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Winter Garden

By: Kristin Hannah
Narrated by: Susan Ericksen
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Editorial reviews

in Kristin Hannah’s Winter Garden, we find three women - a mother and two daughters by blood, but strangers in their hearts - reeling from the loss of the man who held their fragile family together. Emptiness pervades this story - hollowing out what is left of the Whitson family and creeping into the space between narrator Susan Erickson’s words.

Anya and her daughters Meredith and Nina have already lost their husband and father to death - and risk losing each other to pride. Evan Whitson knew of this risk, and on his deathbed asked his wife to tell their daughters her “fairy tale” from start to finish. And so we find the Whitson women gathered in the dark at their family home, Belye Nochi, night after night.

Meredith is the older daughter who stayed home to take care of the family business, and her marriage is falling apart. Younger sister Nina, meanwhile, has traveled the globe as a renowned photographer, but refuses to marry the love of her life. Neither sister has much of a relationship with the other - much less with their cold and distant mother, Anya, whose mysterious past in Russia haunts them all.

Erickson’s Anya is resolute, her Nina bold, and her Meredith lost. Effortlessly, it seems, Erickson captures in one moment the decades of sorrow in Anya’s voice and in the next the ready spirit in Nina’s. Always we hear the sheer exhaustion in Meredith’s. Erickson’s voice is at times empty and full, icy and warm, sharp and soft. Throughout the book all three women are alternately devastated with loss, isolated by bitterness, and joyous for the love of family, and Erickson lets us hear it all with her honest and gentle delivery.

Winter Garden is a story best listened to - it is after all a testament to the power of storytelling. What Meredith and Nina hear in their mother’s story will cause them to face their grief head on and just might make them a family once again. --Sarah Evans Hogeboom

Publisher's Summary

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.

©2010 by Kristin Hannah. (P)2009 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved.

Critic Reviews

“It's a tearjerker, but the journey is as lovely - and haunting - as a snow filled winter's night.” --People Magazine

“This tearjerker weaves a convincing historical novel and contemporary family drama.” --Library Journal

“Readers will find it hard not to laugh a little and cry a little more as mother and daughters reach out to each other just in the nick of time.” --Publishers Weekly 

What listeners say about Winter Garden

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Hard to be believe this is from Kristin Hannah

Having read so many incredible books by this author, I was bitterly disappointed with this book. Firstly, the narrator was really, really bad so I suppose the book could never make up for that. She actually did an Irish accent..of a male...that was incredibly bad..I hope an Irish person never has to listen to that. Thankfully she used a Russian accent for most of it and that was a brave attempt but the American voices...no, no, no. Everyone sounded the same...bored, miserable and unhappy..as I was listening to it drone on and on. Amazingly, I managed to get to the end but I was not rewarded. I kept thinking that surely the book would get better but for me, it did not.

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Oh my heart!

Absolutely loved this narrative. I was hooked til the end. The fairytale embedded within the central storyline was very clever.
Great characters. Very emotional
Moments that had me in tears.
Another superb novel by Kristin Hannah

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A heart wrenching story I couldn’t put down

A very well written story about a part of history I was unaware of. I couldn’t stop listening although it was so sad and heart wrenching.

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An incredible story

Wow this story was incredible. What a horrendous part of history for people living in Leningrad. It was so well written. I had no idea where the story was headed. I could visualise the horrors of War. a brilliant book

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Beautiful

This is such a wonderful story that ties the present to the past and how significant that can be. I found this book a lot slower then Hammels others but then as it unfolded I couldn't stop. Another thought provoking tale that will stay with me for a long time. -Jess

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Captivating & Heartbreaking

What a beautiful but painful story. I laughed and cried throughout but the very last chapter & epilogue had me bawling. Glad I was at home alone when I got to that stage of the book. I have read and listened to so many stories about what people went through during WW2 during my life but this is one from a perspective I hadn’t heard before.

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Insanely slow beginning melts into an absolutely magical story

I almost couldn’t persevere, but once the telling of the fairytale began, it really picked up in pace. After the Great Alone I wanted to visit Alaska, and now I’m dying to see Leningrad. Kristin Hannah is just the most incredible writer.

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Brilliant!

Kristin Hannah certainly knows how to tell a story. I enjoyed listening from start to finish. Have tissues handy 😭

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Amazingly beautiful story

Engaging and entertaining it just begs to believe it’s a true story, which in fact it does mimic many of the survivors stories from Russia during that time. Highly recommend to all.

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Beautiful

Kristin Hannah never fails to delight. The audio version is so well told. Highly recommended.

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