Seré Prince HalversonRecensioni

A romance. If you must read a romance, this is a nice one; an interesting one is a wonderful setting.

Kristin Hannah tells a good story. Set primarily in Alaska, this is not a new story, a tale of domestic abuse. However, it is a well told tale of what it means to be lost, what it means to face loss, face truth, and what it means to face oneself and heal. One of the primary mantras of the Alaskan characters is that there are a thousand ways to get lost and to die in the wilderness of the state. The moral of the story is that it takes a village!

"A wolf howled, holding a single lonely note in the distance. The scent of spruce and mud and sea kept dredging up the imagined hint of smoke. Even in the summer, a fire burned in the wood stove."

Wanderlust is one of the things that characterizes us readers. The urge to experience new places, customs. Books are magic carpets that can transfer us to lands we most probably won't see and allow us to know them as best as we can. My wanderlust always brings me to cold, mystical, dusky landscapes. No heat, no noise, and as less people as possible. The nightly sky and the snowy pines are enough. Alaska has always been one of the many territories whose impact on my mind grows stronger with each related book. This novel by Sere Prince Halverson has Alaska at its heart, along with a very special heroine and a few problems.

Kache returns to Alaska years after an incident that sealed his life forever. There, he funds the home of his parents occupied by a strange young woman, Nadia, and her dog, Lio. The begin to develop a deep appreciation for each other and discover that their lives are much more similar than they thought. However, their ways to react in front of obstacles couldn't be more different. Make no mistake, this isn't a simple love story. I don't read those. This is a struggle for rebirth through ashes and as such it is s powerful, meaningful novel. The heart of the plot doesn't focus on romance but on dark, brutal deeds and false ideas.

"Alaska does not forgive mistakes."

Halverson weaves descriptions of pure beauty combining tranquility with the raw, unforgiving, mystical landscape. Her story has its foundations on the human soul. People have been keeping secrets for far too long. They are isolated. They know it, they seek it to be so. The story is built on isolation and the awful weight of the wounds of the past. And then, we have religion. Religion in the form of fundamentalism, providing an excuse for oppression and violence. I found the inclusion of the Old Believers storyline extremely interesting and I am intrigued to read more on the subject when time allows. Naturally, family and love make the plot more humane and approachable.

This is where the problems begin, in my opinion. Although the relationship between Nadia and Kache developed in the proper pace, there were times when it seemed unbalanced as Kache came across as controlling and overreacting. No, scratch that. He was the epitome of drama queen. Moreover, there were a few "twists" that were too predictable, albeit adequately executed, and a certain plot line was ultimately ridiculous with unnecessary melodrama.

Nadia is a fascinating character. She is a survivor who dared to resist her family's idiotic ideas. Her bravery kept her alive and her love for Literature helped her escape. She retained a mind of her own and let no one dictate her life. I loved her in an instant. I didn't appreciate Kache, I'm afraid. Self-absorbed, preoccupied, nonsensical, at times, and manipulative in a sickly-sweet way. It was Nadia that made him a better person and even then I couldn't warm up to him. Lettie is a gem but Snag? She lowered the quality of the whole story, in my opinion. I wasn't interested in her melancholy and I couldn't care less about her sexual problems and her "true" self. She was boring, unlikable and very, very badly-written. I omitted most of her chapters, to be honest. There's only so much trash I can handle....

Snag(s) aside, this is a haunting, beautiful novel. Harsh but with an underlying tenderness and sadness. Laced with atmospheric descriptions, with an extremely memorable heroine but with an unfortunate choice of characters that varied from average to indifferent. However, the story alone deserves your attention.

"These books, they are my friends, my teachers, my family, my everyone. They keep me alive."

