WINTER GARDEN Book Review

Winter Garden¹ by Kristin Hannah, eBook, 401 pages

Synopsis from GoodReads: 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.

BOOK REVIEW: This description is not the one I read when I picked it for book club. I may have still read the book but maybe not for book club...but I'm glad that we read it. It was a beautiful story, hard to read at times due to the situations that Anya was dealing with in war-torn Soviet Union. I had guessed early on that the fairy tale was based on a true story but I wasn't truly sure who was who in the story until we were told so.

I give this book a 5 out of 5 stars. Again, the story was beautifully written and at times I was bawling like a baby while my heart was breaking! There are several story lines going on and there is never a clear cut separation between when we're focused on Meredith, Nina, or Anya (like by chapter) as it can switch between paragraphs. Even so, the story flowed seamlessly and I would highly recommend this to anyone who enjoys a little historical fiction. It is rooted close to home for me (as in Washington State) which may be another [small] reason why I liked it.

5/5 Stars

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