Winter Garden

Written by:
Kristin Hannah
Narrated by:
Susan Ericksen

Unabridged Audiobook

Ratings
Book
266
Narrator
72
Release Date
February 2010
Duration
15 hours 0 minutes
Summary
Can a woman ever really know herself if she doesn't know her mother?

From the author of the smash-hit bestseller Firefly Lane and True Colors comes Kristin Hannah's powerful, heartbreaking novel that illuminates the intricate mother-daughter bond and explores the enduring links between the present and the past

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 falls ill, Meredith and Nina find themselves together again, standing alongside their cold, disapproving mother, Anya, who even now, offers no comfort to her daughters. As children, the only connection between them was the Russian fairy tale Anya sometimes told the girls at night. On his deathbed, their father extracts a promise from the women in his life: the fairy tale will be told one last time—and all the way to the end. Thus begins an unexpected journey into the truth of Anya's life in war-torn Leningrad, more than five decades ago. Alternating between the past and present, Meredith and Nina will finally hear the singular, harrowing story of their mother's life, and what they learn is a secret so terrible and terrifying that it will shake the very foundation of their family and change who they believe they are.
Reviews
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Carlyn

Couldn’t wait until it ended. Unrealistic, unsympathetic characters. Really enjoyed The Nightingale, but not this one.

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Beth M.

This is a wonderful story of love and loss and finding new beginnings.

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Nicki K.

Kristen Hannah delivers again. It is not my favorite, but still captivating.

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Catherine S.

A bit slow to start with but the end totally made it worthwhile, it brought me to tears a number of times. So glad I pushed through

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Anonymous

The story within a story was better than the premise. It started slow….the characters aren’t as likable as you expect from Hannah’s work. Overall not great plot or resolution. And I found the whole thing rather depressing.

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Julianna G.

i was challenged to read this book with my bookclub. i usually stick to spicy fantasy romance, so this was definitely a change from that, but i gotta say...Just incredible. One of those books that changes life as you know it. makes you think, like really think about your own life. I really appreciated the accents, and learned so much about the Seige of Lenongrad. I CRIED so many times, and felt each loss and gain so deeply. highly recommend.

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Anonymous

Incredible book, so well-written and narrator was good, I recommend!

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SamanthaC

Oh this book just wrecked my mama heart. So good, and beautifully written. I’m on a Kristin Hannah kick right now and this book is definitely in her top three. I do not think I’ve cried that hard over a story in a while. Or smiled. Worth the listen/read! So good.

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Jenny E.

Utterly heartbreaking. I learned a lot and felt even more.

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Stacy D.

I really enjoyed this book!

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Anonymous

It took me a while to get into the book, but once the characters were well established, the pace picked up.

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Anonymous

Good

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Anonymous

Enjoyed the story!

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Bryann Lee

The narrator was amazing and she read the story so well and with so much emotion.

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Loana S.

I loved this.book. I laughed and cried. It was a beautiful read.

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Joan H.

Wonderful book- great characters- enjoyed the family dynamics. Will listen again

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Kristen N.

This book is a painful read/listen. The first half of the book is almost unbearable to get through. It did pick up a little bit, but not enough. Kristin Hannah’s other books are excellent. But this one and Night Road are not worth your time. I literally had to check the internet to make sure there weren’t two authors with the same name. Move on to something else if you loved The Great Alone and Nightingale. This won’t do it for you.

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Linda R.

Beautiful story.

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Sharon H.

I have mixed emotions about this book the beginning is long and drags on a bit but the ending is great! Overall I would recommend

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Anonymous

I could barely get through the first 2 hours of listening. Boring!

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Wendy T.

I’m glad this isn’t the first Kristin Hannah book that I picked up or I probably wouldn’t have read another. Love Kristin Hannah reads but this one I could have done without! I just kept waiting for it to get good. It never did

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Anonymous

Fascinating historical fiction.

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Pamela T.

I loved this book!! After I got into it I couldn’t stop listening!!

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Cathy B.

A hauntingly beautiful story that I didn't see emerging until quite far into the book. I enjoyed it and found it totally absorbing. Wept my eyes out in the last few chapters. One of my best 'reads' so far

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Rachelle S.

Excellent book could not put it down. Highly recommend this book. Was sad when it was done.....love Kristin's books !!!

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Candy G.

Needed an edit. Too much repetition in the first 2/3rds of the book. Had to hand on til the end to find out the mystery.

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Cindy L.

Winter Garden was a disappointment after Nightingale. The first two thirds of the book kept repeating the same thing over and over. I'm glad I hung on till the end even though I was ready to quit listening. I have enjoyed a number of Kristin Hannah's books and have learned they start out VERY slowly only to turn a corner and make me sit in my car long after I've gotten to my destination just so I hear what happens next! Throughout the first part of Winter Garden I kept reminding myself it should get better...and it did.

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Cynthia W

I did not like this book at all, which is unusual for me. Mostly I've really enjoyed all the audiobooks I've listened to even if they were not great stories. For me, I think that a combination of things made this book very hard to get through, but mainly the story itself was so boring. Six hours into the book and nothing had really happened to set up the story or keep the reader interested. Both the mother and the 2 sisters were really 2 dimensional characters and the relationship between them was very annoying. I, too, bought this book because I listened to the Nightingale, which was amazing. Winter garden cannot even come close. It's tough to say that the narrator was the issue because the book itself and the characters were so bad.

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Patricia M

This book was great from the beginng to end. I did not want to stop listening. It is well written and well read.

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kim m

Loved this book! Heart wrenching but truly beautiful story.

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Angie Teal

I did not like the book mostly because I could not get to like the female characters. while it is not important to like the characters the reader should at least care about what happens to them and I really did not. I skipped ahead to the end because I never leave a book unfinished, but did not go back to read the middle. Still I like Kristin Hannah's writing style and found the part about the Leningrad war zone interesting, therefore three stars.

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carly ridge

I loved every second of this story. Beautiful and heartbreaking I cried the entire time.

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Shelley Farber

I was in tears almost the whole time!

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Brittny Hutton

Get through the first half, it is worth it! Wonderful, haunting story.

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Lauren Snodgrass

Although this book seemed to start off a bit slow, I ended up loving it! Such an emotional and heartfelt story. I love Kristin Hannah's writing. It made me want to do my own research about Russia's history.

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Gina McHugh

So disappointed after The Nightingale. I could not finish listening. It was painful. I got 1/3 through and couldn't stand the whining sisters. Don't waste your time on this one!

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HEATHER WRIGHT

Very long and drawn out, but a haunting story beautifully read

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