My reviews can also be found on https://theopinionatedreaderblog.wordpress.com

beautifully written but ending left open

And After The Winter, Sere Halverson
When the novel begins, the reader learns that three of the four members of the Glenn Winkel family, of Caboose, Alaska, had been killed in a tragic, small plane crash two decades earlier. Kachemak Winkel, 18 years old at the time, had remained at home and was, therefore, the sole survivor of his immediate family. After the crash, in an effort to put the terrible loss of his parents and his brother behind him, he unceremoniously, and without warning, moved to California, abandoning Alaska, his father’s sister Snag, and his grandmother Lettie. They remained there and were supposed to care for the homestead. Over the twenty years that passed, he had had only occasional contact with them. When his father’s now 60 year old twin sister, Aunt Snag, contacted him about the impending death of his grandmother, Lettie, 38 year old Kache returned to the homestead to try and pick up the pieces of his life. He had recently lost his job and, coincidentally, his long time girlfriend so his return fell into place rather neatly.
Arriving in Alaska, Kache discovered that a young woman named Nadia, from a community called the Old Believers, had been living in his parents’ homestead and caring for the property by herself. She had many secrets and had not been exposed to very much of the outside world. She had lived there for ten years, alone, and she was completely self sufficient, but she was also terrified of him. Old Believers were a tribe of people from Russia. They did not integrate themselves into modern society and lived in remote parts of Alaska. Their community had split off into several different factions, as well, with some being stricter than others regarding the acceptance of modern technology and amenities.
While the novel promised to be a book about life in Alaska, including some interesting information about an unusual community of people called the Old Believers, about whom there was little known, the book became more of a fairytale, a kind of love story with an aspect of mystery and danger tossed in to make it more interesting. While there were some noteworthy facts about the hardship of life in Alaska, the beauty of its landscape, and a few tidbits about the Old Believers, the story didn’t develop into much more than a beach read. It held my interest, but the dialogue often felt corny and hackneyed when representing conversations between the two main characters who were consenting adults, even if one was supposed to be totally unsophisticated and unworldly. In the end, that less informed, young character seemed better informed and more developed than all of the rest of them. Each of them had some kind of a secret which caused them shame and, in some cases, much unwarranted guilt. Each of them blamed themselves for incidents over which they had no control and could not have prevented or caused. As the novel moved ahead, the story traveled back and forth in time revealing each character’s weaknesses and pain, each character’s personal struggles.
I wanted it to be the kind of a book I would savor each night, not wanting it to end, but it seemed very simplistic and predictable. On the positive side, the chapters were very short and flew by, making it very easy to read. The characters resolved their issues and all of the ends tied up neatly. There was little left to be guessed about how the lives of the characters would continue after the final page. I had higher hopes for this book when I first began to read it since it was chosen by a literary guild to which I belonged. Instead, it seemed too saccharine and conventional with most of the current problems of today included for good measure, such as sexual choice, alcoholism, and the need to escape from life when it presented itself without its glory, with problems that seemed insurmountable. Each character chose to face their personal challenges in a different way, and yet each one chose the same way, escape and avoidance. Discovering the choices they made and why they made them was the most interesting aspect of the book for me. There were repercussions that influenced each person they touched over which they had no control. The reader will be left wondering if the choices each character made had a positive or negative influence on their future lives and if the choices they made were wise when made or foolishly impetuous. The readers might wonder how they might have reacted in each particular situation.

When I, someone who has never personally been there, think of Alaska, I think of snow, vistas like you've never seen before, and miles between you and your closest neighbor. Whether this is true or not, I couldn't tell you for certain but based on Seré Prince Halverson's newest book All The Winters After, my guess is that I'm pretty close.

Initially attracted to the stunning cover of this particular book, I picked it up and was drawn in my the description on the back. A tale of heartache, loss, new love, and the troubles that come when they all converge under one roof - to me, this sounds like a perfect read. I don't have a lot of patience for petty drama so I was a little worried that this might fall under that category but since I had heard so many things and the description really did sound enticing, I decided I should go for it anyway.

About 50 pages in, I knew I had made a good decision. Despite any hesitancy I had felt initially, I soon found that this story is as beautiful as it's cover. It's in no way over dramatized, it feels realistic in a very emotional sense, and it's beautifully written such that I wanted to relish in every word. As someone who often flies through books in order to find out what happens next, I took my time with this one. Over the course of the week I became acquainted with Kache, who's been away in Texas after a plane crash killed those closest to him, Nadia, who has run away from everything she knows and is on the path to figuring our who she really is, and the land of Alaska.

In the end, I was left only wanting to walk where they had walked, and give them hugs to let them know how meaningful their stories are. I was reminded of the fact that even when things seem cold and dark and unlikely to get better, that's usually just our own minds holding us back from our potential. But on a book-level, I was reminded of just how much beautifully crafted stories can touch you. My heart is thankful for this read, and I highly recommend that you take in this incredible story as well.


