In another Kristin Hannah sweeping tale (I’ve read The Nightingale and The Great Alone), two sisters hope to heal from the loss of one parent while becoming closer to the other parent. In between, Hannah leads us on a journey through present day Washington state and Alaska as well as war torn Leningrad.
There is some comfort in the predictable storyline of two sisters with opposite personalities. The older sister, Meredith, surrounds herself with a stable family life, eventually taking over the family apple harvesting business. The younger sister, Nina, a world renowned photographer, travels the world and lives like a gypsy.
Both daughters have a close relationship with their father. Their mother? Eh, not so much. Is there a reason for her lack of empathy and coldness towards her family?
“And maybe that was how it was supposed to be…Joy and sadness were part of the package; the trick, perhaps, was to let yourself feel all of it, but to hold on to the joy just a little more tightly…” -Kristin Hannah
As children, Meredith and Nina remember Anya’s fairy tales. It is the only bit of humanity they see within their distant and lonely mother. As adults, they ask their mother to finish one particular story. Throughout the remainder of the book, Anya illustrates the fairy tale. Is it real? Or is it a fairy tale? Read to find out the story of these women.
Librarian a la mode 