Book Review - A Place Called Winter

A PLACE CALLED WINTER

By Patrick Gale

ISBN 978 1 4722 0531 5

Published by Tinder Press in 2015

368 pages

Dr Ellie Birtley - Psychosexual Therapist, Forensic Physician and Specialty Doctor in Sexual Health

My turn at choosing the next book club title had come around all too quickly. The responsibility and drive was to suggest a title that would not be met with disappointment, or circumvented by other time-stealing tasks. The Costa book of the year 2014, “H is for Hawk” by Helen MacDonald was one such title that met our groups’ resounding approval and so directed my search to the Costa book awards shortlist for 2015. And there I discovered Patrick Gale’s “A place called Winter”; a novel not dissimilar to “H is for Hawk” in that it embodies an elegy to a lost family member, rendering the prose capable of penetrating to the depths of the reader’s most raw emotions in a way only grief can.

Harry Cane, the main character, was in fact the author’s Great Grandfather, whose life-story he embellished from memoirs left by his Grandmother. It was these memoirs, and facts gleaned from travel and extensive research in Canada, where Harry emigrated to to escape great shame and a conviction borne from the discovery of his homosexuality in Edwardian Britain when society and the law were exclusive, that inspired this truly moving novel.

In the early 1990’s Canada offered hundreds of Englishmen the challenge of claiming 160 acres of free prairie land in exchange for fencing it, living on it, and bringing it into cultivation. Harry Cane seized this opportunity, when forced to leave England, leaving behind his Wife and child, after his love affair with a man was discovered. Harry’s journey West ran parallel with his inner psychological journey of accepting his true self. This journey was greatly hindered by denial, shame, self-disgust, and a paucity of psychosexual knowledge and vocabulary we take for granted now. His self-disgust becomes embodied in subsequent male encounters that are abusive, turning Harry further against himself as his sexual script refuses to be harbored and comply with the order of the times.

But this book is not just about male sexuality; within the harsh, pioneer life on the prairies women are seen to move from servitude to self-determination reflecting the evolving feminism of Western women; and we see how Harry is emotionally educated as much from the conversation and friendship of women as he is from the bodies of men.

As a Psychosexual Therapist and Forensic Physician I fully respect the author’s authentic depiction of Harry’s inner emotional conflicts surrounding his sexuality, and the manifestations thereof. In addition, the prominent role of culture and society in demonizing gay acts and feeding into internalized homophobia for Harry are accurate reflections of reality; even today the headlines report discrimination by the Anglican church against Lesbian, Gay and Transgender groups, and we often hold the fallout of such cruelty in our therapy sessions.

The psychosexual content alone would be sufficient for this book to attract my vote, but the author bestows so much more pleasure upon the reader. Gale’s traditional writing style effortlessly transports the reader back to the beginning of the twentieth century, and his beautiful descriptions of the harsh Canadian landscape create a fitting backdrop to his character’s internal hardships. With episodic flashbacks Gale creates a sense of drama and suspense, and he seamlessly interweaves the major historical events of the times, adding further interest to this already irresistible narrative. My final comment must be one that leaves no doubt that this book is a love story, one that will release emotions and move you to wherever you need to be next on your own journey in life.