Winter Garden

Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah is a 2020 St. Martin’s Press publication.

After the death of their father, his daughters, Meredith and Nina, two women who are polar opposites, must cope with their cold mother, Anya, who is exhibiting signs of dementia. Nina is determined to grant her father's dying wish, which is to get Anya to tell his daughters the entire Russian fairytale she had started and stopped so many times when the girls were younger.

Meredith, on the other hand, couldn’t care less about fairytale stories. Meredith promised to take care of her mother- which may mean moving her to a care facility for her own safety. As she goes about packing up her mother’s things, Nina coaxes Anya to tell her story, a story, which show more despite her resentments, Meredith eavesdrops on, suddenly finding herself enthralled by it...

This novel begins like a highly emotional contemporary/women’s fiction novel as a death exposes the monumental dysfunction within a family. A marriage is in trouble, the sisters bicker, and their mother seems unmoved by the drama, refusing to budge from her cold shell to comfort them or bring about peace. But, as the story develops, the saga takes on an entirely different tone with Anya taking control of the main narrative.

Once Anya begins her narration, I found myself riveted by her story. Naturally, her story can put one’s own struggles into perspective and is a horrible reminder of the sacrifices, and sufferings of a complicated war. The story ends with a bittersweet tone- at once sad and triumphant.

Kristin Hannah is a powerful storyteller. For some reason I have only read a few of her books, though I have several of them on my Kindle- if they are all as good as this one- I’ll be reading a lot more of Kristin Hannah- especially since older books are working out much better for me than the new releases- by far!

Were there some weaknesses? Yes, but I’m so grateful for the quality of this novel, I’m willing to overlook them. By and far, this book blows anything and everything I’ve read this year, so far, completely out of the water.

If I had read this book a few years ago, I might have given it a four-star rating, but because I feel like a person dying of thirst in the middle of the desert who was just been given a long, refreshing drink of cool water- this book gets the full five stars! show less

One of the most emotionally rich, and difficult books I’ve ever read. One that I won’t soon forget. You will definitely understand what it's like to live in a war zone and under the Stalin regime.

At the heart of WINTER GARDEN is the story of a family. Adult sisters Meredith and Nina could not be more different.
• Meredith got married young to her childhood sweetheart and raised two girls who are now off at college. Meredith now runs the family business and, like many women, prioritizes everyone else’s needs over her own.
• Nina is a single, successful photojournalist assigned to cover some of the most dangerous and dramatic events all around the world. Her work is her top priority, even if it means missing her sister’s show more wedding to cover a story.
What the two sisters have in common is the lifelong distance each has felt from their mother, Anya, a Russian émigré who seems incapable of showing either daughter any affection.

All the love in this family has been centered on the father, who tries his best to bring the three women he loves together. When he dies early in the novel and can no longer serve as family peacemaker, the three women must learn to deal directly with one another.

The difficulty for these three women wanting to form new connections is related to the secrets Anya is keeping. Secrets about her life during World War II, and more specifically, during the siege of Leningrad. Secrets that are slowly revealed as the book progresses, through what I considered an ingenious device created by the author.

Kristin Hannah is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors. And it’s not just the power of her writing style. Her characters are multi-dimensional and completely believable. They became real people to me as Hannah slowly and skillfully explored each one’s rich emotional complexity.

And not surprisingly, as Anya’s secrets are revealed, all three women find they must reexamine how they see both the events of the past and their current interactions. I highly recommend this book. Though fair warning - I had to take breaks at time when I felt too overwhelmed by the emotional content. show less

Two young girls, Meredith and Nina, love the fairy tale their mother tells them. Why Mama insists on telling it only in the dark, they do not know. Why Mama will never look at them, never give them a kind word, never give them any word at all except in the dark telling the fairy tale? What is wrong with them that Mama doesn't love them. At least there is Daddy who loves them and cares for them. In a frantic attempt to get Mama to notice them and to show approval, the girls and the neighbor boy Jeff write the fairy tale into a Christmas play for their family and friends. It all goes horribly wrong. After that night Mama won't even tell the fairy tale any more.

The girls grow up, Meredith remaining there working with her father in the show more apple orchard they own. Nina has become a world famous photographer, specializing in women in horrific circumstances -- famine, drought, war. Mostly she stays in Africa and the Middle East, wherever there is an "incident" her publisher wants her to cover.

Nina gets a call. Come home. Daddy is dying. Meredith pledges to her father to take care of her mother -- to get to know her. But how? He asks Nina to make her mother tell the fairy tale in full, all the way to the end. But Mama won't talk to them. So how?

Nina finally finds a way by being the journalist bitch who won't take "no" for an answer. She pushes and pushes and pushes her mother and finally wears her down. "Why didn't you ever look at us? Why didn't you ever talk to us?" she presses. Finally Mama answers "I did not want you to know my shame. I did not want you to know why I do not deserve your love."

Thus begins a trek into an unknown fairy tale, one that defines Mama's history. Who she was, what was her life, what she had done that was so bad that she knew her daughters could never love her once they knew her shame. And they would be ashamed of her, too.

