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The Center of Winter:

A Novel
Front Cover
68 Reviews
HarperCollins, Feb 1, 2005 - Fiction - 326 pages

At the center of winter, in Motley, Minnesota, Arnold Schiller gives in to the oppressive season that reigns outside and also to his own inner demons -- he commits suicide, leaving a devastated family in his wake.

Claire Schiller, wife and mother, takes shelter from the emotional storm with her husband's parents but must ultimately emerge from her grief and help her two young children to recover. Esau, her oldest, is haunted by the same darkness that plagued his father. At twelve years old, he has already been in and out of state psychiatric hospitals, and now, with the help of his mother and sister, he must overcome the forces that drive him deep into himself. But as the youngest, perhaps it is Katie who carries the heaviest burden. A precocious six-year-old who desperately wants to help her mother hold the family together, she will have to come to terms with the memory of her father, who was at once loving and cruel.

Narrated alternately by Claire, Katie, and Esau, this powerful and passionate novel explores the ways in which both children and adults experience tragic events, discover solace and hope in one another, and survive. The Center of Winter finds humor in unlikely places and evokes the north -- its people and landscape -- with warmth, sensitivity, and insight. The story of three people who, against all odds, find their way out of the center of winter, Marya Hornbacher's debut novel will leave you breathless, tearful, and ultimately inspired.

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Very moving, with an interesting writing style. - Goodreads
Thank god the ending didn't make me cry more. - Goodreads
I adore her writing. - Goodreads
On a postivie note, I the writing was good. - Goodreads
I sincerely envy Hornbacher's skills as a writer. - Goodreads

Review: The Center of Winter

User Review  - Ligia Ayala - Goodreads

I love this writer. This book is at times sad and tragic, but always with glimpses of human kindness and frailty. Read full review

Review: The Center of Winter

User Review  - Kate Pittman - Goodreads

If you read Marya Horbacher, don't expect it to be all sunshine and roses. I adore her writing. She's a person who has experienced a lot of pain in her life through her battles with eating disorders ... Read full review

All 68 reviews »

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References to this book

From Google Scholar

Non-fiction Vaklektuur
Filosofie en Sielkunde, Kunste en Ontspanning

References from web pages

The Center of Winter -- Walker 56 (12): 1636 -- Psychiatric Services
In The Center of Winter, Marya Hornbacher, author of Wasted: A Memoir of Anorexia and Bulimia, tells several sad stories that emerge from one suicide. ...
psychservices.psychiatryonline.org/ cgi/ content/ full/ 56/ 12/ 1636-a

Reading Guide on The Center of Winter from harpercollins Publishers
At the center of winter, in Motley, Minnesota, Arnold Schiller gives in to the oppressive season that reigns outside and also to his own inner demons -- he ...
www.harpercollins.com/ author/ authorExtra.aspx?isbn13=9780060929688& displayType=readingGuide

The Center of Winter - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Center of Winter is a novel by the American author Marya Hornbacher. It was published by Random House in early 2005. This article about a 2000s novel is ...
en.wikipedia.org/ wiki/ The_Center_of_Winter

The Center of Winter : A Novel - Marya Hornbacher | Book Countdown ...
At the center of winter, in Motley, Minnesota, Arnold Schiller gives in to the ... The Center of Winter finds humor in unlikely places and evokes the north ...
www.bookcountdown.com/ book/ Marya_Hornbacher/ The_Center_of_Winter_:_A_Novel

Who is Marya Hornbacher?
In 2005, Marya Hornbacher published her first novel, The Center of Winter, about a family dealing with the suicide of the father. Written from the point of ...
www.wisegeek.com/ who-is-marya-hornbacher.htm

Bookselling This Week: The February 2005 Book Sense Picks
THE CENTER OF WINTER: A Novel, by Marya Hornbacher (harpercollins, $23.95, 0060192267) "I stayed up until 2:00 am to finish The Center of Winter, ...
news.bookweb.org/ read/ 3132

Sorting The Pieces: Good reading
First on her list was The Center of Winter by Marya Hornbacher. ... I'm just not ready for The Center of Winter and White Oleanders to be upstaged by ...
acrazyquiltlife.blogspot.com/ 2006/ 10/ good-reading.html

The Hunger for Love
and The Center of Winter. Thursday, May 10, 2007 5:30 pm. Woman’s Club of Minneapolis ... The Center of Winter will be available for purchase, ...
www.crisis.org/ flyers/ Hunger%20Event%2007/ CC_flyer.pdf

Barnes & Noble.com - Books: Center of Winter, by Marya Hornbacher ...
At the center of winter, in Motley, Minnesota, Arnold Schiller gives in to the ... The Center of Winter finds humor in unlikely places and evokes the north ...
search.barnesandnoble.com/ Center-of-Winter/ Marya-Hornbacher/ e/ 9780060192266

The New York Times: Search for 'By Mark Kurlansky'
Loose...impossibly Dickensian, it works because Kurlansky is so clearly in control -- and...987.45? THE CENTER OF WINTER. By Marya Hornbacher. ...
query.nytimes.com/ gst/ search.html?query=By%20Mark%20Kurlansky& srchst=nyt& d=& o=& v=& c=& sort=newest& n=10& dp=0& daterange...

About the author (2005)

Marya Hornbacher is a journalist as well as a writer of fiction and memoir. Her first book, Wasted: A Memoir of Anorexia and Bulimia, has become a classic. The Center of Winter is her first novel. She lives in Minneapolis.

Bibliographic information

QR code for The Center of Winter
TitleThe Center of Winter: A Novel
AuthorMarya Hornbacher
PublisherHarperCollins, 2005
ISBN0060192267, 9780060192266
Length326 pages
Subjects › 

Fiction / General
  
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