Ruth E. R.'s Reviews > Winter Garden

I believe this book has the honor of being my final attempt to enjoy Women's Fiction. Alas, it merely convinced me that today's adult fiction is less emotionally mature than much juvenile and adolescent fiction, which, sadly, has also been taking a turn for the worse in unlikeable characters, poor quality composition, and depressing "plots."

Kristin Hannah joins the ranks of pulp fiction, which draws out your emotions but never delivers any valuable thinking or elegant style. Her fiction, as with nearly all current writing including nonfiction and especially so-called "journalism," merely provides entertainment and sensations without ever being insightful or historically accurate. It seems to have been written practically overnight, rather than being labored over in order to get it right and excellent.

A better choice for readers would be books that were actually written in the time period one is fascinated by, not a current story pretending to be set back then. Fiction of the past written by educated authors seems to have been more the rule rather than the exception that it is today. Education about history and how to compose sentences seems to be a thing of the past, and authors being published today seem to be those who can do the nearly effortless task of wringing out emotions. This is what sells books.

I made it to the end of this book because of my need to know "what happened" and also because it was an audiobook that I listened to while I was busily crocheting. I was relieved to finish and disgusted at the thought of ever reading another book by this author or any other new Women's Fiction. Sadly, these books are taking over the library bookshelves as the older books are being discarded to make room for them.