Winter Under Water tells the constrained love story of Marta and Joseph. A story where love has no boundaries; geographical or emotional.

It is a story of two estranged identities which part almost as soon as they meet. Marta returns to her city, Krakow, and her allure keeps Joseph captivated, drunk, almost, on love. Between them is an electric tie which cannot keep them apart, creeping much deeper than just a love or a mutual understanding.

This is a tale centered upon the concepts of identity, loneliness and isolation. As both characters try to find a tiny place for themselves in a huge world, Hopkins employs literary imagery and flowing prose to capture the eerie feeling of isolation in an unfamiliar city; to live and wander through a different culture; to be an observing outsider; to feel as though you are not living, but engulfed in a dream beyond your own comforts and securities.

Enticing is this sparkling journey through the city of Krakow, the experience of the Polish culture fascinating. Yet it is also a path through Joseph’s own feelings, a search that has no confines, no end, and no path; a search dotted with both love and despair.

This is a book that will challenge your perceptions of what it means to be alive; a daring and fantastic piece of writing which will unravel the truth behind your thoughts.

 

Words: Alice Wood