Joyce Shaughnessy, author

 

I am giving 5 stars for The Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah. Although the book began slowly, somewhere in the middle, I became wrapped up in the characters just like I do every book by Kristen Hannah. I admit to having had zero interest in the Russian front or the siege of Leningrad, but soon found myself wrapped up in the heartbreak of a young girl, Anya. The book travels back and forth in time and relates the story of Anya as a young mother who has since moved to the United States. She first appears unloving and cold toward her two daughters. Her husband and father of the girls dies in the beginning of the book. Meredith, 40, is obsessed with work and taking care of everyone but herself. The other daughter, Nina, is a photographer who travels the world and rarely comes home. They both are running from their feelings because of the cold attitude of Anya. What gripped me about a third of the way through the book was the beautiful, poetic writing of the author. She depicts her character so well, that I started to really care about them and had no choice to keep reading. I urge anyone who reads this book to give it a chance and once the story of the siege of Leningrad unfolds, read slowly so that can appreciate the author’s stunning depiction of Leningrad and the lives of Anya’s family and the heartbreaking times through which she lived. I became so immersed in the book that I cried through parts of it, just as I did in The Nightingale. Kristin Hannah is still my favorite author!