January Selection from the Reading List
Introduction When Caroline recommended Winter Garden to our book club, she warned us that it was cold, but I didn’t grasp how truly she meant that until I started reading. Sure, the setting for the narrative shifts between Washington State, Russia, and Alaska, plenty of snow everywhere. But that’s not all- the characters are cold as well, and the story is about how they learn to thaw.
The Whitson girls, Meredith and Nina, adore their father, but they have never felt close to their mother Anya, a Russian woman their father met and married after WWII. When their father dies, the sisters, by then adults, realize they must try to reconnect with one another, and their elderly mother, or their family will fall apart.
The only time the girls ever felt an emotional bond with their mother while they were young was when she told an old Russian fairy tale about a dark lord and a prince. So the adventurous, younger sister Nina decides that to honor her father’s dying wish, she will break through her mother’s emotional wall, and she will use the fairy tale to do it. And a few shots of vodka.
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| St. Petersburg Church of the Savior on Blood |
Winter Garden moves quickly as the contemporary narrative alternates with Anya’s retelling of the mysterious fairy tale, and the reader discovers clues, along with the sisters, about Anya’s tragic past. The details about the siege of Leningrad will break your heart, especially for those of us who live comfortably in modern America. Even in the midst of an economic crisis, our lives are heaven compared to what the women of Leningrad endured.
Discussion points These characters have a frustrating inability to express love, even to the people closest to them. But as Winter Garden progresses, you understand their motivations and personality quirks. I can relate too well to Meredith, the older sister who chooses a caregiver role, who always tries to control and organize the people and events around her. I often get bitter, like Meredith, that I’m the one taking care of household details while the rest of my family plays. At 40, Meredith looks back on her life and wonders why she isn’t in more of the family photos, why she didn’t have more fun. One sentence from the book summarizes how I think many mothers feel: “The minutiae had consumed the whole.” Although it’s often sad, Winter Garden reminds us how important it is to appreciate the people we love.
Recommended for… This book will appeal to anyone who enjoys historical fiction, especially about World War II or Russian history. Readers who like character driven stories or themes of family dynamics, the solidarity of women, or the importance of spoken and unspoken words in relationships should pick up this book.
Book Club suggestions You can find recipes for stroganoff and pierogi on Kristin Hannah’s website or in the back of some editions of the novel. My book club boldly decided to “play the game” that the women in Winter Garden play each night before dinner: drink a shot of vodka and share three things about yourself. Well, our shots were more like splashes, and we couldn’t even choose a favorite song! I recommend preparing ahead of time!
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Thanks for the recommendation. I love books about World War 2.
You are welcome! Hope you enjoy!