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This is an absorbing story full of emotional complexity about loss, loneliness, and love, which takes place over four seasons in Alaska. The seasons are reflected in the evolution of the characters, from the frozen winter to the awakening of spring.

Kache Winkel, named for the place he was conceived (Kachemak Bay in Alaska), is 38, but his life has been on hold for the last 20 years, ever since the rest of his immediate family died in a plane crash and he blamed himself. He has been living in a self-imposed exile in Austin, Texas, but his grandmother Lettie can no longer travel, and he wants to see her.

Back in Alaska, 28-year-old Nadia Oleska has been living in the Winkels' abandoned family homestead for the last ten years, also in a petrified [double entendre] state - never leaving, and carefully preserving the look of the house and memories of the Winkel family.

When Kache returns, he finds out from his late father’s sister Aunt Snag, that she has not in fact been maintaining the old homestead all this time as she had averred. Rather, she too has been avoiding it from her own sense of guilt. Upon driving out to the house, Kache discovers Nadia there, and takes to this odd, brave woman. In an awkward reverse that puts Kache in the position of visitor, he begins to go to the house daily to help with repairs, and soon an intimacy develops between them. Kache, of course, thinks he is rescuing Nadia, but they each need rescuing, as does Snag.

After a year, with the renewing strength of the seasons, as well as the wise insights of Kache’s grandmother Lettie, they all come to grips with their pasts as well as their futures. The ending is a good one, but unconventional and unexpected.

Discussion: This is not just a story of love and redemption; nothing is that easy. And it's not just love for a person that is transformative in this book; the characters come to find that the emotion of love alone - the feeling of it, itself, can help you get over a bridge in your life. Moreover, there is a note of sinister menace that rumbles through the plot and keeps you turning the pages far faster than you might for a book only focused on journeys of the heart.

Finally, you never are meant to forget the magnificent surroundings of Alaska, whether the characters are looking at the window, or looking at each other:

"...there was another type of smile that Kache was learning to appreciate: the shy, rare smile that presented itself as a gift. It wasn't given freely; it had to be earned. Nadia's face had been fearful, watchful. But now and then, her smile came through like determined sunlight working its way down through spruce and aspen branches, and he wanted to close his eyes and tilt back, expose his face to the unexpected warmth of it."

Evaluation: This is a surprising and engaging story with an unusual Alaskan setting fully as integral to it as each character. With its unconventional plot lines and ending, it would make a very good choice for book clubs.½

Such an exquisitely written book with its hauntingly beautiful prose and story line. It entwines stories of great loss, pain, fear and deep regrets. As the characters help one another free themselves from their inner demons, the healing begins. Light shines into the deepest recesses of their sorrows, angst and pain and the characters are all the better for it. But after the healing, difficult choices linger unspoken. In the freeing, one risks equally the possibility of losing. Eventually, for good or bad, choices must be made and life continues on.

The book's cover art drew me into the first few pages and the painterly prose held me there. The wilds of Alaska are beautifully rendered and are just as I had previously imagined them to be. That same toughness of nature lies within each of the leading characters as well. Although love is a thread throughout this story: love of land, freedom, family and mother nature, it is romantic in the pure sense of the word and not a typical "romance novel". There is considerably more substance to the characters and greater depth of emotion. Well done, Ms. Halverson!

I am grateful to Sourcebooks Landmark for having provided a free Advance Reader Copy of this book. Their generosity, however, did not influence this review, the words of which are mine alone.

All the Winters After is not a flashy novel. It is a quiet novel about love and loss, the kind of loss that thoroughly shatters and irrevocably changes you. It is about picking up the pieces of yourself, surviving, and yes, even thriving, after such loss. It is about friendship and forgiveness, finding yourself, and finding peace. And it all is set against one of the most unforgiving and yet most breathtaking backdrops in the world.

The emotion throughout All the Winters After is visceral and raw. Kache may be ten years older but in so many ways, he is every bit the child he was when his family died. His method for dealing with such emotion is equally childish at first as well. His return to Alaska means emotional punches that he must face, while Ms. Halverson’s masterful writing makes sure the readers experience the same emotional punches themselves. The same holds true for all of the characters seeking to move forward and make peace with the past. As they stumble their way forward, readers meet each of their successes and setbacks with the same gut responses as each of the characters. It is a symbiosis that strengthens as the story progresses and one that makes the story truly special.

