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Winter garden a novel

by Hannah, Kristin.

Format: Book on CD 2009
Availability: Available at 1 Library 1 of 2 copies

Available (1)
Location Collection Call #
Community Library of Castle Shannon Audio Books (Cassettes and CD's) Book on Disc Fic Hannah (5)
Location  Community Library of Castle Shannon
 
Collection  Audio Books (Cassettes and CD's)
 
Call Number  Book on Disc Fic Hannah (5)
 
 
 
Unavailable (1)
Location Collection Status
Hampton Community Library Adult Audio CHECKED OUT
Location  Hampton Community Library
 
Collection  Adult Audio
 
Status  CHECKED OUT
 
 

Summary
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 fails ill, Meredith and Nina find themselves together again, standing alongside their cold, disapproving mother, Anya, who even now, offers no comfort to her daughters.

Mesmerizing from the first page to the last, Kristin Hannah's Winter Garden is one woman's sweeping, heartbreaking story of love, loss, and redemption. At once an epic love story set in World War II Russia and an intimate portrait of contemporary mothers and daughters poised at the crossroads of their lives, it explores the heartbreak of war, the cost of survival and the ultimate triumph of the human spirit. It is a novel that will haunt the reader long after the last page is turned.

1941 . Leningrad, a once magical city besieged by war, cut off from aid, buried in snow. A city full of women desperate to save their children and themselves...

2000 . Loss and old age have taken a terrible toll on Anya Whitson. At last, she will reach out to her estranged daughters. In a halting, uncertain voice, she begins to weave a fable about a beautiful Russian girl who lived in Leningrad a lifetime ago...

Nina and Meredith sit spellbound at their mother's bedside, listening to a story that spans more than sixty years and moves from the terrors of war-torn Leningrad under siege to modern-day Alaska.

In a quest to uncover the truth behind the story, Nina and Meredith discover a secret so shocking, so impossible to believe, it shakes the foundation of their family and changes who they believe they are.

"Another powerful story of family love, and strong women...a fascinating story that weaves fairy tales into reality, fairy tales that don't always have the expected endings." ― The Herald-News

..".a gripping read. Hannah's audience will find plenty to discuss in this enthralling entry." ― Booklist

Published Reviews
Booklist Review: "The Whitson family is rocked by the sudden death of patriarch Evan, a warm, loving man who doted on his two adult daughters, Meredith and Nina, and his reserved Russian wife, Anya. Meredith, who runs the family business, and Nina, a photojournalist whose job takes her to war zones around the world, have never been able to connect with their cold, forbidding mother. When Anya begins to act strangely, Meredith thinks she belongs in a nursing home, but Nina decides to try to fulfill her father's dying wish and get her mother to tell her and Meredith the elaborate fairy tales she used to share with them. Anya is initially reluctant, but once she begins, Nina realizes these tales are actually the story of Anya's life in Stalinist Leningrad. Meredith and Nina decide to attempt to uncover the truth about their mother's tragic past in the hope of understanding her, and themselves. Though the novel starts off fairly maudlin, it evolves into a gripping read, although it's a tearjerker. Hannah's previous books, including Firefly Lane (2008) and True Colors (2009), are tailor-made for book clubs, and her audience should find plenty to discuss in this equally enthralling entry.--Huntley, Kristine Copyright 2009 Booklist"
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Publisher's Weekly Review: "Female bonding is always good for a good cry, as Hannah (True Colors ) proves in her latest. Pacific Northwest apple country provides a beautiful, chilly setting for this family drama ignited by the death of a loving father whose two daughters have grown apart from each other and from their acid-tongued, Russian-born mother. After assuming responsibility for the family business, 40-year-old empty-nester Meredith finds it difficult to carry out her father's dying wish that she take care of her mother; Meredith's troubled marriage, her troubled relationship with her mother and her mother's increasingly troubled mind get in the way. Nina, Meredith's younger sister, takes a break from her globe-trotting photojournalism career to return home to do her share for their mother. How these three women find each other and themselves with the help of vodka and a trip to Alaska competes for emotional attention with the story within a story of WWII Leningrad. 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. (Feb.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved"
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Additional Information
Series Brilliance Audio on compact disc.
Subjects Mothers and daughters -- Fiction.
Russian Americans -- Fiction.
Domestic fiction.
Psychological fiction.
Audiobooks.
Publisher Grand Haven, MI :Brilliance Audio,2009
Edition Abridged.
Contributors Ericksen, Susan, narrator.
Brilliance Audio (Firm)
Participants/Performers Read by Susan Ericksen.
Language English
Notes Compact disc.
Title from container.
In container (17 cm.).
Description 5 audio discs (6 hr., 10 min.) : digital ; 4 3/4 in.
ISBN 9781423325253
1423325257
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