Sarah Goodwin

Mila Swift and her husband Ethan are traveling to reach the resort in Germany where her sister (Jess) is getting married. But before they reach the resort their rental car breaks down in a deserted, very snowy area. They discover a nearby village named Witwerberg, take shelter in an empty cabin, and go to sleep for the night. Mila awakens to find Ethan has disappeared without a trace. Then she feels like she is being watched. And with barely any food she has to struggle to stay alive, with the feeling that there is a presence out there, watching her.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! It was a very captivating, atmospheric read. I really felt Mila’s isolation and paranoia. The story kept having flashbacks into the past, mostly about Mila’s relationship with her sister Jess. I enjoyed the twists and turns as the story progressed. A fine read by Sarah Goodwin. I look forward to reading more by this author.… (plus d'informations)

The Resort by Sarah Goodwin had major ups and downs for me. I loved the premise.

“Mila and her husband Ethan are on their way to her sister’s wedding at a luxurious ski resort. When the car engine suddenly stops and won’t start again.
Stranded, with night closing in, they make their way on foot back to where they saw a sign for some cabins.
When they finally reach them, they find the windows boarded up and the buildings in disrepair. They have the eerie sense they shouldn’t be there. With snow falling more heavily, they have no choice but to break into one to spend the night.
In the morning when Mila wakes, Ethan is gone.
Now she is all alone.
Or is she?”

It started off well. The prologue really got me hooked, which is what a good one does. Then we got to the cabins and I was prepared for some thrills, and was looking forward to seeing if they were supernatural or man made. This started off great too… and then it started to drag, but I kept reading because I really was invested. And then it dragged some more. After that part we get to almost the end. There’s not a lot of suspects so it’s really easy to figure out who it is. So that wasn’t great. Then Mila starts to piece it together and that was interesting. And then the conclusion to why, and while it was fine, I also found it not as thrilling as I had hoped.
Was it written well? Yes. Were the characters developed? Yes. Even with the dragging of the middle and the not super realistic, in my mind, conclusion would I recommend to give The Resort by Sarah Goodwin a read? Yes.… (plus d'informations)

»Fortunately I have learned that there is no justice, aside from what we make for ourselves. There is only survival, and the victor tells the story.«

My wife and I lay in bed, reading. When I noticed I had read the same paragraph for a third time, I decided to call it a night. Two hours later, I woke up. My wife was still reading.
Another two hours later, she was still reading. When I woke up at 5:00 (a.m.), she was asleep.

The next morning I asked her which book she had read because, obviously, I wanted that, too! Turns out, it was “Stranded” by Sarah Goodwin. I immediately got started.

“Stranded” tells the story of a group of eight people who get shipped to an uninhabited island to live there for a year. They only have what they brought, can sometimes find caches of supplies but are mostly on their own. Everything they do gets recorded by cameras in the trees around them and by body cameras.
With them on the island are two camera people in their portacabin and, according to local legend, a witch.

This was a premise that I found pretty appealing. Especially, as it would turn out, since the mix of characters is quite good and they’re all believable in their motives and actions. The dynamics of the group are interesting and engaging as well and make sense - not always in a good way.

»They’d described Zoe as ‘flighty and insubstantial’, Duncan as ‘bull-headedly competitive’ and Frank as ‘the perfect balance of racist, sexist and old soak for the Brexit demographic’. I felt it like a slap when they got to me. ‘Madeline Holinstead – mousy, stuck-up and awkward. Clearly maladjusted lone wolf trying to fit in. Perfect love-to-hate character.’«

The afore-mentioned Madeline “Maddy” Holinstead is both the primary protagonist and the narrator. From the very beginning, she tries hard to fit in, blames mostly herself every time she doesn’t succeed and is soon made into the scapegoat for everything that goes wrong.

Lots of things keep going wrong and so we quickly find ourselves confronted with very difficult situations and conflicts that reminded me a bit of Golding’s “Lord of the Flies”.

Ultimately, though, my very high expectations from my wife’s nightly reading marathon were not completely fulfilled: There are a few loose ends, the metaphysical/supernatural parts (which I have to admit, though, mostly remained rationally explicable) about the witch and some few other minor niggles almost led me to a three-star rating.

Almost… because the ending and the epilogue made up for most of that. Thus: Four out of five stars.

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Ceterum censeo Putin esse delendam… (plus d'informations)