The Winter Garden

            Kristen Hannah never fails to make me cry, at least once, while reading one of her books.  As I read The Winter Garden, I actually sobbed!
 

This book retells the life of a Russian-born woman who suffered unbearable hardship in Stalinist Leningrad.  Meredith, her eldest daughter, must try to fulfill her fathers dying wish that she take care of her mother, not something she wants to do. In flash backs we find out, as do Meredith and Nina, why their mother has always behaved distant and cold to them.  We also see how this has shaped the daughters and affected their lives.
 

            I learned much about Russian history from this book, thanks to Hannah’s careful research. And, as always, each and every character came to life on the pages.

    A tearjerker, but I loved it.