Winter Garden
- ISBN13: 9780312364120
- Condition: NEW
- Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
Product Description
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 a powerful, heartbreaking novel that illuminates the intricate mother-daughter bond and explores the enduring links between the present and the pastMeredith 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.
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Tags: Garden, more than five decades, famous photojournalist, unexpected journey, Winter, apple orchardRelated posts:
You can buy this for the same price or $1 more at Sam’s or Costco. For those of us who travel a lot but want to read good books as they hit the shelves, this pricing is an insult. There are disadvantages to reading on Kindle (can’t share the book, can’t display on your bookshelf, for example) and the price should reflect that.
Rating: 1 / 5
Winter Garden
Read the first couple of chapters and it’s another one of those “I hate my family, they do nothing, I do everything” kind of books. Don’t waste your money.
Rating: 1 / 5
Winter Garden
The Kindle price is $16.49, and the Barnes and Noble price is $15.78 for the hardcover. That’s just patently ridiculous. I borrowed the book from a friend (which you can’t do with Kindle), and it was fairly entertaining. I would write a more thorough review, but I’m too upset about the Kindle price. I would urge everyone to refrain from buying this book until Macmillan stops insulting the consumer.
Rating: 1 / 5
Winter Garden
Evan rescued Russian Anya from a German prison camp. They married, moved to the American Pacific Northwest after the war, and she spent her life grateful to him. She gave him two daughters that she failed to connect with as Evan meant everything to her. On the other hand Evan loved Meredith and Nina.
While Nina traveled the world as a photojournalist, older sister Meredith stayed home to work on her family’s apple orchard. When Meredith turned forty, her dying father asked her to take care of her aging mother after he is gone. She wants to say no but agrees. Nina comes home to help her sibling with their cold mother, whose mind is fading. Over vodka, mom tells the truth about losing everyone in her family during the Nazi siege of Leningrad and Stalin’s post war purges.
This is a fascinating tale of a mother and her two daughters coming together as adults like they never did when the younger generations was kids. Anya owns the tale as she describes the horrific hardships during WWII especially the 900 day sege and Stalin’s deadly actions afterward. Her saga makes the issues of her daughters seem petty. Readers will empathize with Anya as she lost so much of her heart and soul that what was left she could only give to her savior Evan. Although the ending feels totally out of place with its “perfection” considering the personalities of the three women, fans will enjoy the trek to the climax especially when Anya as the prime guide tells her shocking horrendous story.
Harriet Klausner
Rating: 4 / 5
Winter Garden
A wonderful story of 2 sisters (Nina and Meredith) and their hard relationship with their mother (Anya). The real story unfolds through a “fairy tale” that their mother tells them after their father (Evan) passes away.
Rating: 5 / 5
Winter Garden