Winter Garden

Product Information

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.

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. Every choice changed the road you were on and it was too easy to end up going in the wrong direction.”Awful, unlikable characters. Emotionally stunted adults who pretty much behave like children, and suddenly everyone just grows up at the end. Hated this book, really. Or, better yet, after Hannah chooses the super original pathology of having her characters be people who run from conflict or emotional turmoil, she makes sure to tell you. Over and Over.

The first half of the book was a bit slow and took me a while to get into it, it really takes of half way through the book and I read the remainder of the book in one sitting. Such a heart felt story. Wonderful story of the promise to a father to hear the story of mother's life that brings a family together in love and respect. When a book brings tears it is worth reading. I found it absolutely fascinating and captivating watching the way the 'fairy tale' that the mother was telling slowly blended into reality. The transition was so powerful -- there are all these subtle details that if you read carefully, you'll catch and they'll take your breath away. It's a truly stunning piece of writing.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. 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. Ok, before anything, please note the genre of this book is Women's Fiction, and not specifically Romance even though there is indeed a beautiful, powerful, and heart-wrenching love story at the heart of the book. If you're a romance reader (like me), please don't worry though, I promise the ending is amazing.

But Meredith and Nina and their mother come together through the fairy tale, which reveals long buried secrets of pain and sadness. I can't say more without going into spoiler territory. There is a connection to the siege of Leningrad. I recommend reading The 900 Days: The Siege of Leningrad by Harrison E. Salisbury.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. 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?