This novel also takes place in Washington, as do the majority of her books that I've read. There is also a cruise to Alaska that takes central stage and being that I just returned from an Alaskan cruise, that was exciting to read about.
The novel jumps from the past to the present and is told in three voices, the two grown daughters, Meredith and Nina, and their mother. Their father has just passed away and the younger daughter, Nina returns from Africa, where she is a photojournalist. The older daughter, Meredith has inherited her father's winery and the care of their mother. Their mother is a strong, cantankerous woman. We can see that there is a story that we don't understand from her past. She is Russian and married to an American.
The daughters have never really felt that their mother loved them and always felt that they were playing second fiddle to the past. The only time they felt that they were truly loved by their mother was when they were being told a fairy tale as children. As their father is dying, he tells Nina that she needs to get their mother to share the story with them.
This is an incredibly difficult task as Meredith doesn't believe that Nina is actually going to stay and sees that her mother is having some memory issues. Nina is convinced that she needs to hear the story to truly understand what has kept their mother from loving them completely and freely.
The alternating chapters is the story of what happened to their mother who was living in Russia during World War II and what that meant for herself and her family. It turns out that Alaska plays a part in the mystery of what happens.
This is a beautifully written novel and, as always, I enjoyed reading Hannah's novels. In fact I just downloaded three more on my Nook so there will be more reviews to come!
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