David Bry

Que passe l'hiver, translatable as "May winter pass/blow over/...". It will prove to be a very apt title, especially as it's a heavy, persistent winter, unrelenting in the flake-assault.

It's a story about four clans (Feyren, Oren, Dewe, and Lugen), each coming from a cardinal direction (Wikipedia), each having a special talent. Those talents are changing shape (into an animal, like a crow, a bear, ...); being able to travel beyond the veil between the real world and the divine world; being able to play with shadows and light and make oneself invisible, ... These four clans have a special meeting at Wegg every so many years, where they renew their allegiance to their Winter King, Cudwich. Cudwich stands between the people and the god Urian, who weaves the life-lines to make people come together, experience situations (good ones as well as bad ones), and so on.

As it goes with clans, although history tells a different story, it's a men's world. Men dominate the powerful positions, although in this book, women too hold such positions and head their respective clans, one way or another. Oswald Feyren leads the Feyren clan, but the other clans are led by women: Sigrune (Oren), Elaine (Dewe) and Theudeusinde (Lugen). Actually, in the latter, it's her father Odon who's in charge, but Theudeusinde is his direct successor/heir and she's very ambitious, to say the least. Let's also not forget the female clan-members that play a minor role overall, but will show their worth as the story progresses.

This renewal feast lasts four days, like a contemporary festival. A prolonged weekend, you could say. Every evening, dinner is held in a large building/hut, where the King (Cudwich) sits upon his throne and minstrels and storytellers perform entertaining acts. Each of the clans also has its own large table. Large, because each clan is there with a following of soldiers, prophetesses, assistants, and so on. Truth be told: I never had the impression that each clan was there with a large following, certainly now when consulting the cast in the beginning of the book. During the day, the clans keep themselves busy by hunting, exploring the area, and so on.

The character who'll dominate the story (most) is Oswald Feyren's second son, Stig. While his elder brother Ewald is the direct heir to the throne, Stig is bit of a loner in the group, though he and his brother are very close friends. This can't be said of his father. Stig has a clubbed foot, thus is not able to walk or even fight like any "normal" child. Stig is more regarded as a problem than someone who could contribute to the future of the Feyren clan. Therefore, his relationship with his father is hard, very hard. Add the passing of their (Ewald and Stig) mother, whom he/Stig has barely known, if ever, and never found out the cause of her death, and you've got a recipe for a depressing life. The meeting at the Wegg would have compensate and bring him joy, because Ewald had been very enthusiastic about his experiences at this event.

However, for his first time, things don't go as smooth or as jolly as he thought they would go. Each evening... someone dies, no matter which clan. Or maybe it does matter?

The ultimate goal of some conspiring people - of all clans, mind you - is to get rid of the King (Cudwich), to get rid of any divine intervention and thus be able to lead your own life, on your own terms and decisions. This begs the question: Who's leading? Are you or is there some kind of god who's determined what you should do/feel/...? In other words, are you the sole reponsible of your own decisions and actions, or are you the puppet of a god?

Conrad Dewe, husband of Elaine Dewe, mistress of the clan, is the first to leave the world of mortals. Stig and Umbre, the daughter of Elaine and Conrad, are vigilant, they noticed something was not right there. Strangely enough, no one of the clan Dewe or of the other clans seems to pay any attention to it or wonder what happened, not even when members of the other clans are snuffed out. There is much snow, all around, not just because of the season, but also because snow has a covering function, physically/literally and figuratively. The other deaths, except for one (Elaine Dewe, who lost her husband AND her daughter - yes, Umbre also is murdered a little later - can't continue playing the evil game of power; she therefore sees no other way out than suicide by falling of the clan's tower. Another death, because of evil magic, is that of Ewald Feyren during the classic search for the "soul" of the clearance: he gets devoured/ripped to pieces by three hungry hound/wolf-like creatures from behind the Veil; they were summoned by Sigrune Oren), also occur when no one's looking.

Stig and Umbre decide to "investigate" what happened. Stig found a dead mouse near the Dewe's table, the first evening. Umbre proposed to offer it to one of her dogs to see if the mouse was poisoned. And wouldn't you believe it? The dog also died after having eaten the mouse.

Truth be told, although I can understand it, Stig and Umbre - both 20 years old or around that age, if I understood correctly - are a bit naive in their searches, in their detective work. Circumstances are, however, not favourable. They have close to no influence in their own clans, let alone at such an important event. No matter what they say or claim. They're on their own. And that's when Stig starts to suspect that people of his own clan are out to get him. Especially as he too has looked Death twice in the eyes. Stig is not entirely mistaken; some members of his clan are heavily involved in the "game" that's being played.

