Charleston County Public Library

Wolf winter, a novel, Cecilia Ekbäck

eng

no index present

fiction

Wolf winter

Cecilia Ekbäck

a novel

"The year is 1717. Maija, her husband, and her daughters, Frederika and Dorotea, arrive in the Swedish Lapland from their native Finland, hoping to forget the traumas of their past and put down new roots in this harsh but beautiful land. Above them looms Blackåsen, a mountain whose foreboding presence overpowers the valley and whose dark history haunts the lives of those who dwell in its shadow. While herding the family's goats on the mountain Frederika happens upon the mutilated body of one of their neighbors. The death is dismissed as a wolf attack, but the clean nature of the wounds indicate otherwise to Maija. Compelled to investigate despite her neighbors' seeming disinterest, Maija gradually uncovers a dark history of tragedies and betrayals. Young Frederika is inexorably pulled toward the mountain as well, sensing a powerful undercurrent that none of the adults seem to notice. As the seasons change and a "wolf winter"--the harshest winter in memory--descends upon the settlers, Maija struggles for her family's survival in this land of months-long darkness. As the snow gathers, the settlers' secrets are increasingly laid bare. Scarce resources force them to come together, but Maija, not knowing who to trust, is determined to find the answers for herself. Soon she discovers the true cost of survival and what it will take to make it through to spring."--Front flap of jacket