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The Madonnas of Leningrad: A Novel
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The Madonnas of Leningrad: A Novel Paperback - 2007

by Debra Dean

  • Used

In this sublime debut novel, set amid the horrors of the siege of Leningrad in World War II, a gifted writer explores the power of memory to save . . . and betray.

Description

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Details

  • Title The Madonnas of Leningrad: A Novel
  • Author Debra Dean
  • Binding Paperback
  • Edition Reprint
  • Condition Used - Very Good
  • Pages 256
  • Volumes 1
  • Language ENG
  • Publisher Harper Perennial, New York, New York, U.S.A.
  • Date 2007-02-20
  • Illustrated Yes
  • Features Illustrated, Price on Product - Canadian
  • Bookseller's Inventory # WAL-P-2e-01538
  • ISBN 9780060825317 / 0060825316
  • Weight 0.44 lbs (0.20 kg)
  • Dimensions 7.88 x 5.36 x 0.67 in (20.02 x 13.61 x 1.70 cm)
  • Themes
    • Chronological Period: 1940's
    • Chronological Period: 21st Century
    • Cultural Region: Russian
    • Generational Orientation: Elderly/Aged
    • Sex & Gender: Feminine
  • Library of Congress subjects Historical fiction, Psychological fiction
  • Dewey Decimal Code FIC

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Summary

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.

From the rear cover

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. . . .

Media reviews

Citations

  • New York Times, 03/18/2007, Page 24

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