August into Winter

A Novel

By: Guy Vanderhaeghe

Narrated by: R.H. Thomson, Kelley Jo Burke

National Best Seller

The first novel in nearly a decade from the three-time Governor General's Award‒winning author of The Last Crossing, August Into Winter is an epic story of crime and retribution, of war and its long shadow, and of the redemptive possibilities of love.

You carried the past into the future on your back, its knees and arms hugging you tighter with every step.

It is 1939, with the world on the brink of global war, when Constable Hotchkiss confronts the spoiled, narcissistic man-child Ernie Sickert about a rash of disturbing pranks in their small prairie town. Outraged and cornered, Ernie commits an act of unspeakable violence, setting in motion a course of events that will change forever the lives of all in his wake.

With Loretta Pipe — the scrappy 12-year-old he idealizes as the love of his life — in tow, Ernie flees town. In close pursuit is Corporal Cooper, who enlists the aid of two brothers, veterans of World War One: Jack, a sensitive, spiritual man with a potential for brutal violence; and angry, impetuous Dill, still recovering from the premature death of his wife who, while on her deathbed, developed an inexplicable obsession with the then-teenaged Ernie Sickert.

When a powerful storm floods the prairie roads, wreaking havoc, Ernie and Loretta take shelter in a one-room schoolhouse where they are discovered by the newly arrived teacher, Vidalia Taggart. Vidalia has her own haunted past, one that has driven her to this stark and isolated place with only the journals of her lover Dov, recently killed in the Spanish Civil War, for company. Dill, arriving at the schoolhouse on Ernie's trail, falls hard and fast for Vidalia — but questions whether he can compete with the impossible ideal of a dead man.

Guy Vanderhaeghe, writing at the height of his celebrated powers, has crafted a tale of unrelenting suspense against a backdrop of great moral searching and depth. His is a canvas of lavish, indelible detail: of character, of landscape, of history — in all their searing beauty but all their ugliness, too. Vanderhaeghe does not shrink from the corruption, cruelty, and treachery that pervade the world. Yet even in his clear-eyed depiction of evil — a depiction that frequently and delightfully turns darkly comic — he will not deny the possibility of love, of light. With August Into Winter, Guy Vanderhaeghe has given us a masterfully told, masterfully timed story for our own troubled hearts.

©2021 Guy Vanderhaeghe (P)2021 McClelland & Stewart

Masterful

Another triumph by a great Canadian author. He should be regarded as one of the great contributors to Can Lit. Should be compulsory reading in high school English classes.

Great writing, less great reading.

Vanderhaeghe is a fabulous writer. I think this is his best. He knows his characters and they know themselves. His antagonist, Ernie Sickert, is a familiar psychopath presented in a gripping and original form. I couldn't put it down.

Alas R.H. Thompson does not rise to the same level of excellence. His voice is pleasant and his enunciation flawless. But his turgid reading speed and his sing song delivery completely undermine the energy of the writing and authenticity of the dialogue. But do not despair... I found that increasing the playback speed to 1.2 times normal made it acceptable, and the sing song delivery diminished as the book progressed. Or else I got used to it. For that reason I heartily recommend this book. And if you're Canadian it's so refreshing to hear familiar place names presented unself-consciously. If you're not Canadian, welcome to a new and exotic, foreign yet familiar locale. And a ripping yarn.