Thank you Macmillan Audio /Netgalley, #partner for the ALC of Winterland in exchange for my honest review.
Publisher: Macmillan Audio
Published: November 29, 2022
Summary:
Perfection has a cost . . .
Reminiscent of Maggie Shipstead’s Astonish Me and Julia Phillips’s Disappearing Earth, Winterland tells the story of a previous era, shockingly pertinent today, shaped by glory and loss and finding light where none exists.
In the Soviet Union in 1973, there is perhaps no greater honor for a young girl than to be chosen to be part of the famed USSR gymnastics program. So when eight-year-old Anya is tapped, her family is thrilled. What is left of her family, that is. Years ago her mother disappeared. Anya’s only confidant is her neighbor, an older woman who survived unspeakable horrors during her ten years in a Gulag camp—and who, unbeknownst to Anya, was also her mother’s confidant and might hold the key to her disappearance. As Anya moves up the ranks of competitive gymnastics, and as other girls move down, Anya soon comes to realize that there is very little margin of error for anyone.
My thoughts:
Gymnastics is always one of my favorite sports to watch during the Olympics. I even took a year or two of gymnastics myself when I was young, dreaming big dreams that I could maybe be as good as the gymnasts I saw on TV. So of course when I first heard about this book, I knew it was going to be something I had to read…and I cannot tell you how much I enjoyed it and how many memories it brought back!
The world of gymnastics is not a pretty one, nor is any competitive sport really. We follow Anya’s journey as she rises up the ranks, seeing the good and bad, the easy and the hard. We also get an eye-opening look at what life was life for athletes and children alike during this time in the USSR living under the Communist Party. Being an athlete gives certain advantages that allows one to rise above their situation.
This is not an easy story as we watch Anya train for hours, whether hurt or not. The hours she puts into this are brutal and grueling, much like the brutal, grueling winters and you feel that cold in your bones as you are reading. The limits she had to impose on her body – what she could and couldn’t eat, what she could and couldn’t do – it was heartbreaking reading these parts. And yet, so many did exactly as they were told all in the hopes of making a spot on that elite team or “the team” heading to the Olympics – whatever team was the “it” team that season.
I loved how throughout this story historical tidbits were woven in, mentions of the great Nadia Comaneci being my favorite. I remember watching a movie about her with my grandmother after one of my gymnastic classes and thinking how amazing she was! She became one of my favorites after that and I remember reading books about her and wanting to be just like her.
I’m so glad I was able to read this one. It was a much anticipated read and it definitely delivered. I loved the way the story was told and found myself completely swept up in the story from start to finish. The different points of view kept me engaged, though I would have loved to know more about Anya’s mother. That is one thread that I wish was developed a bit more.
I am so glad I was able to read this one and if you are a fan of gymnastics like me, I definitely recommending picking this one up!
Audio thoughts:
I was able to snag an early ALC of this one and I thought it translated very well onto audio. The narrator, Daphne Kouma, does a fantastic job bringing the story to life. Her pacing and intonation were spot on and she did a great job of giving each character their own personality. I very much enjoyed listening to this one.
