Winter Song

'A rare novel that is both unflinching and tender, a wondrous debut by a major talent’ Kevin Wilson

It is 1986, deep winter, in the hinterlands of Minnesota, a place so remote that the world beyond its borders barely registers. Two men face down across this frozen landscape: Byron Lugo, just released from prison for a hit-and-run he swears he didn’t commit, and Gordon Trent, the weary police chief who brought him in.

As Byron struggles to claw back his old life in a town convinced of his guilt, his determination forces Trent to assess his judgement, his choices, and ultimately his legacy.

WINTER SONG is a snow globe of a novel, a light in the dark: a reminder of our humanity, even in the harshest of places.

Reviews

‘Set in rural Minnesota, where a police chief and a released felon struggle with the implications of the past and the uncertainty of the future, this is a rare novel that is both unflinching and tender, a wondrous debut by a major talent’ Kevin Wilson

‘This is a book I needed right now, because it doesn’t deny the ugliness of the world, but it reminded me of the good humans are capable of. Morales writes with a gritty earnestness that puts her in the good company of Elizabeth Strout and Kent Haruf’ Benjamin Percy

'Winter Song is a gritty and unsparing portrait of a snow-blasted wonderland painted with exquisite tenderness and generosity. Morales mines the magical and transcendent from otherwise ordinary moments, filling the lives of her characters – and her readers – with the hard-won possibility of grace. A magnificent novel and an unforgettable debut' Adam Johnson, author of The Orphan Master’s Son and The Wayfinder

About the author

Rebeca Lee Morales writes fiction that explores human resilience and the quiet moral reckonings that shape everyday lives. Born in Cape Charles, Virginia and raised in Michigan, she is the daughter of a missionary mother who served in the Yucatán and a pastor father. In autumn of 2004, she relocated to the Pacific Northwest, where she now resides. Winter Song is her debut novel.