I bawled. I rarely shed any tear for a book or movie. But this book, it's story, it's unexpected turns, it's horrific story base, that got to me. And I bawled. Highly recommended for those who like books based on real events, particularly WWII. And, no, it has nothing to do with the Holocaust. It deals with a different, very real horror from that awful time. show less

I finally read my first Kristin Hannah novel! I’ve been wanting to read her books for a long time, since I consistently see praise for her work. I’ve acquired several of her books over the years, but I was finally prompted to read Winter Garden because it is a qualifying book for one of the Goodreads Winter Challenges. I was grateful to find it in my overflowing Audible library.

Meredith and Nina Whitson are estranged sisters with vastly different lives. Meredith stayed home to run the family apple orchard and raise her children, while Nina pursued adventure as a globe-trotting photojournalist. Their distant, cold Russian-born mother, Anya, has always kept them at arm’s length, except for the rare bedtime fairy tale she told them show more as girls.

When their beloved father falls gravely ill, he makes a dying promise to his wife and daughters: Anya must finally tell the fairy tale all the way to the end. What starts as a simple story becomes a harrowing revelation of Anya’s true past in war-torn Leningrad during World War II. This secret is so devastating that it reshapes the family’s understanding of love, loss, identity, and forgiveness.

Alternating between the present-day Pacific Northwest and the brutal siege of Leningrad, this emotional, character-driven novel explores mother-daughter bonds, sisterhood, grief, and resilience.

I absolutely loved Winter Garden! Kristin’s storytelling talent is incredible. I was immediately drawn into this remarkable story. It’s such a beautiful narrative, even though it’s heartbreaking as it delves deeply into grief and the pain of losing cherished loved ones. Each character is incredibly authentic, and I enjoyed getting to know them as they came to know themselves. I particularly enjoyed reading a book set in the winter season while I’m also experiencing winter. It helped me appreciate both the beauty and harshness of such a season while I’m immersed in it. The ending evoked tears while also conveying hope and the power of rebuilding.

I purchased the audiobook of Winter Garden using my Audible membership. Susan Ericksen’s narration was perfect.

I have photos and additional information that I'm unable to include here. It can all be found on my blog, in the link below.
A Book And A Dog show less

2025 Advent, Day 13: Not my favourite from this author, but still heart wrenching. Kristen Hannah, as usual, has seen the heart in my ribcage, delicately reached inside me to extricate this viral organ, and then promptly dropped it on the ground, stepped on it, and then handed it back to me without apology.
I do not feel as invested in the story as I had been for The Nightingale or The Great Alone, but I am still full of feeling.

Goodreads just ate my review so I will just say this is one of the worst books I have ever read. Overwritten, boilerplate family drama, no editing. So bad. Another reviewer said it was a pale imitation of the wonderful Sophie's Choice, and that is accurate. Add to that the fact that these loved, educated, cared for white girls were more traumatized by the fact that their mother was emotionally unavailable than a friend of mine was after she watched a family member get hacked to death in Rwanda. Both of these woman were just pathetic. And they thought about the same things over and over and over and over. If they had real problems maybe they could stop obsessing about their puny quibbles. Every lament was repeated. Meredith's coldness to show more Jeffrey and his disappointment. Meredith's overwork, obsessive running, general nastiness. Tell me once, not 70 times. Nina's fear of commitment, and need to hide behind her camera rather than experiencing life. How many times did I need to spend half a page learning about the beauty of moms eyes or how hot Nina was with her pixie cut and her beautiful eyes, Everyone has beautiful eyes. About 40 pages worth of beautiful eye discussion can be yours. Or you can join the endless discussion of people wearing sweats, changing into jeans and turtlenecks, changing to a robe, all meticulously described.

I like to support ex-lawyers who write. I am an ex-lawyer who writes. But there are a lot of us, and many of us are good. If you want to read about the deprivations of mid-century Leningrad, read City of Thieves. If you want to read fun light entertaining books written by lawyers read Courtney Milan. If you want to read classic literature by a lawyer read Kafka. If you want to read overwrought popular fiction written by a lawyer read Grisham (whose work I don't like, but its miles better than this.) Read anything, you can't do much worse. show less

Ugly tears all around. I hate this book.

*Update* I needed some time to sort out my emotions. I'm feeling less like throwing the book out of the window, so maybe I'm ready.

I'm usually a fan of hopping back and forth through time, but this book was the exception for me. I think the issue is that I was not invested in the modern-day characters. The sisters, Meredith and Nina seemed very two-dimensional and I couldn't stand either of them. Then we have the mother. I have so very many issues with this mother. I thought her story would shed some light on her behavior but it left me with more questions. I think the novel would have been stronger without the modern-day tale, focusing only on the mother's story. I wouldn't say I "enjoyed" her show more story, but it made me keep turning the pages and it resulted in so many ugly tears. I was invested in her at that point in her life, but that woman felt so different from the woman we saw in the present day. I wanted more explanation as to how she got from point A to point C. Also, I hadn't read a WWII book from that perspective, so it was enlightening.

My biggest issue with this book is the ending. It felt over-the-top tragic, just to be tragic. Then there is the epilogue. All I can say is, where is Evan? Did those 50 years just mean nothing? Really?!

Overall, this book has a ton of issues. After writing this review I feel annoyed again and may just chuck my copy out of a window. show less