The Patient Poppy

Five books that take place in a winter wonderland

It’s the end of the year! Can you believe it?

December in my mind means holidays and thinking about the new year. I find this time to be a great opportunity to reflect on what’s coming in the new year and all that’s happened over the past year. In the spirit of the holidays, I want to share books about family (found or otherwise), holidays, and the transition to a new year.

When I think about Christmas and the holidays, I always think about snow. I’m from Canada and even though I’ve spent the greater part of the past ten years abroad, I still associate the holidays with winter and snow, and I still picture a white Christmas.

Since I’m still thinking of cold, snowy days in December, I thought I’d share some books that take place in a winter wonderland. By that I mean some kind of winter or snowy landscape. It may not actually be a wonderland or even lovely, but it will have snow.

I know many people are mood readers. Your mood may be a reflection of the time of year or the mental state you’re in. Sometimes you’re just in the mood for a certain kind of book.

The books listed below are for people wanting to read about a cold winter. Sometimes when it’s chilly outside, you just want to cozy up under a blanket with a hot beverage and read a story that takes place in a cold landscape.

This is for when you don’t want to escape the cold, but for your environment to help set the vibe of the book you’re reading.

These books range in theme and story types, so hopefully there’s something for everyone.

Photo by Pigoff PhotographY on Unsplash

Five books that take place in a winter wonderland

Here’s a list of five books that take place in a winter wonderland.

  1. The Call of the Wild by Jack London (1903)
  2. Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton (1911)
  3. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis (1950)
  4. The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula Le Guin (1969)
  5. Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead / Prowadź swój pług przez kości umarłych by Olga Tokarczuk (2009)

Keep reading to find out more about each one. I’ve listed them in order of when they were published.

The Call of the Wild (1903)

by Jack London

  • Year Published: 1903
  • Storygraph Categories:
    fiction, classics, adventurous, emotional, medium-paced

First published in 1903, The Call of the Wild is regarded as Jack London’s masterpiece. Based on London’s experiences as a gold prospector in the Canadian wilderness and his ideas about nature and the struggle for existence, The Call of the Wild is a tale about unbreakable spirit and the fight for survival in the frozen Alaskan Klondike.

The adventures of an unusual dog, part St. Bernard, part Scotch shepherd, that is forcibly taken to the Klondike gold fields.

Links:

Ethan Frome (1911)

by Edith Wharton

  • Year Published: 1911
  • Storygraph Categories:
    fiction, classics, dark, emotional, sad, medium-paced

The classic novel of despair, forbidden emotions, and sexual undercurrents set against the austere New England countryside

Ethan Frome works his unproductive farm and struggles to maintain a bearable existence with his difficult, suspicious and hypochondriac wife, Zeena. But when Zeena’s vivacious cousin enters their household as a hired girl, Ethan finds himself obsessed with her and with the possibilities for happiness she comes to represent.

In one of American fiction’s finest and most intense narratives, Edith Wharton moves this ill-starred trio toward their tragic destinies. Different in both tone and theme from Wharton’s other works, Ethan Frome has become perhaps her most enduring and most widely read book.

Links:

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (1950)

by C.S. Lewis

  • Year Published: 1950
  • Storygraph Categories:
    fiction, childrens, classics, fantasy, adventurous, lighthearted, fast-paced

In the never-ending war between good and evil, The Chronicles of Narnia set the stage for battles of epic proportions. Some take place in vast fields, where the forces of light and darkness clash. But other battles occur within the small chambers of the heart and are equally decisive.

Journeys to the ends of the world, fantastic creatures, betrayals, heroic deeds and friendships won and lost — all come together in an unforgettable world of magic. So join the battle to end all battles.

Narnia …. a land frozen in eternal winter … a country waiting to be set free.

Four adventurers step through a wardrobe door and into the land of Narnia — a land enslaved by the power of the White Witch. But when almost all hope is lost, the return of the Great Lion, Aslan, signals a great change … and a great sacrifice.

Links:

The Left Hand of Darkness (1969)

by Ursula Le Guin

  • Year Published: 1969
  • Storygraph Categories:
    fiction, classics, lgbtqia+, science fiction, speculative fiction, adventurous, challenging, reflective, medium-paced
  • Was among the first books in the genre now known as feminist science fiction

A groundbreaking work of science fiction, The Left Hand of Darkness tells the story of a lone human emissary to Winter, an alien world whose inhabitants spend most of their time without a gender. His goal is to facilitate Winter’s inclusion in a growing intergalactic civilization. But to do so he must bridge the gulf between his own views and those of the completely dissimilar culture that he encounters.

Embracing the aspects of psychology, society, and human emotion on an alien world, The Left Hand of Darkness stands as a landmark achievement in the annals of intellectual science fiction.

Links:

Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead / Prowadź swój pług przez kości umarłych (2009)
Poland

by Olga Tokarczuk,
Translated from the Polish by Antonia Lloyd-Jones

  • Year Published: 2009
  • Storygraph Categories:
    fiction, contemporary, literary, thriller, dark, mysterious, reflective, medium-paced
  • Language: Polish
  • Shortlisted for the 2019 International Booker Prize

One of Poland’s most imaginative and lyrical writers, Olga Tokarczuk presents us with a detective story with a twist in DRIVE YOUR PLOW OVER THE BONES OF THE DEAD. After her two dogs go missing and members of the local hunting club are found murdered, teacher and animal rights activist Janina Duszejko becomes involved in the ensuing investigation. Part magic realism, part detective story, DRIVE YOUR PLOW OVER THE BONES OF THE DEAD is suspenseful and entertaining reimagining of the genre interwoven with poignant and insightful commentaries on our perceptions of madness, marginalised people and animal rights.

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Final thoughts

I hope you found something of interest in this list of books.

I’m always looking for more suggestions of books to read. I’d love to know which books you love or that you would recommend. Let me know in a comment below!

Have you read any of these books? What did you think of it?

I’d love to hear your thoughts in a comment below.

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