I’m a huge fan of Kristin Hannah and have read and thoroughly enjoyed The Great Alone, Home Front, Between Sisters, The Nightingale, and The Women. But my most recent read, Winter Garden propelled me into a World War II Russian world where Anya Whitson, the mother of two daughters, Nina and Meredith, weaves a story. She tells a fairy tale about the harsh world in Leningrad during 1941 that leaves the daughters and readers spellbound.
At first, I didn’t believe the sisters, Nina and Meredith, would stand a chance of overcoming and mending their complex past with their distant mother. Meredith assumes responsibility for everyone until she can’t any longer. And through questions and increasing vulnerability, the three women form a bond that pulls the reader into the huddle of long-kept secrets.
Nina, the outspoken daughter, becomes a catalyst for family healing. She is not afraid to ask difficult questions and put what their mother—whom Meredith at times portrays as fragile in awkward situations. As the story begins to unfold, the fable unravels a long carpet of mysterious proportions, leaving the reader wanting more.
One of my favorite parts about the novel is learning how an elderly woman who appears exceedingly fragile can possess such inner strength and fortitude, instilling in her daughters an emotional resilience.
If you enjoy reading about family dysfunction and the emotional hardship and healing between relatives, especially between sisters and their mothers, this might be the book for you. If you thrive on historical novels that teach you more about history, Kristin Hannah’s The Four Winds, The Nightingale, The Women, The Great Alone, and Home Front may be the books for you. Other moving historical novels include Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility, which explore friendship and struggle among sisters. While all these novels offer a compelling glimpse into the past, it is the haunting, beautiful tale of Winter Garden that will stay with you long after the final page.
