In the Deep Midwinter
by Robert Clark
List Price: $12.00
Pages: 288
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 0312181140
Publisher: Picador USA
November 1949: In the aftermath of his brother James's death, Richard MacEwan's life suddenly is rocked by secrets involving his wife Sarah and daughter Anna. Among his bachelor brother's papers, Richard discovers a letter from Sarah, hinting at an infidelity. Then Anna becomes involved with a married man, Charles Norden-an affair that will threaten her life and change it forever. Richard, Sarah, Anna, and Charles-along with the troubling legacy of James-drive the plot of this novel: a story of faith and doubt, profound moral and spiritual conflict, and the intricate bonds that hold families together.
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1. Robert Clark has said that he "wanted to write about how men and women see themselves as men and women." IN THE DEEP MIDWINTER is set during a time in America when gender roles were more clearly defined than they are today. How do society's expectations of men and women in the 50's affect and shape the relationships between Charles and Anna and Richard and Sarah? How do those expectations color the ways in which the characters perceive themselves? Do those perceptions change as the novel progresses?
2. The novel is peppered with references to the battles of World Wars I and II, the Cold War that hangs in America's near future, and the literal and figurative injuries that individuals sustain in battles. What kinds of wounds do Anna and Richard bear in the book? What do those wounds teach them? How do they go about healing their injuries and forgiving the loved ones who inflicted them?
3. Sarah and Anna both have secrets about men, but they handle them quite differently. How do their involvements with James and Charles, respectively, broaden our understanding of their characters?
4. When he wrote this novel, the author wanted to write about abortion "not as a political 'issue' but as something that arises out of the experience of community, family, even love." Discuss the role that Anna's abortion plays in the novel.
5. If the characters in the novel suddenly found themselves in modern America, they might be shocked at how readily Americans divulge the private details of their lives to one another. How do the characters communicate with one another in the book? How does silence impact Sarah and Richard's marriage? The relationship Anna has with her parents?
6. The novel contains a great deal of religious imagery. What is the significance of religion to the story? How does Richard's crisis of faith in God relate to the trouble he experiences in his marriage?
7. The wintry Minnesota landscape is an important aspect of the novel. How does the physical world reflect the interior lives of the central characters? The mood in America during the time in which the novel is set? Does the emotional atmosphere in the book change as spring draws nearer?
8. Although James never physically appears in the novel, he is nonetheless an important character. What kind of man is he? What do James's family members and we as readers learn from him? What effect does his absence have on the story?
9. After her abortion, Anna believes that she died and was reborn. In what ways does Anna go through a rebirth? How does she change as a result of her experience? Are there other characters who are reborn? How?
10. In her review of the novel, Kate Tuttle of the Boston Book Review wrote, "IN THE DEEP MIDWINTER comes along at a time when people have stopped talking about The Great American Novel. That's too bad, because this just might be it." In what ways does Clark's book exemplify the traditional American novel? How does his novel differ from "modern" American literature?
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"Robert Clark...has an ear for dialogue that's pitch perfect and an impeccable eye for detail....A moving and provocative novel, IN THE DEEP MIDWINTER marks a fine debut. "
—Ruth Coughlin, The New York Times Book Review
"An outstanding work of fiction. Psychologically astute, absorbingly told,crafted with an austere beauty, the novel lingers long in the memory....[RobertClark] immediately becomes a novelist of consequence. "
—Dan Cryer, Newsday
"IN THE DEEP MIDWINTER comes along at a time when people have stopped talking about The Great American Novel. That's too bad, because this justmight be it. "
—Kate Tuttle, The Boston Book Review
"The most absorbing, most intelligent and most wholly satisfying novelI've read in a good while-certainly since Richard Ford's INDEPENDENCE DAY....Abeautiful and haunting novel of character. "
—Donn Fry, The Seattle Times
"It has been a long time since the last American novel of suchcompassion, intelligence, and maturity. "
—Jonathan Yardley, The Washington Post Book World
