The challenge I had with Andrew Miller’s The Land in Winter was its pacing. Part One (c. 180 pages) seemed to dawdle along, and then in Part Two (possibly partly because of the short ‘chapters’) the novel really took off; it became a much more enjoyable read at that point. When I got to the end I couldn’t help but wonder if the 360-page novel wouldn’t have been better had it been 260 pages… (I confess, not an uncommon thought.)
The correlation between chapter or section lengths and pace is an interesting one. Part Two was almost a collection of inter-related pieces of flash fiction – which made them so much more engaging; you had to pay attention in order to keep up. Enjoyed this chunk of the book so much more.
This is the first Miller I’ve read. Will I read more? The jury’s out.
Ian Gouge - Writer 