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There are currently 25 member reviews
for Fireflies in Winter
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WDH - Kentucky
Strong Female Characters in a Harsh and Haunting Environment
I liked her first book - River Sing Me Home and was very happy to receive and read this one. This book features strong women often faced with 'no perfect choices' and how they make lives for themselves amidst the harsh environment - both with the people around them and the land they have to make a life in. The 'no perfect choices' theme throughout the book applies to much of life in general, but within this story is so descriptive. Lies, violence, secrets, limited choices, and the harsh environment are all integrated really well into the story. The development of the love between the two main characters was a beautiful part of the story - their need for and eventually reliance upon each other was crafted well. The description of surviving in winter - bitter cold, limited shelter, fear of being preyed upon, finding food and fear of becoming sick or hurt were especially descriptive.
It almost felt like I could see their breath and feel their shivering. Winter descriptions contrasted well with the softer descriptions of spring/summer. I was sad about Patience the dog and also the impact choices/changes had upon the child Ben. I do think deeper explanation of the Maroons and how/why they were relocated to Nova Scotia would benefit the story although maybe it was because the details were scattered throughout instead of grouped together. The ending felt a bit abrupt to me and I wanted to know more about who stayed, who left and what that meant for the two main characters. I will recommend this book.
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Jo S. (Tonganoxie, KS)
Freedom as well as love can linger along a a gray line
This is a slow?burning, emotionally charged historical novel that weaves survival, marginalized voices with a romance that is laced with moments of resilience and optimism and a trial mystery that keeps you wondering. The tense, icy Nova Scotia setting and the historical references to freedom fought for and from whom, set in three different continents kept me turning the pages while the queer romance involved gave the story some sweet moments to offset the despair that human cruelty can dish out. In the pursuit of freedom, as well as in love, "there are no perfect choices" as on if the characters states.
I had read this authors previous book River Sing Me Home and while I think this authors writing could sharpen the edges of her stories, I was captivated by her stories about Caribbean slavery and continue to be educated on how different countries under England's law complied or blatantly ignored the abolishment of slavery. While River Sing Me Home addresses the Plantations in Barbados blatant disregard of the Emancipation Act of 1834, Fireflies in Winter introduces the Jamaican Maroons population and their arrangement with England to be banished to Nova Scotia exchange for their freedom which eventually leads them to the development of a free colony that establishes in Sierra Leone.
I mostly enjoyed this novel and would definitely consider reading future stories from this author.
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Donna M. (Kennesaw, GA)
Fireflies in Winter
When the novel begins in 1796 we meet Cora, a free Black who has relocated with others from Jamaica to Nova Scotia. Nova Scotia's small Black population includes free, indentured and enslaved living among whites.
Cora is unusual since she's been free her entire life and her personality refuses subservience. As she wanders the strange and cold land around her, she slowly discovers a woman and her dog living in the woods. The story continues as the two find the wonders of the landscape and each other. Their story is very well written and enjoyable.
The novel places the love story within the context of free Blacks from Jamaica living in Nova Scotia. We aren't given many details about the actual reasons behind the Maroons' dislocation nor many day-to-day details of their lives. These details would be welcome, perhaps with the Jamaican history expanded. That story alone would lend the historical veracity behind the move to cold Nova Scotia from tropical Jamaica.
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Ashe S.
No perfect choices
Reading this feels like following Cora on a slow meander through the woods of self-discovery as she repeatedly learns to embrace the truth that there are "no perfect choices." The writing is smooth and the style is gentle. It was soothing to read this in the midst of my fast-paced life.
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Carol D. (Frisco, TX)
I Wanted More
Wanted more.
The story about two women in Nova Scotia in the late 1800s opened up an area of history. I knew nothing about. I was intrigued by the story of their struggles, both emotional and physical, and how they both persevered in their own ways to make their way.
However, I wanted to know more. The narrative seemed lacking in giving us a background about how and why the people had left Jamaica to come to Nova Scotia and how Agnes's background easily different from Cora's. Online research after I finished the book filled in gaps that would've made the book more enjoyable. Also I wanted to know more about how Agnes, in particular, survived in the wilderness. What other implements did she have? How did they move from place to place so apparently easily? Perhaps the author didn't want to bog down the story with these details, but it would've helped me understand the characters better.
Finally, a couple quibbles about the writing style. I'm not a fan of writing in present tense. There weren't that many scenes from the past that were written in the past tense to make the present tense elsewhere a necessity. And the author's use of incomplete sentences forced me to slow down to fill in what were missing words to me.
Overall, an enjoyable character study about a time and place unknown to me.
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Charity M. (Herndon, VA)
Haunting and beautiful
Haunting and beautiful. Fireflies in Winter acknowledges the flaws within us all, while at the same time reminding us that we are never beyond redemption.
It took me a while to get into this book, but once it got going, I couldn't put it down. I love how the author puts the main focus on the relationships between the characters and how they change and grow. They are all so flawed and therefore real and relatable. Excellent read.
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Susan P. (Santa Paula, CA)
A historical account of a love story, displacement, and regret, set in post slavery Nova Scotia
This is a slow moving saga set in the 1700s, about the love between two women that are running from their past. Agnes, once a slave, escaped her master after a tragedy with her parents. She now lives off the land with her dog in the woods. She fled from Virginia to Nova Scotia, where she meets Cora, a native of Jamaica, who sees Agnes in the woods one day and strikes up a friendship. There's quite a bit of history here that I was unaware of, when the British forcibly relocated the Maroons from Jamaica to Nova Scotia to help in the war effort.
The book goes back and forth between Agnes and Cora's determination to survive the brutal Canadian winter, to a trial where one of them is accused of a crime. The description of the brutal winter is just bone chilling. When one of them falls through the ice and is left for dead, you can't imagine not being in shelter. They both have chances to abandon their wilderness survival class, but don't think they can be together unless they are away from society, which makes for a lonely existence when you just have each other.
It's very well written, with excellent character development and gives you a glimpse into this period of history so that was interesting, but just sad that a relationship between two women could not be accepted back then, or they thought it couldn't, that they had to isolate themselves. But they were happy, so to each his own.