There is a theme that runs through so many novels set in Alaska, and that is one of self-discovery. All the Winters After is no different, as both Kache and Nadia must discover who they are after having hid themselves away from the world, literally and figuratively, for years. There is something about the harshness of the landscape, the need for primal survival skills, and the very thin line between civilization and nature that lends itself well to whittling away a person’s outer layers to discover the raw human underneath, something that does not occur in other environments. In every novel set in Alaska, the setting becomes another character, an important one for a character’s development.

I mentioned in a previous post how All the Winters After makes me want to move to Alaska and to be a better person and find where I am supposed to be in life. I stand by this statement. Ms. Halverson’s descriptions of Alaska are breathtaking. While she does not shy away from showing the state’s harshness, she writes about all of it in such a way that creates a longing to experience it for yourself. Then there is Nadia. After everything she faces in her life, she still manages to see the world with childlike wonder and enjoyment even though she is anything but naive. She holds no grudges; she does not try to change that which she cannot change. It is an attitude towards life that is stunning in its simplicity and yet has the power to change the world.

As for wanting to find where I am supposed to be in life, Ms. Halverson describes Kache’s and Nadia’s sense of belonging with such clarity that it makes you wish you could be just as certain that you have found your home. In home it means that place where all of your gifts shine brightest, where you are content and where the thought of leaving and trying someplace new never crosses your mind. It is a knowledge that comes to you through the marrow of your bones and is every bit a gift as life itself. That is the longing Kache’s and Nadia’s journey created in me and will create in other readers.

None of these strong emotions would be possible without skillful writing. Ms. Halverson’s evocative sentences connect a reader to her characters and evoke the same emotional responses. Her descriptive passages are equally haunting, and the entire experience is one big gut punch of self-realization and longing.

All the Winters After is not a flashy novel and therefore will not generate the type of buzz it should. Then again, it is the type of novel that will be felt long after other flashier, more suspenseful novels will fade from memory. A gorgeous backdrop for a stunning story, All the Winters After is a gorgeous novel with a stunning backdrop that will make you view the world and yourself differently. You cannot get any better reading experience than that.

To me, the main character in this book was Alaska. At certain points, I just wanted to pack up and move there. While I liked the story just fine, there were no surprises as to what was going to happen. You could see everything coming from a long way. Kache lost his parents and brother in a plane crash 20 years ago and has never recovered or returned home. HIs Aunt Eleanor (Aunt Snag) has never been able to check on the family's home like she promised him. His grandmother, who has had to go into a nursing home, doesn't have a lot of time left and Kache needs to get home. He's sure that the cabin has decayed into a pile of logs but when he drives out there, there is a fire burning and a young Russian woman is living there completely isolated for ten years. Again, this is a good book, just not great for me. However, again, the parts about Alaska were just perfect!½

I won this book from Sourcebooks...thank you very much.
This book is a stunning story filled with engaging characters, loss, and love all set in the wilderness and beauty of Alaska. The main characters Kache who runs away from his heartbreak and feelings of guilt and Nadia who retreats from her heartbreak and isolates herself from life. Sere Prince Halverson has written a compelling story that kept me turning the pages and I didn't want the book to end. Her writing is so exquisite that I will be reading her debut book 'The Underside of Joy.' I highly recommend 'All the Winters After' to anyone who loves reading about family, nature, forgiveness, and life.

Lovely and uplifting. Twenty years after his bother and parents are killed in a plane crash, Kache Winkel comes home to Alaska to discover a present-day ghost living among the ghosts of his past. Nadia has been living in Kache's remote family home for ten years, running away from something that she can't even speak of. Together, along with Kache's grandmother and aunt, they learn to leave the past where it belongs.

Likable, flawed characters are the core of this well-written, hopeful story of loss, love and learning. Recommended.

Note: this review is based on an ARC from the publisher

Alaska is huge and so is this story. There is huge loss, huge growth and huge love attained between the pages of this book.

Lettie is a nonagenarian and the matriarch of the Winkel family. Decades previous to the beginning of this book she had a dream, took her husband from the Kansas dustbowl to Alaska and thrived. She is old but not out of the picture and still has things to accomplish before her daughter and grandson can move forward with their lives.

