Immerse Yourself in the Lyrical Prose of Jane Urquhart

Sep 25, 2024 - Nancy C.
Review

Jane Urquhart is known for her lyrical literary style and her newest book, In Winter I Get Up At Night, is no exception. Her writing style makes you want to savour every page and bathe in the genius of her incredible writing skill. This is not the kind of book you want to read if you are into formulaic and fast-paced thrillers, but this too has a subtle bit of a twisty road throughout.

The story opens with Emer McConnell tumbling about in early morning reminiscences of her lost love and her mother, with whom she had a constrained relationship. We watch her as she plummets from present day to her 11-year-old self when a ‘big wind’ irrevocably upended her life. The connection between that seismic event and her young adult long-term relationship with a man to whom she is unaccountably drawn unravels as the stories of the child, the young woman and the now middle-aged music teacher unfold. Urquhart’s soft spoken prose sets the stage for the introduction of a cast of characters that, while in the background, play a significant role in the unfurling of this beautifully meandering tale.

This is not a story to rush through but rather to submerge oneself in the luminous prose that Jane Urquhart has mastered yet again.

Nancy C.
Library Assistant, John M. Harper Branch

Nancy has worked at the John M. Harper Branch as a Library Assistant for over 11 years. Her best days are when she can introduce readers, both young and not-so-young, to new authors/series. She feels like a kid in a candy store at the library, always amazed at the new finds that she discovers. She loves the wide selection of movies/TV series and has done a good number of the amazing puzzles that are in the collection. Nancy sings in a local choir and hits the stage with a theatre production company in New Hamburg. She is an avid reader, gardener, golfer, and newly back to skiing after a 30-year hiatus.