation for authors who write unlikeable characters (Paula Hawkins and Catriona Ward being some of my favourites). I feel a fire in my belly when I get to talk about characters that grind my gears - it’s always a fun discussion! When I see reviews that say “I didn’t enjoy the book because there were so many unlikeable characters” it makes me frustrated. Sometimes that’s the point… sometimes you’re not supposed to like them, and I believe this is one of those books. Yes, Olga frustrated the hell out of me but is it weird to say I enjoyed it? There were certainly moments where I pitied her and her very sad point of view but most of the time I was imagining how if she were walking in front of me on a staircase I would have to try really hard not to just give her a little push… Read her story before you judge me for saying that please. This is a book to be devoured in one sitting rather than drawn out over a couple of weeks - trust me when I say you don’t want to spend any longer trapped in Olga’s head.
— Rachel