Eleanor “Snag” Winkel is in her sixties and believes that love has passed her by. She had dreams but none have really been fulfilled. Little does she know that once her painful secrets are shared her life will change in many ways and all of them positive.

Kachemak “Kach” Winkel returns to Alaska to see his grandmother two decades after he lost his entire family in an airplane accident. For twenty years he lived a life that was monetarily rewarding but not necessarily fulfilling. His return to Alaska is the best thing for him and will give him insights he did not have before.

Nadia has squatted in the Winkel family home for a decade. She has run from abuse and in so doing lost her family and all she knew before. When Kach shows up on her doorstep her life begins to change and evolve in ways she has only imagined before.

This book is one that made me think. It made me wonder. It made me want more for myself and for the characters in the book. When I finished the last page I wanted more…because…the end was not an end but really the beginning.

Thoroughly enjoyable and well worth reading – I thank NetGalley and SOURCEBOOK Landmark for the copy of this ARC to read and review.½

This is the kind of book you want to devour in a couple of days because the plot moves along so well. Filled with family secrets, loss, betrayal, affirmation, romance, the beautiful and mysterious Alaskan culture and landscape, this novel has a sinister character in the background and enough secrets to be revealed that it's a page turner.½

Joe Jr's death starts a series of unforeseen events for Ella who thought her life was so idllyic. This story is a true testament to the concept that there are no simple answers and each one of us is a complex entity composed of so many events and people that shaped our lives as we continue to shape the lives of others. Well done for debut novel; good for book discussion.

For starters, I loved everything about this book! I read it in less than a day and wish it kept going!

This story is filled with heartbreak and happiness, sadness and joy and everything in between.

When Ella's husband Joe dies in a sudden accident, she is left in mourning and at the same time has to remain strong for her two step-children, Annie and Zack. Paige is Annie and Zack's mother and returns to the family after she hears of her ex-husbands passing. Ella and Paige love the children, but the story begs the question of what makes a mother? Is it the woman who gave birth to you and then had to leave for your own safety or the woman who steps in after this? Ella and Paige fight for custody of the children while dealing with other family members secrets and fears.

Fabulous book!

Set in the richly described small town of Elbow, California, this novel tracks a family through grief and joy, exploring the complex bonds of family and the true meaning of motherhood. Halverson's prose is descriptive and emotionally charged, but never overly dramatic or forced. Her characters are real people with real faults and feelings, and she writes them in such a way that you feel each moment, good and bad, alongside them.

I strongly felt the author's desire to show empathy both for Paige and for Ella, though the story is told from Ella's perspective. As the two women navigate the very rocky and always dirty minefield of child custody following the loss of Ella's husband Joe, the reader feels for both women - there is nothing easy or obvious in that minefield.

The lush natural setting of vineyards and river imbue this novel with a warm and homey atmosphere, the ideal setting for a family story. I highly recommend this novel, it will make you question your ideas on family, on love and on grief - once I started reading I couldn't put it down, though I was dreading what might happen next. I give The Underside of Joy five stars.

This novel the story of Ella and her fight for custody of her step-children after the unexpected death of her husband Joe. Their mother (Paige) walked out after the birth of her second child. They live in a small town, Joe’s family is Italian and Joe has been running the local store that has been in the family for 3 generations and has significant family history.

With the death of Joe, Paige reappears, wanting custody of the children. Ella wants to keep them safe and happy, she is the only mother they know. Yet she wants what is best for the children. She confronts inner conflict and conflict with Joe’s family in the process.

Ultimately the book was a fairly good read, tackling several contemporary issues. I quite enjoyed it.½

I was really drawn into this story of Ella, who loses her husband, Joe, and shortly afterwards risks losing her step-children, when Joe’s ex-wife Paige comes back onto the scene with a claim for custody. I liked the way the story was told, so that you could come to see the situation from the perspective of the many different characters involved: Ella, Paige, and Joe’s Italian family, who have their own silences about their own history. The contrast between the seemingly self-assured Paige and the grieving Ella – who is desperate to hold it together enough to prove that she would be equally as good for the children as their natural mother – was sympathetically drawn, and I thought there were interesting parallels between the silences in Joe’s family, and the silences between Joe and Paige. Ultimately, I felt sympathy for both Ella and Paige, and sadness at the way the custody case pitted them against each other. I’m not sure that I was entirely happy with the resolution of the story, but I don’t think there would have been a way to end this (for me) that was both realistic and satisfactory …

You can also read my review here: http://www.turningthepages.ca/2012/03/review-underside-of-joy.html

Talk about a Tug-of-War with my emotions. The Underside of Joy deals with where a child belongs when their father passes away, with the step-mother or with the birth mother who abandon them years before. When the love of a child is so great you will go to the ends of the Earth for them; what happens when you reach the end and have no where left to turn?

