A great story about Abe Winter and Ruth Warneke who have been married for seventy years. It is their story of struggles and love and shows all of us about true love is all about. Highly recommend!

THE HEART OF WINTER by Jonathan Evison (Lawn Boy and This is Your Life, Harriet Chance)is an absolutely gorgeous novel about roughly seventy years of marriage between Abe (an insurance salesman) and Ruth (wishes to be a poet) Winter. Using flashbacks from the present day, Evison writes movingly about their relationship, including meeting as undergraduates at University of Washington, moving to Bainbridge Island, raising four children, and facing a serious health crisis. Throughout, he eloquently illustrates life changes such as when he comments on having adult children: “The audacity. The presumption. The indignity. It seemed a cruel arrangement that one's children, the very nurslings who once drooled on your shirt collar and threw up on your lapel, who wet the bed and ... depended upon you for every little comfort, nay, for their very survival, one day grew into sanctimonious, domineering, irredeemable despots, hell bent on infantilizing you as though it were the natural order." THE HEART OF WINTER squarely addresses mortality ("Tomorrow: the day we all took for granted as we plotted and planned our futures") and marriage (" ... a marriage requires maintaining, and amending, for it is more than a binding commitment, it is a process, one that demands participation, a willingness to absorb, to accept, to reassess"). This novel, based in part on Evison's mother's response to health challenges, would be an excellent selection for book groups, especially as it portrays societal expectations and the roles of men and women in the second half of the twentieth century. THE HEART OF WINTER received a starred review from Booklist ("One of our very best writers, Evison expertly details the hopes and dreams, sacrifices and tragedies of family life."). Highly recommended.

A solid story of a strong couple telling of their time together from courtship, to babies of their own and raising a family, to raising their babies babies.

There’s one part that has really stuck with me though and is still bothering me. Why did not one relative show up? UGH

This affirming look at the bond of marriage from first date to ninetieth birthday, will conjure similar memories of past decades for many. When Abe and Ruth first meet, it is love at first sight for Abe. Unfortunately, Ruth instantly dislikes Abe. The story of how such opposing forces eventually lead to seventy bumpy years of marriage is sweet, sad, and often funny.

Begun in the present, dated chapters provide flashbacks that telescope this incredibly long marriage into a novel. Anyone over sixty will admit to sharing the same worries about illness, being a caregiver, and eventually losing a spouse. The realistic memoir does not paint a falsely, rosy picture of marriage. It does show how years of compromise and adjustment living together, bring about a relationship that is sweet and true and tender. A couple can safely navigate both joy and tragedy with love.

I received a complimentary copy of this book "The Heart of Winter" and all opinions expressed are my own. This book just didn't make me want to read it each day. I did finish it but it was not something that I liked reading. Overall a 2 because I finished it.

A husband and wife. A full, imperfect life. Growing pains. Just into the second chapter, my heart felt full - this is so eloquently written that it takes no time feeling as though you’re personal friends with the main characters. The nuances, the tiny moments that make up a life - all captured so gracefully in the writing. I’d find myself suddenly smiling warmly, letting out a little laugh, or letting out an “oh no.” There’s also no denying the plentiful tears - both subtle drops and streaming rivers. It’s early in the year, but I do think this may be vying for my favorite book of the year! Reading this is a must, no questions asked.

Abe and Ruth have been married for 70 years when Ruth is diagnosed with a horrible form of cancer. Their story is told through short stories from their lives together. They met in college on a blind date, married and raised a family. Together they have had highs and lows in life and in their relationship. Now Abe is faced with caring for Ruth, their farmhouse and their old dog, Megs. This was a heartwarming and heartbreaking story of two lives.

I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley and Penguin Random House in exchange for an honest review. I really enjoyed this book and was initially drawn to the beautiful cover.

I love the concept of this book: yes please to a heartfelt portrayal of a seventy-year marriage. That's not something I remember seeing before in fiction. While on the whole I enjoyed this, I despised the motif of the dog that ran through the book and wholeheartedly despise the ending—enough that I was mad when I turned the final page, which didn't feel like the right emotion to leave a reader with after such a big-hearted book.

Oh this book was fabulous, I could not get enough of Abe and Ruth's story. I loved that it was a time jumper and went back and told their story from when they first meet. I loved every minute I spent with Abe and Ruth and wish I could read it for the first time again. This is my first book by Jonathon Evison but I've since bought Again and Again. I gave this book 5 stars and have recommended it to everyone I know.

