This is the story of Birgit, a young Scandanivian woman who has moved to a small island off the coast of Ireland to recover from a suffocating relationship and to rekindle an interest in painting. Geoff, a recovering alchoholic English widower, runs a local bookshop, and attempts to reconcile with his estranged son. Birgit journeys to Africa to work amongst the deprived but finds a mirror of her own emotional poverty, while Geoff mourns his wife's drowning and retreats again to drink. Their paths converge and the possibility of renewal is offered in a piquant glimpse of their future lives. The Sway of Winter is more a novel of feeling than of fact, a journey to the interior of two individuals whose stories are intertwined, enriched by the prospect of self-discovery. This nuanced tale of redemptive love engages the reader in a landscape at once familiar and intriguing, and carries a powerful emotional punch.