Not understanding how a mother could leave her children, I instantly sided with Ella, the step-mother grieving the loss of her husband while trying to deal with a family full of secrets. However, as more of Paige's story developed, I began to sympathize with her and understand that things aren't always as they seem. Beneath the surface of every story are a million unread pages.

Dealing with hard hitting, current issues like post-partum depression (PPD), infertility, and loss - The Underside of Joy sheds light into areas of a woman's life that so many do not understand. Seré Prince Halverson writes with such a passion that she leaves the readers on the edge of their seats and reading long into the night.

Overall, a gripping story that leaves the reader feeling that sometimes, there are no right answers. A story that all mother's will enjoy.½

I really, really enjoyed this book! It was well written and an easy read. The subject matter was not easy but the writing pulled you in and made this book extremely readable. I loved Ella. She was real. I could see myself doing a lot of the things that she does which made me relate to her even though I have not had the same experiences.

This is a story about family in it's many forms, about loss, about not being perfect, and about forgiveness. Do yourself a favor and read this book! I don't think you'll be disappointed!

I loved this book - characters, writing style, plot - everything. Ella was very believable as a loving stepmother and grieving wife. The backstory of the Italian-Americans during WWII was worked into the story nicely. Ella's fight for her children was emotionally, but I would have liked her to have handled the disclosure of the letters differently - not tell family members/friends they were found. And not to disclose to the court their existence. She could have been more generous in the visitation agreement, rather than risk losing the children.½

After a string of 3-5 star reads I am going to give this book a 4 becuase I enjoyed the story and felt empathy for the characters and it was a book I became really engrossed in. Ella is happily married to Joe and lives with him and his children by his first wife Paige. Paige walked off and left the family when the children were very young and later Ella met Joe and has been living with him for three years. But one day Joe is killed in a tragic accident and life changes in an instant. For Ella, all she has left is the children whom she loves dearly , and the family business, and this she now discovers is in dire straits financially. She is just formulating a plan to try and rescue the business when Paige turns up again determined to win custody of the children. We then discover that Paige left because she was suffering from severe post natal depression after the birth of each of the children and the second time was worse than the first. She left because she felt she could not cope but with medical help has got her life back together and has a good job. She swears that she wrote letters to Jo and the children after she left but Ella cannot find these letters, and the court awards custody to her. But before she is able to sign the papers the letters unexpectedly turn up and they paint Paiges story in a completely different light. So what is Ella to do. She feels she has to give the letters to the court, but then she will probably lose custody of the children, and Joe's Italian extened family are dead set against her revealing the letters. I started off feeling much sympathy for Ella in her situation and wanted her to have custody, but after I discoverd Paige's story I felt some sympathy for her too, but she was more intractable and unprepared to give any ground away to Ella. I wanted things to work out between all parties but my only complaint about the book would be that maybe the ending was a little too tidy, and finished off a little too quickly but the book ends with the title words ...It is the underside of joy- there is pain underneath or behind all our joy and things are never perfect.

This is an interesting read about a stepmother caught up in interfamily dramatics after the sudden death of her spouse, old secrets being revealed, a poignant custody fight, and unexpected resolutions.

Thanks to LT's Early Review program for this book.

I'm twisted on this book and hung between a 3 and a 4 star rating. Being both a bio-parent and a step-parent I was able to see both sides to a story. However, it is the bio-parent in me that just can not forgive Paige for her abandonment. I couldn't get passed that as it is nothing I could ever do under ANY circumstance. And even though it was the story it fell in the way of my enjoyment as I just was just so angry for what children go thru and especially with the courts and there idea of what is right.This was what ironically made it such a good book. Very well written and I would read another from this author so in the end I went with a 4 star for this one.