Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah

Having read several novels about the struggles faced by the Jews during WWII, I felt well versed in the historical/literary era.  In fact, Literature and Composition I and II explore many novels about certain sub groups and how they are oppressed by others.  Even with all of this prior knowledge, I was still completely blown away by Kristin Hannah’s Winter Garden. 

Winter Garden is not a book about Hitler or Jews or Nazi Germany.  Actually, this novel takes place on an apple orchard in present day Washington State, where Meredith and Nina (sisters) are called home after their father has a heart attack.  Their mother is there too, but the three of them never really got along; it was the father who held the family together.  After the tragic heart attack, the family tries to reconnect. Meredith, the older sister, is the care-taker.  She buys the groceries, makes the meals, cleans the house, etc. but she does all these things out of necessity and not love.  Meanwhile, her own marriage is falling apart.  Nina, on the other hand, is unorganized, not helpful, unreliable, and so on, but it is Nina who gets her mother to open up.  Nina (and eventually Meredith) pries facts out of their mother, Anya, who has always seemed to keep her distance from her daughters.  Anya is truly unable to look her daughters in the eyes and communicate anything; therefore, she begins the story of her past in Stalin-ruled Russia in the form of fairy tales. 

Anya’s fairy tales are nothing new to her daughters, as she told these same stories to them as children, but there is something different about these stories: they are very detailed.  She is only able to tell the stories in her own bed, with the lights out, because she does not want to see her daughters’ facial expressions as she relives her tragic past.  Little by little, night by night, Anya delves deeper into her history, until one day Meredith and Nina are able to make some real factual connections between their mother’s fairy tale and events/places in Russia.  Their suspicions are confirmed when, cleaning out their father’s study, Meredith comes across some documents that turn out be enormous clues.  The sisters do a little side investigating during the day, while continuing to listen to the fairy tale at night, and the secrets that finally come out are shocking. 

Now I consider myself a pretty tough person.  I’m pretty good at hiding my emotions, and I’d rather watch football than a Lifetime movie, but I have to admit, I balled my eyes out for the last 40-50 pages of this novel.  Kristin Hannah does an amazing job of building up suspense; when all the clues are finally pieced together, and Anya’s secret past is fully revealed, I felt the pain of a mother’s love and loss.  It hit me like a ton of bricks.  It has been nearly a week since I finished this novel, and this story is still weighing on my mind.  I think anyone who has ever had a difficult relationship with his or her mother (especially that mother daughter relationship) should read this book.  Or, if you are a history buff and enjoy WWII stories, give this one a try. I know I cannot wait to read this author again!