Monday 15 October 2012

The Winter Ghosts , by Kate Mosse

The Winter Ghosts
Paperback, 256 pages
Published October 1st 2010 by Orion (first published January 1st 2009)
ISBN
1409103390 (ISBN13: 9781409103394)
edition language
English
original title
The Winter Ghosts
 
Kate Mosse is back with a haunting ghost story from the French mountains. From the bestselling author of LABYRINTH and SEPULCHRE - a compelling story of ghosts and remembrance. Illustrated throughout by Brian Gallagher.

The Great War took much more than lives. It robbed a generation of friends, lovers and futures. In Freddie Watson's case, it took his beloved brother and, at times, his peace of mind. In the winter of 1928, still seeking resolution, Freddie is travelling through the French Pyrenees. During a snowstorm, his car spins off the mountain road. He stumbles through woods, emerging in a tiny village. There he meets Fabrissa, a beautiful woman also mourning a lost generation. Over the course of one night, Fabrissa and Freddie share their stories. By the time dawn breaks, he will have stumbled across a tragic mystery that goes back through the centuries
 
 
 My Review
Ever since her first novel, Labyrinth, I have loved Kate Mosse's novels. I found her second one a little difficult to get into so when my grandma gave me a voucher to get this one for a cheap price, I was a litte sceptical as to whether it would be a worthy read, or just another one of those authors who have a one hit wonder and then never ever seem to get another one quite the same. It was a short and simple book but it was intriguing and it really seemed to have a lot of expression and historical artifacts to it that just made me ponder and made me feel like I was learning a little something from the novel rather than just reading it. I do find that Mosse's book are rather historical and she seems to add in as much historical reality as well. In many ways and wonders this does actually work well for the book and for the read in that you find it seems to come alive more and you actually find yourself interacting with the novel in your own way, and building it into a world in your mind.

Freddie is a somewhat mysterious and different character, someone who you never really get to know within the book itself but instead you get to see the emotional concept and side to him, in that you begin to wonder what it is that is bothering him and why he is the way that he is. Freddie is clearly on some sort of journey, pondering to find an answer whether it be as to who he is and what he wants to do with his life or whether it be to find out what happened to his brother who died, to find a sort of peace perhaps so that he can carry on with his life and be the person he is meant to be. There is a wonderful sense of mystery within the book though but I did find it a little confusing in many places, not that this was a bad or negative aspect, its possible that perhaps my mind is a little unintellectual for the likings of the book. But I did feel that I did actually learn something from the novel, in that there were wars and battles and what not that took place that perhaps no one really knew about at all.

From beginning to end his journey that he seems to be on seems to be a disastor of the kind. He crashes and collides with something whilst appearing mad to another person and coming down with a fever that actually nearly kills him and leaves a lot of people concerned and worried. The problem is, its all the same thing that has caused this to happen him, a ghost that no one else has ever heard about and a ghost that he is sure is not actually a ghost but a beautiful woman in his life who wants to help him and know everything about whilst sharing her story. The book was a provoking book in this sense but at the same time you began to wonder what the entire plot of the story was. I think for a short novel it was simplistic enough for what it was, but I couldnt help but feel a little let down for I felt that perhaps a whole lot more could have actually gone into the novel, because at the end it literally was all about setting the spirits who had been trapped and lost free, which is like a few other books that I have actually read.

The book was enjoyable and there is no doubt about the very fact that Kate Mosse has a lot of talent when it comes to writing novels. I do look forward to reading her next novel and discovering what it is all about as the blurb on it seems to make it stand out from her others and looks like it could have more of a plot perhaps. However I do enjoy the historical artifacts that she does put into her book because it shows that she puts a lot of care and attention into what she is writing. Its a wonderful novel however I would not rate it more than a three star rating for I felt it was missing that little something extra that would give it the spark that it would need.
 
didn't like it it was ok liked it really liked it it was amazing
 

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