Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah
February 2nd 2010 by St. Martin's Press
Hardcover, 394 pages
Purchased
Book Synopsis
Meredith and Nina Whitson are as different as sisters can be. One stayed at home to raise her children and manage the family apple orchard: the other followed a dream and traveled the world to become a famous photojournalist. But when their beloved father falls ill, Meredith and Nina find themselves together again, standing alongside their cold, disapproving mother, Anya, who even now, offers no comfort to her daughters. As children, the only connection between them was the Russian fairy tale Anya sometimes told the girls at night. On his deathbed, their father extracts a promise from the women in his life: the fairy tale will be told one last time - and all the way to the end. Thus begins an unexpected journey into the truth of Anya's life in war-torn Leningrad, more than five decades ago. Alternating between the past and present, Meredith and Nina will finally hear the singular, harrowing story of their mother's life, and what they learn is a secret so terrible and terrifying that it will shake the very foundation of their family and change who they believe they are.......(Goodreads)
Review
Winter Garden focuses on two sisters Meredith and Nina and their mother Anya. In the beginning of the story we meet the girls as children, girls who long for closeness with their very cold and distant mother. The only bond they really have with their mother is listening to a fairy tale she shares only at night. In an attempt to win their mothers approval and love, the girls act the fairy tale out into a play provoking a reaction so harsh from Anya, she never utters the fairy tale again. The girls cannot understand why Anya does not love them, why all her love gets placed only on Evan, their father. With these insecurities both girls grow into women with twisted ideas about love and intimate relationships.
Flash forward to the girls adulthood's- Meredith is part owner in her fathers apple orchard business and loses herself to her work pushing her marriage onto shaky ground. Where her husband wants more, she pulls away and where closeness and desire once fueled their marriage, distance and awkwardness have replaced it. Nina- a successful photographer travels the world taking photographs of ravished nations, torn apart countries and women in desperate situations. Not only does Nina run from family and friends but she cannot commit to any serious relationship. When the girl’s father become sick and passes away the strong anchor of the family dies along with him. Everything that connected the girls to their mother is gone and her odd behavior soon leads the girls to take aggressive action in her care. During this time the girls start to get Anya to open up and share the fairy tale with them once more and the story then moves back and forth in time between present day and the Siege of Leningrad, where Anya shares her heartbreaking and horrendous story of love, loss, starvation and grief. The reader gets bits and pieces at a time and a somewhat magical tale in the beginning, slowly becomes the reality of nightmares.
Beautifully written and very heartbreaking to read, I found myself absorbed and lost in every word Hannah weaves on the page. Not knowing very much about Leningrad or Stalin it defiantly provoked me to learn more about this time in Russia and devastated me to learn how many lives were lost, what famine (forced famine) and starvation did to these people. I look at my house and see my furnace and my lights, my well stocked fridge and well fed children and can’t imagine not having the means to feed, clothe or shelter them. Very sad in parts, Winter Garden also offers hope and the triumph of the human spirit. This will stay with you days after you put it down………..
Rating
Winter Garden is recommended to adult readers and contains language, mild to graphic sexuality, harsh conditions including war, famine and starvation. Emotional abuse, martial issues, violence, death, grief and depression.
5/5- Contemporary Fiction- Historical
great review and I have been wanting to read this book after seeing all the ads thorugh goodreads.
ReplyDeleteoh wow, I must read this. It sounds amazing. thanks for the great review!
ReplyDeleteSorry I am so behind! I will do my best to catch up here! :)
ReplyDelete