Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

Offer ends May 1st, 2024 11:59PM GMT. Terms and conditions apply.
£7.99/month after 3 months. Renews automatically.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Midwinter Break cover art

Midwinter Break

By: Bernard MacLaverty
Narrated by: Stephen Hogan
Get this deal Try for £0.00

Pay £99p/month. After 3 months pay £7.99/month. Renews automatically. See terms for eligibility.

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £12.99

Buy Now for £12.99

Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.

Listeners also enjoyed...

Lamb cover art
Cal cover art
Outback cover art
The Truth About These Strange Times cover art
Into the Uncanny cover art
The Snow Killer cover art
The Fragments cover art
Jellyfish cover art
The Long Gaze Back cover art
The Trees cover art

Summary

An intense exploration of love and uncertainty when a long-married couple, Gerry and Stella, take a midwinter break in Amsterdam to refresh the senses, do some sightseeing and generally take stock of their lives. Their relationship seems easy, familiar - but over its course we discover the deep uncertainties between them.

Gerry, once an architect, is forgetful and set in his ways. Stella is tired of his lifestyle and angry at his constant undermining of her religious faith. Things are not helped by memories that resurface of a troubled time in their native Ireland. As their vacation comes to an end, we understand how far apart they are - and can only watch as they struggle to save themselves.

Bernard MacLaverty is a master storyteller, and this is the essential MacLaverty novel: compassionate observation, elegant writing and a heartrending story. It is also a profound examination of human love and how we live together - a chamber piece of resonance and power.

©2017 Bernard MacLaverty (P)2017 Bolinda Publishing Pty Ltd

Critic reviews

"A work of extraordinary emotional precision and sympathy.... Full of scenes that are rendered with exquisite accuracy and care...this is a novel of great ambition by an artist at the height of his powers." (Colm Tóibín)

What listeners say about Midwinter Break

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    52
  • 4 Stars
    29
  • 3 Stars
    16
  • 2 Stars
    8
  • 1 Stars
    6
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    58
  • 4 Stars
    22
  • 3 Stars
    10
  • 2 Stars
    4
  • 1 Stars
    4
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    44
  • 4 Stars
    24
  • 3 Stars
    19
  • 2 Stars
    5
  • 1 Stars
    6

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Best listen of 2017

This is a beautiful book. The writing is elegant, direct and vivid. The two characters are, like most of us full of faults but full of goodness. The story is both small and personal, and political in the sense that it is love story set against the background and aftermath of the Troubles in Northern Ireland, though virtually all the action takes place in Holland.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Master of the story

I have read this book, twice, and wanted to hear it being read in case I missed anything in my understanding of it.
It is even better listening to it. I am around the same age as Stella and Gerry and visit Amsterdam often so perhaps that is why it resonates with me, also I’m from Glasgow!
A great story, well told, made me laugh and cry.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

A beautiful book

Wise and thought provoking. Beautifully written and beautifully read. Skillful and perceptive descriptions of emotions and of place.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Good but not great

There was a lot I really liked about this book. As a portrait of a long-standing marriage it was very convincing. The little habits a couple develop and the fact that you can enjoy certain things about a partner whilst feeling discontented really rang true. For me the thing that let it down were that the main aspects of the characters and the reason for the conflict between them - Gerry's alcoholism and Stella's Catholicism - seemed a bit stereotypical for an Irish couple and so made them seem less believable and a bit shallow.

It was very well narrated though.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars
  • M
  • 02-02-19

slow moving masterpiece

it took me a while to get into this but once I did, I was hooked. I love the mindfulness - the attention to detail, something which is at odds with the world in which we live. This is a story for those who love a slow build up and are willing to put in the time - it's worth it as the pay off is great.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

beautiful writing - great audio voice

If you could sum up Midwinter Break in three words, what would they be?

writer with insight

What did you like best about this story?

genuine and authentic

What does Stephen Hogan bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

lyrical expression so delightful

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

the very end

Any additional comments?

so much enjoyed this book had to listen to it twice - a very insightful reflection of human life - a joy to hear so well read

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Literature at its finest

When I read for my degree in English it was to enjoy works like this - really beautifully crafted works of literary fiction. They are few and far between nowadays but the likes of Maclaverty, Boyd, Le Carre, Ishiguro, Faulks, Barry and McEwan keep the flame alive. This is a subtle and complex analysis of a long marriage in crisis. It is heartfelt and true and I loved it. The reading is exquisite.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

This is an odd one

THe writing is sublime. And the narration/performance equally so.
First class.
But the story itself just isn't strong enough to hang it all on, which left me a bit perplexed
A very weak story with beautiful writing and a mesmerising narration, but I was left wondering if I'd missed something.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Gentle and well observed story

It is a fairly low key story of a retired couple who have slowly drifted apart.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

I lost the will to continue!

I found this book bland and boring. However, I did not get that far and maybe something exciting happens later. Nothing to suggest it though so didn’t want to waste any more of my time. Not my sort of book!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!