Thanks to the publisher and Net Galley for the opportunity to read The Heart of Winter. This is an enduring tale of family and love over the span of basically a lifetime. It deals with health, and trauma, the complexities of maintaining identity within raising a family and building a life. The overall framework is good. I struggled at some points with the author’s attempt at writing in period and put in church references. I prefer books where this is more seamless and a part of character not something that feels other from the story and characters but an audience grab. There were points where Abe calls people flaky who have different views than himself even referring to his much loved wife’s opinions as such when they fall different than his. I do understand that a character like Abe is supposed to be coarse and of a time but it just fell flat, forced, and off putting to me.

I had not read any of Jonathan Evison's previous works so I was not sure what to expect. From reading others reviews, I am definitely in the minority with my review. Maybe it is just the stage of life that I am in but this was a huge miss for me.

The Heart of Winter by Jonathan Evison is a novel that, despite its beautifully written prose, ultimately left me feeling both bored and depressed. The story centers on themes of loss, isolation, and the struggle to find meaning in difficult circumstances. While these are important topics, the execution felt overly heavy and sluggish.

The characters are well-crafted, with realistic and deeply human flaws, but their journeys often felt too bleak without much hope or redemption to balance the narrative. The pacing was slow, making it challenging to stay engaged, and the constant undercurrent of melancholy weighed down the reading experience.

Evison’s talent for descriptive writing is evident, painting vivid pictures of the harsh winter landscape and the internal struggles of the characters. However, the unrelenting somber tone made it hard to find moments of light or inspiration.

The Heart of Winter might appeal to readers who appreciate introspective, melancholic stories, but for me, it was a difficult and depressing read that lacked the dynamism needed to keep my interest.

2.5 stars rounded up to 3

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Is it too early to declare my favorite book of 2025?

This is the third of Jonathan Evison's novels that I've read and I shouldn’t be surprised by how much I loved this story of Abe and Ruth Winter. In The Heart of Winter we meet Abe Winter and Ruth Warneke who met on a blind date back in college. Abe was smitten from the start and Ruth found him annoying. Seventy years later Abe is about to turn ninety and Ruth is eighty-seven and they look back at the highs and lows of their marriage.

Jonathan Evison explores a couple who are now in their twilight years looking back at their courtship, marriage and raising their children. Their achievements and highlights, struggles and mistakes they made, and how two people who are the complete opposite of each other can live together for seven decades and not without heartbreak and drama.

Evison displays a deep knowledge of the ways of the heart and the importance of connection and community.

This book is EVERYTHING I love about reading. Quiet moments filled with meaningful thoughts. Deep connections. Themes of forgiveness and redemption. An authentic portrait of relationship. Real life.

The Heart of Winter is a beautiful look into a long marriage with ups and downs and so many in between moments. Enduring marriages are fascinating to me, and it was lovely to read about these well-developed characters. Cannot recommend this book enough!!!

The book not only opens during the winter season, but Winter is also the main characters’ last name.

This novel is a tender story of a 70-year relationship between Abe and Ruth Winter. Set in Washington state on Bainbridge Island near Seattle, the story reflects upon a beautiful life built together not without pain, loss, and trials. The story captures the struggles of maintaining a marriage and parenting, as well as the indignities of aging.

Abe and Ruth’s story begins in the present and flashes back to various stages of life. The story is moving at times, especially near the end, and includes some beautiful descriptive and reflective writing.

If you like family stories and you appreciate the perspectives of octogenarians and nonagenarians, as well as the points of view of both a husband and wife, you should pick up The Heart of Winter.

This review will be shared on Instagram and Facebook @beginandendwithbooks and on Goodreads Michelle Beginandendwithbooks

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

🥰Thank you so much to @duttonbooks for the gifted book

📖Title: The Heart of Winter
✍️Author: Jonathan Evison
📅Pub date: January 7, 2025

❄️This book was everything 😭😭

🎶Hey Google, play REMEMBER WHEN by Alan Jackson 😭😭 "Remember when 30 seemed so old, now looking back, it's just a stepping stone to where we are, where we've been, we said we do it all again, remember when" 🎶

💙This sweet and tender book shares the story of Abe and Ruth Winter and their 70 year marriage to each other.

