Winter Garden

Product Information

In the same way that Robert Dinsdale’s The Toymakers blended history and fantasy, Alexandra Bell weaves a tale that takes place in our own world but is sprinkled with extraordinary magic. Yet whilst the spectacular wonders of the Winter Garden might be the initial draw to readers intrigued by the synopsis, this is also a book about what it means to be a woman in a man’s world and the misery such a life can create. Beatrice and Rosa are both beset by grief and hopelessness, and you can’t help but think that if the characters existed in a past that was fairer and kinder on women, they wouldn’t be driven to such extreme measures to win their wishes. It begins with a story that is unlike anything the sisters have heard before—a captivating, mysterious love story that spans sixty-five years and moves from frozen, war torn Leningrad to modern-day Alaska. The vividly imagined tale brings these three women together in a way that none could have expected. Meredith and Nina will finally learn the secret of their mother’s past and uncover a truth so terrible it will shake the foundation of their family and change who they think they are. I read Winter Garden in our Traveling Sisters reading good and made for a great discussion. It is a well-layered, intriguing and powerful family saga that explores the complicated relationships between a mother and her daughters and the two sisters. The story is told from the past through a fairy tale told by distant, cold and interesting Anya who is layered with mystery and the present as we see how the fairy tale begins to bond these women together. She had so many questions about the world — and if she couldn’t ask them, then how would she ever learn its many secrets? »

Three and a half stars. Hard to write a review about this one as I had a few different thoughts. But here goes. I find The Winter Garden to be too much and not enough at the same time; too many descriptions that are unnecessary to the storylines, too many tropes as if the author wanted to put every one she could think of in one single book (more than 10) and too little depth for topics that deserved way more than that. I won’t even mention rape/sexual abuse since it was completely brushed aside but at least the drug abuse, depression and toxic/abusive friendships which is the best kind of relationship that we have in this story. Aunque me ha gustado muchísimo esta historia, considero que El ruiseñor jamás podría ser superado, me queda claro que la autora sabe como contar una historia desgarradora, que te vacía por dentro y te deja sin nada, literalmente sin ganas de tomar otro libro, porque sientes que a éste no les has dado el suficiente tiempo de duelo. There are people everywhere that find themselves in tumultuous relationships, but I think it would be the cold and uncaring attitude of a parent that would have the power to slice anyone to the core. Welcome to Meredith and Nina’s world. They grew up vying for their mother Anya’s love and attention, only to be pushed away and ignored. The worst part was seeing that she was actually capable of love in some ways. Anya shared an enviable connection with her husband; he adored her despite her frigid nature towards their daughters, but why? What did their dad see that Meredith and Nina couldn't?To lose love is a terrible thing,But to turn away from it is unbearable. Will you spend the rest of your life replaying it in your head? Wondering if you walked away too soon or too easily? Or if you’ll ever love anyone that deeply again?” If I could, I would give the first half of this book 1 star, from about the middle until the final chapter 5 stars, and the final chapter 3 stars - - - so I guess that, all in all, the 3 star rating is probably the most accurate.

An interesting period piece with some poorly-defined magical boundaries, that still mostly manages to get things right. Now a note of caution: If you have recently lost a parent or a child, there are scenes in Winter Garden that you may find too tough to read. A father on his deathbed; children succumbing to the terrors of war. Kristin Hannah sure does know how to pull heartstrings, even if sometimes they’re tugged a little too hard.My favorite part of the entire story was the dynamic between the two sisters. Meredith was always the steadfast and responsible one and Nina was the wild and free sister, but they were both strong, just in different ways. Both admired one another for exactly what they regretted the most in themselves and I found that quite interesting. I guess, the grass always seems greener on the other side, right? And of course, the love story junkie in me would be remiss not to mention Danny and Jeff. I was completely smitten with both, they were as different as the sisters, but worthy in their own ways. The writing immediately pulled me into the story and I found it really difficult to put down. Every single element of the story and characters was done perfectly! I don't even have to think about my rating for this book, it's an obvious 5 stars! What starts as a dysfunctional domestic situation between 2 sisters (American born) and their Russian-born mother ends up being so much more. Grief and a deathbed promise brings these unhappy women reluctantly together, and what seemed like a familial dysfunction becomes an intimate look at the mother of these two sisters who was raised in Russia during the war. Primarily they learn about a side of her they never knew. Her story of war-torn Leningrad, paints a vivid picture of the atrocity of war. One cannot fathom the pain, hunger, starvation and death all around the survivors, the terror of small children being taken by train away from their parents, starving, cold, crying and afraid. Your heart sinks and you feel your throat all choked up. Don't be surprised if your eyes smart a few times and tears cloud your vision as you're reading this emotional rendering. This part of the novel is truly heartbreaking. I found it very moving, and well written. The story within the story, the so-called Fairy Tale, is quite compelling, telling a personal account of the siege of Leningrad in WWII. This is the real meat of this book, but that doesn't get rolling until the second half of the book. I wish the author had just written straight historical fiction of only the Leningrad part and left all the present-day stuff out of it. I did find the ending too implausible to be a tear-jerker. I rolled my eyes when I think I was supposed to cry. It’s possible that, for me, Hannah over-corrected in her rewrite, because I actually found the chapters about Meredith and Nina more interesting than their mother’s gradual fiction-into-fact revealing of her tragic experiences in the siege of Leningrad. I also found the ending to be a little too tightly wrapped in giant happily-ever-after bows of coincidence and catharsis, but readers who need cheerful conclusions may feel differently.