A year of Marvellous Ways

326 pages

English language

Published Sept. 28, 2015 by Tinder Press.

ISBN:: 9780755390939
OCLC Number:: 945952619

(1 review)

Cornwall, 1947. Marvellous Ways is a 90-year-old woman who has lived alone in a remote creek for nearly all her life. Recently she has taken to spending her days sitting on a mooring stone by the river with a telescope. She is waiting for something, she is not sure what, but she'll know it when she sees it. Drake is a young soldier left reeling by the war. He's agreed to fulfil a dying man's last wish and hand-deliver a letter to the man's father in Cornwall. But Drake's journey doesn't go to plan, and sees him literally wash up in Marvellous' creek, broken in body and spirit. When Marvellous comes to his aid, an unlikely friendship grows between the two. Can Drake give Marvellous what she needs to say goodbye to the world, and can she give him what he needs to go on?.

3 editions

Naomi reviewed A year of Marvellous Ways by Sarah Winman

A Year of Marvellous Ways

3 stars

This was a mixed bag for me. No one can say that Winman’s writing isn’t exceptionally beautiful - it’s a bewitching, dreamy book very much in the style of Dylan Thomas’ Under Milk Wood. A lot of time is spent exploring Marvellous’ magical connection to nature, and indeed nature feels very alive in this novel - almost a character in its own right. I enjoyed this element of the book - and the magical realism - very much, and I really loved the character of Marvellous. I’d go so far as to say she’s one of my favourite literary characters. There were many moments I stopped to re-read passages because they were just so damn good. In the style of Winman’s other books (at least the two I’ve read), it’s a novel that has a lot to say about love, loss and what makes a life well lived.

But …

This was a mixed bag for me. No one can say that Winman’s writing isn’t exceptionally beautiful - it’s a bewitching, dreamy book very much in the style of Dylan Thomas’ Under Milk Wood. A lot of time is spent exploring Marvellous’ magical connection to nature, and indeed nature feels very alive in this novel - almost a character in its own right. I enjoyed this element of the book - and the magical realism - very much, and I really loved the character of Marvellous. I’d go so far as to say she’s one of my favourite literary characters. There were many moments I stopped to re-read passages because they were just so damn good. In the style of Winman’s other books (at least the two I’ve read), it’s a novel that has a lot to say about love, loss and what makes a life well lived.

But at times the lyricism and intense focus on the prose did feel quite suffocating, and I wish the rest of the book had room to breathe. Some of the characters and some of the pacing didn’t quite work for me - things could feel a bit tacked-on or underdeveloped. I didn’t fully get into the book until about halfway through, until then it had felt quite abstract and meandering. I also didn’t really care for Drake - I just found him a bit annoying! - so reading so much about him in the first part of the book was a bit of a slog (I liked his character more as time went on though). I can definitely see this book would be a bit Marmite, so it’s one I’d only recommend to specific people.

Subjects

Interpersonal relations
Older women
Historical fiction
Soldiers
Friendship
Fiction

Places

Cornwall (County)
Cornwall (England : County)
England