#1 Best Seller in Historical World War II Fiction
Book Blurb:
Can a woman ever really know herself if she doesn’t know her mother?
From the author of the smash-hit bestseller Firefly Lane and True Colors comes Kristin Hannah’s powerful, heartbreaking novel that illuminates the intricate mother-daughter bond and explores the enduring links between the present and the past.
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.
My Review:
Stalwart and stoic, the mother of Meredith and Nina was Russian-born and as unemotional and cold to her daughters as a Siberian winter. The sisters, 180 degrees in temperament and life experience gave up some time in their early teens vying for their mother’s attention that was never going to come. They adored their dad.
The problem, and the premise of the novel, is the promise he exacted from Meredith as he lay dying—one she freely gave to ease her dad’s passage—but certainly not one she expected to actually keep.
Meredith is the Earth Mother, deftly handling family and career to exhaustion, taking on more than she should, not realizing she could ever say no. She took on the care of her parents while Nina, the younger sister galllivanted over the globe in search of her next Pulitzer Prize photo. A photojournalist of some reputation, she never stayed in one place long, always scurrying to the next big story—somewhere across the globe.
The two sisters under one roof never do well together for long, particularly when they are left with their mother. It is Nina who finally decides she will discover “the story.”
Be prepared to hang in there. I’ve read a number of Hannah books and they always capture my attention quickly. I think this is possibly the longest to go beyond mundane back story, dual timeline then and now, to get to the crux of the matter. Then it heats up.
With the slow build during the first half then, I guess the author isn’t worried about wringing out the last bit of emotion in either sister, the mother so cold and austere as to barely register as background noise. Anya loved her winter garden. It’s where she could go and be lost to the world—and she was—often.
So, while I was waiting for something to happen, it apparently did and swept right over me and I had to play a little catch-up. I enjoyed getting into the war years in Leningrad as I often wonder how people can go on in these heinous circumstances. What drives them forward? Keeps them from quitting? In this instance, wasn’t it Anya’s children?
The descriptions have the reader shivering with both the weather and the conditions of war. I never quite understood Anya’s arm’s length love for her American children. She was certainly capable of demonstrable love toward her husband. The sisters being opposites rang true of families; one the ant, the other the grasshopper.
A story of a dysfunctional family finally looking for redemption. Did the conclusion smooth everything out—make it all better? Maybe.
Never too late? Maybe.
But for me, too little too late. Sorry.
I received a complimentary review copy of this book from the author and publisher through @NetGalley that in no way influenced this review. These are my honest thoughts.
Rosepoint Rating: Four Stars 
Book Details:
Genre: Historical World War II Fiction, 20th Century Historical Fiction, Mothers & Children Fiction
Publisher: St Martin’s Press, First Edition (January 28, 2010)
ASIN: B003672JHG
Print Length: 401 pages
Publication Date: January 28, 2010
Source: Library
Title Link(s): Winter Garden [Amazon]
The Author: Kristin Hannah is the award-winning and bestselling author of more than 20 novels. Her newest novel, The Women, about the nurses who served in the Vietnam war, will be released on February 6, 2024.
The Four Winds was published in February of 2021 and immediately hit #1 on the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and Indie bookstore’s bestseller lists. Additionally, it was selected as a book club pick by the both Today Show and The Book Of the Month club, which named it the best book of 2021.
In 2018, The Great Alone became an instant New York Times #1 bestseller and was named the Best Historical Novel of the Year by Goodreads.
In 2015, The Nightingale became an international blockbuster and was Goodreads Best Historical fiction novel for 2015 and won the coveted People’s Choice award for best fiction in the same year. It was named a Best Book of the Year by Amazon, iTunes, Buzzfeed, the Wall Street Journal, Paste, and The Week.
The Nightingale is currently in pre-production at Tri Star. Firefly Lane, her beloved novel about two best friends, was the #1 Netflix series around the world, in the week it came out. The popular tv show stars Katherine Heigl and Sarah Chalke.
A former attorney, Kristin lives in the Pacific Northwest.
©2024 V Williams
Ms. Montgomery handles this saga with respectful humanity. The horrors of war are manyfold and should never be forgotten. I congratulate her on her excellent handling of this very emotive subject. 5 stars – CE Williams
Best Mystery, Thriller & Suspense
This book will entertain readers when they toss logic to the wind and go with the flow. Enjoy! 3.5 stars – CE Williams
Rosepoint Publishing 