Between the Lines - Winter Garden

April’s Pick - Winter Garden, by Kristin Hannah

Thoughts

I am really enjoying historical fiction books right now and Hannah’s Winter Garden was no exception. Perhaps it’s my general love of family sagas, in this case a portrait of mothers and daughters that spans 60 years and reaches from World War II Russia to modern day Alaska, or maybe it is because of all the uncertainty that the coronavirus has thrown at us juxtaposed with WWII Leningrad that reminded me that this disruption to our daily lives isn’t so bad after all, that made this book for me. Either way, I enjoyed reading Winter Garden. There are two parallel stories that make up the novel: the contemporary one set in Washington state and the WWII story set in Leningrad. The Leningrad story is really the story within the story, the fairy tale, and for me it was the fairy tale that kept me reading after a slow start in the first half spent mostly introducing emotionally closed off, once close sisters Meredith and Nina, and their cold and remote Russian mother, Anya. The fairy tale dominates the second half of the book, and it is this story of 1941 Leningrad that is compelling; it is here that Hannah’s storytelling skills shine as she weaves a tale of love and loss and forgiveness and redemption.

Overall - As I mentioned in an earlier post, this is my first Kristin Hannah novel. In spite of what I consider to be some real literary shortcomings (think clichés, formulas and predictability), I still recommend this book. True, some of the dialogue was flat-out cringe-worthy, but the story was compelling enough for me to overlook the missteps and read through until the end. Before reading this book, I didn’t know anything about the Siege of Leningrad; after reading it, I want to learn more. If you would like a little more feedback on the book, here are what two reviewers have to say: Less than Stellar Review & Positive Review. I think both critics make good points.

Kathryn

P.S. I am going to give Hannah another shot so next up I will read either The Nightingale or The Great Alone. If you have read either of them or both, I would love to hear from you.