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Okay, HOLD UP. I was torn about Autumn, but I can confirm that Winter is stellar. Breathtaking. There are definitely subtle connections to the first book in the quartet, Autumn, but you definitely don't have to read one before the other. For instance if you read Autumn, there is an analagous examination of a female artist in Barbara Hepworth as she did with Pauline Boty in Autumn.

One theme that Ali Smith continues to play with is the notion of time, as she did in Autumn. There are many flashbacks and flashforwards that are all woven together seamlessly and somehow the book as a whole is a beautiful masterpiece. The story focusses on four primary characters each with their own unique characteristics and notable flaws: Arthur (or Art), his mother Sophia, his aunt Iris, and finally Lux, a girl Art has paid to be his girlfriend for the weekend home for Christmas, because he has just broken up with his girlfriend Charlotte. There are so many interesting relationships at play in the novel from the estranged relationship between the sisters Sophia and Iris from not having spoken for many years, Art and Lux's budding 'relationship', Lux connecting with the cold-hearted Sophia, and many more. It was fascinating and a work of art, Art in Nature you could say... I also really appreciate how Ali Smith grounds and weaves current events and attitudes (Twitter, Brexit, and Trump are all mentioned for instance) into the novels in her quartet.

Enjoy the nonlinearity of the book (if you didn't read Autumn, her storylines are definitely nonlinear), read slowly to savour the descriptive lines, and finally don't overthink it, because Smith's writing is definitely highly stylized, which I didn't fully love in Autumn, but Winter is a veritable masterpiece.