The Winter Gathering

by Deirdre Purcell

It's ten years on from the first Winter Gathering,when four of Maggie Quinn's closet friends rushed to spend Christmas with her after her husband walked out just days before.And at Christmastime it doesn't take long for an event to become a tradition.

Genres: Fiction

440 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2013

About the author

Deirdre Purcell (1945–2023) was an Irish author, actress, and journalist.

Reviews

[Mirren Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the first novel I've read by this prolific author. The theme of reunions appealed, since that is one of the themes in Mirren Jones' novel 'Eight of Cups', but the reunions in Purcell's novel are focussed around Christmas Day. Five women have met every Christmas for years. The novel is entertaining, the characters are all different, and they have a variable range of challenges in their lives and hold very different aspirations. Purcell's prose mostly flows and there are some very funny bits throughout.

Yet I felt the book was overlong - it took some willpower to get to the end - and I only did so because I wanted to find out what happened to all the characters. (Jones)

[Cuti-CLUE-les · Rating 2 out of 5]

The winter gathering started off really well. A group of women experience a traumatic event and subsequently come together every once in a while just to support one another. They aren't the best of friends but they each bring something a little different to the group. It wasn't one that I struggled to put down but I enjoyed reading it initially. It was a nice easy read until I read the first quarter. After that I completely lost interest in the book. The main character wasn't easy to relate to in my opinion. Self-absorbed would be the best way to describe her. Given her age and the experiences she had, her reactions and emotions were almost annoying and completely irrational at times. I felt that certain "dramatic" storylines included in the book were just thrown in for effect. They had no place in this story whatsoever and I lost a bit of respect for the book after reading them. It wasn't an awful book but there are a lot of loose ends that, in the beginning, had great potential but they fizzled out as the story progressed. I would definitely think twice before buying another book from this author.

[Sam Metcalfe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh! It was OK. Very well written I just wanted to slap most of the whiney characters! Story of friends coming together when they all needed each other every christmas.

[Sandy Samuel]

Sweet story about friends who are always there for each other, starting with the end of one friend's marriage

[Annemarie Coade · Rating 3 out of 5]

found the style of writing a bit jumpy in places. I like her previous books though so I kept going. Nice story.

[Jaffareadstoo · Rating 3 out of 5]

A group of five fifty somethings meet every year at Maggie Quinn’s house to spend their Christmas together. The bonds of friendship have been forged over time, especially since the first time they all gathered, ten years ago which was just after Maggie’s husband left her, but time moves on, and all traditions take a bit of a knock sometimes. This Christmas Day, and for the first time, there’s an addition to the party, in the form of a handsome young man, but only one of the women knows why he is there.

What then follows is a rather heart-rending look at the changing fortunes of friendship and of the unexpectedness of life in general, and the way that the ties of friendship can be stretched to breaking point sometimes. Overall, I found the story to be rather downbeat for a seasonal read as there are some sad moments, however, it does showcase the lives of the women really well and the minutiae of the challenges of their lives is nicely explained. It’s not all gloomy, there are some funny moments to lighten the narrative and which go a long way to make the characters seems more connected.

I know that this author is a prolific writer of this type of family saga and as such has a wide readership. I am sure that her legions of fans will find take a chance on this story, it just left me feeling quite subdued at the end of it and, if I'm honest, a little uninspired.

[Susan · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a book I should have enjoyed, given it features a group of friends of 50+ age and is told in the first person by Maggie, a part-time freeance journalist, coping with her sister who has mental problems. Unfortunately I found it tedious and boring and it was an effort to plough on to the end. I could not relate to Maggie and often found the writing style more akin to a biography - "I did this, I did that, etc". Aspects of the storyline were quite depressing with little relief - Lorna's son commits suicide; Mary is diagnosed with cancer and undergoes chemotherapy; Dina experiences a scam relationship. It should have been moving but it wasn't. A disapppointment.

[Cheryl · Rating 2 out of 5]

Such a disappointment! Read her books before but this book had none of the qualities I had expected. There are many writers who do the 'female buddy' stories much better. I didn't care what happened to any of the characters and skipped sections as it was just a narrative of basically hourly events.

[Gordon · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is pretty much like reading about your next door neighbour. I suppose the notion that good friends can help in hard times is worthwhile and the writing is smooth and readable.

[Jess]

Ideal for a light read, very easy language. I can hear the Dub accent as she narrates. Of all the adjectives, 'nice' is how I would describe this one

[Veronicap · Rating 3 out of 5]

Didn't actually finish reading as the characters didn't do it for me. I didn't want to know what happened next.

[Karen · Rating 1 out of 5]

Had to give up on this book as found it boring

[Betsy · Rating 1 out of 5]

worst book !! was looking for a feel good Xmas story. so off the mark.

[Avril Dalton · Rating 1 out of 5]

Far be it for me to say a book was terrible as books are a matter of taste. This just wasn't for me. Stuck with it for 200 Pages but didn't want to give it any more precious reading time.

[Derbhile Graham · Rating 2 out of 5]

Laboured, stilted writing let this down, as well as lazy plotting, but it did have a heartwarming end.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hadn't read Deirdre Purcell for years but I really did enjoy this one. Without giving anything away I would recommend this if you want a good easy read.

[Marcia · Rating 3 out of 5]

The start and the end were great. The middle could have had more structure so that it moved along more. Still the writing was good and so was the character development.