From the Bookshelf of Bound Together…

Ways to Hide in Winter

Sarah St. Vincent

Start date: November 30, 2019

Finish date: December 14, 2019

Discussion: Archives - Hear, Hear...

Why we're reading this: Nov 30 to Dec 14th

[close] Nov 30 to Dec 14th

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Archives - Hear, Hear...

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* Time to 'tune' in...
By ♥ Sandi ❣ , Me! ~~ on a good day · 1 post · 45 views

last updated May 30, 2019 10:17PM

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What Members Thought

Dec 05, 2018 Diane S ☔ rated it really liked it

The gorgeous Blue Ridge mountains in Pennsylvania provide a perfect place for Kathleen to hide and attempt to heal herself.Taking care of her elderly, ill grandmother, estranged from her parents, she has few friends. A horrible accident has left her with many scars, screws and other pieces of metal, how she survived is a mystery. As is what actually happened to her, her now dead husband and their lives. She works at a small, infrequently visited store and grill, and it is here that she meets the ...more

130 likes · Like · see review

Nov 30, 2019 ☮Karen rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery-suspense-thriller, read-in-2019, hoopla, overdrive, audio, hear-hear-on-bt

This was a perfect companion on these chilly winter-like days of late. It is a multi-faceted debut, with much to make you wonder about as the story progresses. It has a quiet, contemplative mood, and the beautiful descriptions of a park area in the mountains of Pennsylvania make it broadly atmospheric. After easing us gently into the setting and as the characters become better acquainted and formed, the author unveils political overtones and hints at past secrets to compel the reader forward hop ...more

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Jan 03, 2020 Martha☀ rated it liked it

Shelves: audiobook, library

3.5 stars
In the Blue Ridge Mountains of Pennsylvania, people hide for all manner of reasons. Kathleen has found a spot here where no one is going to question her about her limp, her dependence on prescription narcotics, her estranged family or her past. She quietly passes the seasons working in a small store/grill along the Appalachian Trail and taking care of her reluctantly aging grandmother. Kathleen is not the only one who seeks solitude. As winter approaches, a stranger shows up at the stor 3.5 stars
In the Blue Ridge Mountains of Pennsylvania, people hide for all manner of reasons. Kathleen has found a spot here where no one is going to question her about her limp, her dependence on prescription narcotics, her estranged family or her past. She quietly passes the seasons working in a small store/grill along the Appalachian Trail and taking care of her reluctantly aging grandmother. Kathleen is not the only one who seeks solitude. As winter approaches, a stranger shows up at the store looking for the small backpacker hostel and Kathleen goes out of her way to show him the trail, noting that he is completely unprepared for the upcoming winter and then keeping an eye out for him over the next few days. Her kindness continues in small ways - a cup of coffee, a repurposed winter coat - and he warms to her as if he has never been shown such hospitality before.
Eventually he reveals that he is a student from Uzbekistan but little else. With both characters keeping their cards close, we have to wait for St. Vincent to reveal their truths by building up anticipation for about half the novel. Most of that anticipation comes through in the setting - a lonely, quiet and chilling place where everyone seems to be hiding their true agenda.
When all is revealed and Daniil turns out to be (view spoiler) It forces her to face the reasons that she has chosen to go into hiding herself. It also causes her to think for herself, rather than listening to gossip, here-say or media. A breath of fresh air these days.
It seems to me, as I write this review, that the novel was deeper psychologically than I thought at the time. Perhaps that is what other reviewers refer to as a 'slow-burn' (used in 90% of reviews I looked at!). But I was struck by the frustrating lack of depth and worldliness that supposedly university-educated Kathleen showed, especially in her conversations with Daniil, who was eloquent and polite. I liked him and his thoughtfulness right from the first meeting. ...more

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