

Winter Garden
Author: Kristin Hannah
Narrator: Susan Ericksen
Unabridged: 14 hr 37 min
Format: Digital Audiobook Download
Publisher: Brilliance Audio
Published: 02/02/2010
Categories: Fiction, Women, Family Life
Author: Kristin Hannah
Narrator: Susan Ericksen
Unabridged: 14 hr 37 min
Format: Digital Audiobook Download
Publisher: Brilliance Audio
Published: 02/02/2010
Categories: Fiction, Women, Family Life
Kristin Hannah was born in September 1960 in Southern California. At eight years old, her family moved to Western Washington. Kristin decided to become a lawyer and attended law school in Washington. While in her third-and final-year of law school, Kristin’s mom was in the hospital, facing the end of her long battle with cancer. Always knowing that her daughter was meant to be a writer, Kristin and her mother collaborated on a novel. After her mom's death, she packed up all those bits and pieces of paper and research they'd collected and put them in a box in the back of her closet. Kristin got married and continued practicing law.
Then, Kristin found out she was pregnant and was on bed rest for five months. It was during that time that her husband reminded her of the book she'd started with her mom. Kristin pulled out the boxes of research material, dusted them off and began writing. By the time their son was born, she'd finished a first draft and found an obsession.
After many rejections, Kristin finally got "the call," and in that moment, she went from a young mother with a cooler-than-average hobby to a professional writer, and has never looked back. In all the years between then and now, she has never lost her love of, or her enthusiasm for, telling stories. Kristin feels truly blessed to be a wife, a mother, and a writer. Her novel, Firefly Lane, became a runaway bestseller in 2009, a touchstone novel that brought women together.
This is the best book I have read in quite some time. I love Kristin Hannah, and picked up this book without more than a cursory glance at the back cover. I was totally hooked within a few pages and could not put it down. The characters are so real, you feel like part o fthe story. There are lots of twists and turns in the plot, and something very unexpected toward the end. I loved it and wish there was a whole series of books with these characters.
Loved it. Not usually a mystery fan, I really enjoyed the surprises in this book. Since I have friends whose parents endured some of the hardships told about in this story, it was especially interesting to me. Have recommended to several of my reading friends. Would certainly say excellent.
I was drawn to this novel for the interplay between past and present, and the idea of a fairytale motif masking a darker story. These elements kept me engaged, but the novel felt uneven. Several of the plot developments in the modernday story bordered too far on the melodramatic, and the fairy tale dragged on to the point of feeling heavyhanded. The sincerity of some of the quieter family moments and vivid, engrossing descriptions of Leningrad during the war were the novels greatest strengths. I wouldnt discourage anyone from reading this book, but I wont be itching to recommend it, either.
The set up of this story is slow, but I’ve found most of Kristin Hanna’s books are written this way… you don’t realize you’re so connected to the characters until you’re crying the last few pages. But on the other hand, this one had me a bit bored and waiting too long to hear their mother’s fairytal......more
Be patient during the first half, it gets very good and emotional the second half. This is written in the past and present tense, which is a common format in many novels, but one that I enjoy. It's like reading two different novels. What starts as a dysfunctional domestic situation between 2 sisters......more
You know why Kristin Hannah is such a pro in my eyes? Because she first wrote her 2010 novel, Winter Garden, as a standard WWII + modern day dual-timeline narrative and quickly realized she needed to redo it because the present storyline wasn’t nearly as compelling as the past. She deserves a round......more
OH MY GOSH THIS BOOK 😭🤍 absolutely one of my new favorites by Kristin Hannah WOW......more
If I could, I would give the first half of this book 1 star, from about the middle until the final chapter 5 stars, and the final chapter 3 stars - - - so I guess that, all in all, the 3 star rating is probably the most accurate. This is the second Kristin Hannah book I have read where I have active......more
“It's a tearjerker, but the journey is as lovely―and haunting―as a snow filled winter's night.”―People Magazine
“This tearjerker weaves a convincing historical novel and contemporary family drama.”―Library Journal
“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.”―Publishers Weekly