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Winter Garden Review
"Winter Garden," by Kristin Hannah, is a surprising book. I say this as someone who has been deeply impressed by Ms. Hannah's writing before -- her "When Lightning Strikes" is on my short list of favorite novels to re-read often, and whenever I pick that book up, I always find something new to appreciate. So I was well aware of how vividly Ms. Hannah envisions history ("When Lightning Strikes" is a paranormal set, for the most part, in 1896), and of how fine her use of language, culture, mores, tone, and description. All of those are again on display in "Winter Garden," a more traditional straight-up family history and memoir, along with the themes of sacrifice, sisterhood, families, and secrets.
At the start of "Winter Garden," we meet two pre-teen sisters, Meredith and Nina Whitson. We see them briefly act in a play, a story their mother has told them that seems to be of a worthy, yet poor, young woman, her sister, and the prince who rescues her. But the play angers and upsets their mother, Anya, who cannot tell them why; this makes them vow never to try to please their mother again.
Then we see them as full-fledged adults -- Meredith, the nurturer, someone who takes on difficult jobs around the house and at her job without praise or fanfare and is running herself into the ground, and Nina, the prize-winning and world-renowned photojournalist, who takes on difficult jobs in various countries photographing people (mostly in war zones) and is running herself into the ground in a wholly different way. Meredith is married, with two children in college, but her marriage is in trouble because she can't communicate; Nina is in a long-term relationship but can't admit she loves her boyfriend because she isn't able to communicate. Both place their problems in communication solely on their cold, quiet mother Anya's shoulders, and both idolize their father, Evan -- a bluff, hearty, good-humored man who brings out the best in his wife and daughters. Neither daughter knows why Evan married Anya, nor why Anya seems to hate them.
But the story of Evan and Anya rests squarely on the shoulders of a deeper, richer and more profound love story of another, younger woman -- a story neither Nina nor Meredith knows, but Evan knows and accepts. This is the reason why Evan, on his deathbed, asks both his daughters to please try to get Anya to tell them the rest of the story about the prince, the worthy young woman and her sister -- all of it. And this promise changes everything . . . .
Because so very much of "Winter Garden" relies heavily on the story Anya tells her daughters in fits and starts, I am unable to give you too much information because it would spoil your reading experience. I will say, however, that this novel is not to be missed; Anya's far more than a cold, reserved woman, and her love story with Evan is only a small part of what she's endured over time and throughout her life. And once her daughters figure this out, their view of their mother -- as well as their view of themselves -- changes. Forever.
I believe this is a story that women, their daughters, their friends, and most men will enjoy; it is a story of hope, fear, death, friendship, sacrifice, honor, and history. It is also about fate, second chances, and personal redemption; it is a profoundly satisfying reading experience.
Just a shade under five stars (I rounded up for Amazon's purposes), highly recommended.
Barb Caffrey
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