The Madonnas of Leningrad: A Novel (P.S.) | 
 enlarge | Author: Debra Dean
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Category: Book
List Price: $13.95
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Avg. Customer Rating:  66 reviews
Sales Rank: 2735
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 256
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 7.8 x 5.1 x 0.7
ISBN: 0060825316
Dewey Decimal Number: 813
EAN: 9780060825317
ASIN: 0060825316
Publication Date: February 19, 2007
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Product Description
Bit by bit, the ravages of age are eroding Marina's grip on the everyday. An elderly Russian woman now living in America, she cannot hold on to fresh memories—the details of her grown children's lives, the approaching wedding of her grandchild—yet her distant past is miraculously preserved in her mind's eye. Vivid images of her youth in war-torn Leningrad arise unbidden, carrying her back to the terrible fall of 1941, when she was a tour guide at the Hermitage Museum and the German army's approach signaled the beginning of what would be a long, torturous siege on the city. As the people braved starvation, bitter cold, and a relentless German onslaught, Marina joined other staff members in removing the museum's priceless masterpieces for safekeeping, leaving the frames hanging empty on the walls to symbolize the artworks' eventual return. As the Luftwaffe's bombs pounded the proud, stricken city, Marina built a personal Hermitage in her mind—a refuge that would stay buried deep within her, until she needed it once more. . . .
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"One of the most talked about books of the year . . . Bit by bit, the ravages of age are eroding Marina's grip on the everyday. And while the elderly Russian woman cannot hold on to fresh memories -- the details of her grown children's lives, the approaching wedding of her grandchild -- her distant past is preserved: vivid images that rise unbidden of her youth in war-torn Leningrad. In the fall of 1941, the German army approached the outskirts of Leningrad, signaling the beginning of what would become a long and torturous siege. During the ensuing months, the city's inhabitants would brave starvation and the bitter cold, all while fending off the constant German onslaught. Marina, then a tour guide at the Hermitage Museum, along with other staff members, was instructed to take down the museum's priceless masterpieces for safekeeping, yet leave the frames hanging empty on the walls -- a symbol of the artworks' eventual return. To hold on to sanity when the Luftwaffe's bombs began to fall, she burned to memory, brushstroke by brushstroke, these exquisite artworks: the nude figures of women, the angels, the serene Madonnas that had so shortly before gazed down upon her. She used them to furnish a ""memory palace,"" a personal Hermitage in her mind to which she retreated to escape terror, hunger, and encroaching death. A refuge that would stay buried deep within her, until she needed it once more. . . . Seamlessly moving back and forth in time between the Soviet Union and contemporary America, The Madonnas of Leningrad is a searing portrait of war and remembrance, of the power of love, memory, and art to offer beauty, grace, and hope in the face of overwhelming despair. Gripping, touching, and heartbreaking, it marks the debut of Debra Dean, a bold new voice in American fiction. "
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| Customer Reviews: Read 61 more reviews...
 The power of the mind July 22, 2008
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
This inspiring story of remarkable endurance proved to be one of the most pleasurable reads for me this year. "The Madonnas of Leningrad" is a poignant tale of one woman's harrowing experiences during the 900-day Siege of Leningrad in WWII, alternating with events in her present-day life.
In 1941, Marina Krasnova is a young museum guide at the magnificent Hermitage Museum. Anticipating German attack, the museum staff work night and day to pack the priceless masterpieces to be transported to safety. When the bombings begin, the staff and their families seek refuge in the cellars of the museum, and not long after, starvation, disease, and desperation reduce their numbers. To escape the suffering of their daily lives, Marina and her friend, Anya, build in their minds a "memory palace," burning into their memories each room and the artworks that formerly graced them. As she walks from room to room, Marina sees past the empty gilt frames and sees again the grandeur of each painting-- the Rembrandts, the Da Vincis, the Carravagios, and hundreds more. To Marina, they were all part of her life and what sustained her in the darkest days. Amidst the bombings, she continues to hope that she will once again see her beloved Dmitri, the soldier she has fallen in love with and the father of the child she is carrying.