Stig will find friends in Johan of the Oren clan and Gaid of the Lugen clan. It must be said, though, that they too have their secrets, for better or for worse. One was trying to choose or manipulate that lifeline that would supposedly provide him the most favourable result, while the other was leading a life of reclusion for health reasons, the cause of which was another clan-member. To spoil within the spoiler tags: Gaid is a prophetess, but is also the daughter of the wickedly ambitious Theudeusinde Lugen. The latter inflicted so much physical damange to Gaid's body that Gaid had no choice, after a final battle, than to throw herself off the cliff when Johan and Stig saw her wounds and broken skin.

Speaking of the "game": Stig will ultimately connect the right dots, dots that looked suspicious to him and made him lose sleep. Come to think of it, and that's just my interpretation, his final actions will also liberate himself from a long period of suppression and neglect. It turns out the King was also aware of what was abiding, of the lifelines that would come together and culminate into what was going to happen, and thus preferred to go with the flow. This is also linked to the book title: Winter is a period of renewal: out with the old, in with the new. That's why spring is the next season, in which plants grow again, flowers blossom, and so on.

As the much-repeated phrase in the book goes: Un fil du destin se brise, un autre se renforce. (transl.: a thread of destiny snaps, another is reinforced). In other words, there are many possible lifelines, but not all of them remain intact, depending on the choices you make.

The writing is very attractive, poetic at times, even though poetry is not my cup of tea at all. Speaking of which, each chapter begins with two-three verses of a longer poem. At the end of the book all verses come together into one text, one large poetic, cryptic description of the events of the story that was told until then.

While this is not a perfect story (perfection is also subjective, of course, but it just baffles me how Stig loses - yes, he drops it when he has to run for his life - his sword at least two times, yet on a next occasion, he's got it back, safe and sound. Dafuq? There's nowhere any mention of e.g. his brother or Johan or anyone else picking it up and returning it to its owner.), there's something in the writing or the story itself that just sticks to you, as Espai wrote in her review.

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On a sidenote, I read in another review that this story is to be (or should be?) read like a tale, which might explain why certain passages are written as they are and may indeed benefit from a more detailed elaboration. Here is that review.
Warning: She wasn't convinced of the story, but wrote her review with mainly a focus on the female characters, which is interesting from that standpoint.
I can't deny that she raises some valid points, but as I wrote above, perfection is a subjective matter; what goes for one, may not be all right for another. Personally, I wouldn't have minded a bit more stuffing, more involvement from the other characters (their POVs), as the story felt slow-moving in general, but moving faster after a(n) (un)fateful event (done, next chapter).

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Previously read:

* [b:Le Roi de la clairière, suivi de Ce que l'homme croit|50934255|Le Roi de la clairière, suivi de Ce que l'homme croit|David Bry|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1568917949l/50934255._SX50_SY75_.jpg|73449165] - my review
* [b:Natures - Anthologie des Imaginales 2019|45696056|Natures - Anthologie des Imaginales 2019|Stéphanie Nicot|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1557406463l/45696056._SY75_.jpg|70463164] - my review… (lisätietoja)

This little book, like a small magazine, is the first in a series, as you can see on the publisher's website: click here.

[a:David Bry|3443517|David Bry|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1528979817p2/3443517.jpg]'s last novel, [b:Que passe l'hiver|36130057|Que passe l'hiver|David Bry|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1503788522l/36130057._SY75_.jpg|56505237], is on my TBR-pile since May this year, but as is typical for every reader: too many books, too little time. But I hope to read it asap.

Meanwhile, I got to read two of Mr Bry's short-stories: 'Le Roi de la clairière' and 'Ce que l'homme croit', both so short, you could read them between two meetings or during your lunch-break, for example. Rough translations of the titles: 'The King of the Clearing (or Glade)' and 'What man believes'.

'Le Roi de la clairière' is about man vs nature, about the time when man was part of the animal kingdom and showed respect for it, respect for the king (in this case, a wolf). But man got greedy, (d)evolved, procreated, all to the detriment of nature, of the aforementioned kingdom. What happens when one gets greedy and selfish? It's lonely at the top, as the saying goes.

'Ce que l'homme croit' is about a warrior-king who's lost his beloved spouse. He still misses her dearly and hopes she'll appear again, one day. Everyone knows that it will never happen, but our king (I assume it's a king) is prepared to pay his mage anything to keep the illusion, the thought alive. Even if means asking a girl from town to come over and pretend she's the king's deceased wife. And yes, our main character is fully aware of what's at play, yet wants it that way. Also, alcohol helps to drink away the sadness, until more alcohol is needed. We don't know how he lost his wife, though, but that's not what matters here. Still, can you call 'wanting a deceased lover back' love? Or is it rather selfish to want something like that?

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Short story short: Both little tales were very well written, very fluent, too, and both with a deeper message. Actually, I am a little curious to know if for both stories, the author foresaw a larger context, a large novella or even full-blown novel.… (lisätietoja)