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A Winter Marriage
Kerry Hardie Book Review

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Plot Summary of A Winter Marriage
"

Little, Brown, Dec 2002, 24.95, 394 pp.
ISBN: 0316076228

Fiftyish Hannie Bennet has been a wife four times. After the recent death of her latest, Hannie leaves her teenage son Joss in Africa so that she can go prospecting unhindered for numero five. Ironically at a wedding, she meets elderly international reporter Ned Renvyle. He offers her a marriage of convenience in which she would be his companion on his remote Irish farm near Youghal and she and her son would no longer have to worry about finances. They marry and move to his home and her son joins them.

Hannie hates the isolation and acts withdrawn with her husband and the villagers. Quickly, everyone detests her scorn and hatred begins to take shape towards the outsider refusing to fit in. Worse, as Josh behaves destructively, Hannie deceives her spouse and the townsfolk trying to hide a secret that could destroy everything she strives to achieve even when threatened by blackmail and violence.

A WINTER MARRIAGE is a tremendous contemporary relationship drama with deep moral roots that will surprise the audience not looking for subtle, multiple meaning allusions such as the title with several interpretations. Hannie is a wonderful protagonist whose morality seems lowly, but keep digging to see more to her soul. Ned and Joss enable the audience to observe their personal problems as well as providing an electron microscope level of depth into the heart of Hannie. Yet with all that emphasis on character, the story line never slows down until the final truths are bared. Kerry Hardie provides a strong novel that entertains the audience yet the basic themes never waver.

Harriet Klausner
"

Harriet Klausner, Resident Scholar



Review Analysis of A Winter Marriage
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Tone of book? - thoughtful
Time/era of story - present (2000-2010)
Romance/Romance Problems Yes
Kind of romance: - fighting matchbreaker (parents/authorities)
Is this an adult or child's book? - Adult or Young Adult Book
Outside culture (society) - Ireland
If story of urban/rural... - Small town life
Pregnancy/Child rearing Yes
Major part of story: - brat kid needs firm spanking
Ethnic/regional/gender life Yes

Main Character
Gender - Female
Profession/status: - homemaker
Age: - 40's-50's
Ethnicity/Nationality - British
How sensitive is this character? - middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - average physique

Main Adversary
Identity: - Male
Age: - 40's-50's
Profession/status: - mastermind
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - a moderate amount
How sensitive is this character? - hard edged
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - very athletic

Setting
How much descriptions of surroundings? - 5 ()
Europe Yes
European country: - Ireland

Style
Person - mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death? - generic/vague references to death/punishment
Unusual Style: - a lot of stream of consciousness
Amount of dialog - significantly more dialog than descript
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