In the present day, Marina, now Mrs. Buriakov and in her 80s, is ravaged by Alzheimer's. Her memories of her children and recent events are in tatters, but memories of her Leningrad days are as vivid as always. As her faculties continue to degenerate, her mind takes her back to the days of the siege--back to her "memory palace" and the extraordinary paintings and events that defined her life. Her husband and children grow increasingly concerned, and when she disappears one day, it becomes the catalyst for her daughter, Elena's, search for her own identity and meaning in life, as well as a deeper understanding of her mother.
As expected, there is a wealth of art woven within, but one doesn't need to be an aficionado to appreciate the story. The numerous descriptions of the artworks facilitate our understanding of Marina and we identify with her desperate need to hang on to something, no matter that it's intangible, to survive. These masterpieces symbolize hope--that their return to the Hermitage someday is also the return of peace to Marina's Leningrad. The story does not merely contrast the younger Marina (when her mind saves her) and the older Marina (when her mind fails her). More importantly, it illustrates the power of the mind and spirit to provide courage and hope in even the bleakest of circumstances. It's a moving story written concisely yet descriptively, though not overdone, and particularly evocative in the chapters that deal with wartime hardships. Ms. Dean's debut was definitely worth this reader's effort and the few hours spent with her "madonnas" have been a delight.
Beautiful! July 17, 2008
I could not put this book down. It is beautifully written, and you end up caring so much for the characters. Well researched, well thought out, well written.......what a find. I hope Dean writes more.
 Heartbreak and Hope July 9, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Marina Buriakov is an 82-year old woman who is slowly losing her battle with Alzheimer's. During a trip to Drake Island for her graddaughter Katie's wedding, Marina often finds herself reminiscing about the past - a past she and husband Dmitri have chosen not to share with their two children, Andrei and Elena (Helen).
During World War II, Marina, a tour guide at the Hermitage Museum in Leningrad, worked to save the Soviet Union's priceless artifacts. However, she, like millions of other residents of the city, experienced the horrors of starvation, air raids, and death as the Germans bombed everything they could find. By creating a "memory palace" - a way of organizing her thoughts, Marina is able to remember the Hermitage in its pre-war glory.
The story frequently jumps between the present and the past, and is told through the frustration of Marina's jumbled mind. While it is a beautiful read, it can be a bit confusing at times deciphering between dreams and reality. And, while the story itself is one of heartbreak and hope, it just didn't grab me as much as I thought it would.
"The Madonnas of Leningrad" is a great book, but not one that riveted my attention like other World War II novels. Definitely spend a day with it, and then decide for yourself.
a real love story June 23, 2008
I very much enjoyed this story, told in parallel, of two parts of a woman's life. The book began with alternating chapters set, first in the youth of the central character, and then in her senescence. Gradually and artfully the two merged giving an interesting impression of what the inner life of an Alzheimer's patient might be.
The life-long love and devotion of her partner was touching. The contrast between her life in Leningrad during the siege by the Nazis and her life in the Pacific Northwest as an old woman was well drawn and not over-drawn. The book was a thoroughly pleasurable read.
Beauty transcends everything June 15, 2008
I often think people give 5 stars too freely, but this is a book that truly deserves it. For me it is usually the characters that carry or drown a novel, but in this case the characters themselves are not too important. They remain as placeholders in a novel that although achingly detailed in its description of the war and its effects on the citizens has a dreamlike quality to it. The bits descibing certain artwork fit seamlessly and appropriately into the narrative and are pieces of art themselves. A beautiful novel celebrating the gloriousness of little things backdropped by both a period of horrible wartime and ordinary life for an impact rarely seen in debut novels. Alzheimers is shown as heartbreaking yet with hidden benefits.
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