Winter Garden

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Their fragile bond is further threatened after the death of their father, who was the glue that held them all together. The story has so much depth to it and the author successfully transports the reader to both Leningrad and Alaska in a way I never expected. They have a cold mother who they don’t understand and a father who is on his deathbed and he wants to save his family through the mother’s fairy tales which was one of the reasons that traumatized them.

But sometimes, when you are in the grip of a good book, you get a little fast and loose with your ratings. 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.You couldn't control the direction of your family any more than you could stop the continental shelf from breaking apart. Interlaced with a Russian fairytale that changes absolutely everything, this story is harrowing and heartbreaking, in so many ways. There are too many chapters when we are told that Meredith goes for a run, Meredith sits on the porch with her coffee, Meredith feeds the dogs, Meredith treats her husband coldly, Meredith is frustrated and hurt by her mother. For over an extended period we get to know of Anya while she faces tremendous obstacles and disaster, but ends surviving despite all her suffering.

As a reader, I could see how much they loved each other, but I could also see how much they wanted to change each other. I very much enjoyed this story, including the slow build of the first half as it created the perfect foundation to launch the second. I was completely smitten with both, they were as different as the sisters, but worthy in their own ways. Only, this version of the story has the feel of a screen play targeting the women in Opra’s audience.It felt like my heart was literally torn in two - between what could have been and what was - but ultimately it was still a happy place to be. Anya shared an enviable connection with her husband; he adored her despite her frigid nature towards their daughters, but why? By and far, this book blows anything and everything I’ve read this year, so far, completely out of the water.

It is forbidden to copy anything for publication elsewhere without written permission from the copyright holder. Nina is a world famous photographer who runs away from family and commitment by flying off to the latest war/famine/disaster. I suspect that this author envisioned this being turned into a movie; otherwise why all the repetitious tangerine skies and striking blue eyes against white hair.

Then the father, the glue of the family, dies and little by little the mom starts revealing her life in Soviet Russia before she met their father. Kristin Hannah sure does know how to pull heartstrings, even if sometimes they’re tugged a little too hard. The pace of Winter Garden is slow initially, but in true Kristin Hannah form, I became invested in the story and couldn’t stop reading it. The characters are flawed but believable, the novel hard to forget and the ending entirely satisfying to this reader.

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. Alternating chapters tell her story of growing up in Russia and her experiences in Leningrad during the war. I confess that I felt differently about some of the characters by the end of the novel than I did at the beginning. Then he asks Nina to listen and to do whatever is necessary to get Anya, their mom to tell them the whole story. 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.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. Emotionally stunted adults who pretty much behave like children, and suddenly everyone just grows up at the end.