A Year of Marvelous Ways – Sarah Winman
Before "Tin Man" and "Still Life" made me a Sarah Winman evangelist, there was "A Year of Marvelous Ways." Originally published in 2015 and re-released this year — with an "L" mysteriously disappearing from the title — it feels like an early sketch for many of the themes Winman would later perfect: the lingering wounds of war, found families, unlikely friendships and people carrying impossible grief while searching for joy.
The novel follows Marvellous Ways, a 90-year-old woman living alone in a secluded Cornish creek in 1947, waiting for something she's never quite sure what until a traumatized soldier named Freddy Drake literally washes ashore, giving both of them exactly what they need: someone to bear witness to a life.
Marvellous is, without question, the reason to read this book. She's eccentric without feeling manufactured, mystical without becoming unbelievable and wise without slipping into caricature. A former midwife who claims her mother was a mermaid, she spends much of the novel recounting decades of love, loss and quiet magic. Winman writes her with enormous affection, and it's impossible not to be charmed by her.
The problem is that everyone else feels like they're there primarily to help tell Marvellous's story. Freddy, Peace and several other supporting characters have compelling moments, but they rarely feel like fully realized people in their own right. Instead, they often function as listeners, catalysts or plot devices. Frequently, it seemed like this could have been a novella told solely from Marvellous's perspective.
That lack of cohesion extends to the structure itself. The novel jumps through time, blends history with mysticism and introduces revelations that I occasionally struggled to piece together. Whether that's because I missed something while listening or because the novel is genuinely a little convoluted, I'm honestly not sure. Either way, I never felt as hooked into the story as I wanted to be.
Winman's prose is gorgeous throughout — chewy is the right word, each page dense with imagery and feeling that rewards slow reading. Hearing her narrate the audiobook only deepens the experience. Even when I wasn't fully invested in the plot, I found myself appreciating individual passages simply for the beauty of the language.
Ultimately, "A Year of Marvelous Ways" feels like a fascinating precursor to "Still Life" rather than essential reading in its own right. I'm glad I read it, largely because Marvellous herself is unforgettable, but I don't think fans of Winman's later books need to rush back to this one.
Rating (story): 3/5 stars
Rating (narration): 4/5 stars
Format: Audiobook (library loan)
Dates read: July 25 – July 29, 2026
Multi-tasking: Not recommended. There were several times my mind drifted, and I had to relisten to sections to understand what I missed.