❄️The book starts in 2023 and then jumps around in the timeline of their relationship as far back as 1953. Throughout the 70 years, readers are shown the good, the bad, and the downright ugly of their relationship. We watch them meet, fall in love, raise a family, meet unimaginable hardships, and learn about themselves and each other along the way.

💙I lost count after a certain point of the number of times this book made me tear up. There's nothing particularly extraordinary or unique about this couple, but I think that's what made it so relatable to me. It was a portrayal of an ordinary love through the difficult course of life and choosing each other over and over again. That alone made it feel extraordinary to me.

❄️This is one that will stick with me for a long time. I'd highly recommend for readers of Tracey Lange!

Jonathan Evison has become one of my favorite authors. I've read Lawn Boy and The Revised Fundamentals of Caregiving, which are two of my favorite books. I was looking forward to reading The Heart of Winter and once I started, I couldn't put it down. This is the story of a marriage between two people who at first glance, seem incompatible. The narrative alternates between the present, as the wife battles a devastating diagnosis, and the past, a journey of family life, of love and loss, and perseverance. Evison completely nails this one--his portrayal of the wife in particular was spot on. This one will get you in the feels. I'm not crying, you're crying.

As Abe Winter begins his tenth decade of life, he is certain he will die before his beloved wife, Ruth, but when she unexpectedly faces a health crisis, Abe finds himself in the role of caregiver. Through their nearly 70 years of marriage, Ruth has always been the caregiver--to their children, their pets, their house, and Abe himself. Abe can run a business and sell insurance, but at the age of 90, he is not sure he can be a caregiver.

With multiple points of view, the story is told through the lens of the present time with flashbacks to earlier parts of their lives--their courtship, early marriage, and times of significant challenge. As Abe realizes belatedly, there is more to being a good husband and father than simply providing for your family.

This is a touching, affecting story about family, love, and confronting your mortality. #TheHeartofWinter #NetGalley

4.5 stars.

✨What an absolutely lovely story of a husband and wife, utterly opposite in temperament, dreams, politics and personality, who find a way across the course of many decades to establish a long and enduring marriage. We meet them as college students and follow the course of their lives into their elder years.

✨This is a character-driven narrative, and we see Ruth and Abe grow and evolve over a lifetime – both in their own lives and as a couple. We see firsthand through our story that lasting love is not something that just happens but is rather the result of choosing one another over and over again through the different seasons of life, through the mundane, through the struggles, through the tragedies. The story illuminates the value of choosing to stay the course, and I was absolutely mesmerized.

✨This is a book for everyone, but I think it will really strike a chord with readers of a certain age, like me, who find themselves in middle age and contemplating what’s to come.

✨An absolutely lovely story that I highly recommend.

🌿Read if you like:
✨Stories of long, enduring marriages
✨Family dynamics
✨Pacific Northwest settings
✨Stories that span many decades

An atmospheric. poignant emotional novel about a marriage and the people who make it. A sudden and shocking diagnosis for Ruth is a crisis not just for Ruth but also her husband Abe. Now in their late 80's they've been together since college, raised four children on Bainbridge Island and been through the ebb and flow of life. But this is big. The novel shifts between 2023/2024 as Abe and Ruth cope with the change in their lives and the story of their marriage told from both of their perspectives. It's a good device to allow the reader to see how they evolved. These characters - and others especially the women at the diner-leap off the page. And there are many small moments that will resonate especially as Ruth and Abe navigate their new normal. Then there's the tragedy. The writing is wonderful; I kept feeling echos of Wallace Stegner (that's a good thing). My only quibble-and it's a big one- is with the last chapter (no spoilers). Thanks to the publisher for the arc. I thoroughly enjoyed this and highly recommend it.

I wanted to love this one so much. But there are HUGE trigger warnings here for cancer/terminal illness and it was just too much. Message me if you want more details. The writing style was excellent, the content was just too heavy.

Going to be honest here--I looked ahead to the end because I HAD to know if Ruth was going to be OK. My mom passed away from cancer and it's so triggering for me. But then I see THE DOG DIES? Are you kidding me?! I get that the dog was old and lived a long life, but thank goodness I didn't read the entire thing to get to that.

Enjoyed this. It’s slow and moody. Atmospheric. Solid storytelling and strong character development. I’m not often one to really enjoy literary fiction but I do respect it and I respected this read.