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From Publishers Weekly
Russian emigré Marina Buriakov, 82, is preparing for her granddaughter's wedding near Seattle while fighting a losing battle against Alzheimer's. Stuggling to remember whom Katie is marrying (and indeed that there is to be a marriage at all), Marina does remember her youth as a Hermitage Museum docent as the siege of Leningrad began; it is into these memories that she disappears. After frantic packing, the Hermitage's collection is transported to a safe hiding place until the end of the war. The museum staff and their families remain, wintering (all 2,000 of them) in the Hermitage basement to avoid bombs and marauding soldiers. Marina, using the technique of a fellow docent, memorizes favorite Hermitage works; these memories, beautifully interspersed, are especially vibrant. Dean, making her debut, weaves Marina's past and present together effortlessly. The dialogue around Marina's forgetfulness is extremely well done, and the Hermitage material has depth. Although none of the characters emerges particularly vividly (Marina included), memory, the hopes one pins on it and the letting go one must do around it all take on real poignancy, giving the story a satisfying fullness.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
From Booklist
*Starred Review* Her granddaughter's wedding should be a time of happiness for Marina Buriakov. But the Russian emigre's descent into Alzheimer's has her and her family experiencing more anxiety than joy. As the details of her present-day life slip mysteriously away, Marina's recollections of her early years as a docent at the State Hermitage Museum become increasingly vivid. When Leningrad came under siege at the beginning of World War II, museum workers--whose families were provided shelter in the building's basement--stowed away countless treasures, leaving the painting's frames in place as a hopeful symbol of their ultimate return. Amid the chaos, Marina found solace in the creation of a "memory palace," in which she envisioned the brushstroke of every painting and each statue's line and curve. Gracefully shifting between the Soviet Union and the contemporary Pacific Northwest, first-time novelist Dean renders a poignant tale about the power of memory. Dean eloquently describes the works of Rembrandt, Rubens, and Raphael, but she is at her best illuminating aging Marina's precarious state of mind: "It is like disappearing for a few moments at a time, like a switch being turned off," she writes. "A short while later, the switch mysteriously flips again." Allison Block
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
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Most helpful customer reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
Strong First Novel,
By
This review is from: The Madonnas Of Leningrad: A Novel (Paperback)
The Madonnas of Leningrad is a lyrical and elegant novel about Marina, a young tour guide at the Hermitage Museum, during the siege of Leningrad in World War Two and her loosing battle with Alzheimers in present day Seattle. The novel shifts smoothly back and forth from Marinas battles in Leningrad with starvation and bitter cold and her present day battle with Alzheimers, comparing and contrasting the two. During the siege, Marina memorized every last detail of every painting in the museum, in an effort to keep her own sanity.Marina isnt able to hold on the fresh memories but remembers her horrify days during the siege and the paintings in the Hermitage Museum. Dean does a good job comparing the past with the present and describing the breath taking details of the paintings. Though she mentions that Marinas fiancé, Dmitri, is captured and brought to a German prison camp, Dean too quickly brushed over Marinas and Dmitris reunion in Germany and we never know how Marina ended up in Germany. None the less, this short book packs a big punch and will not disappoint. Debra Dean is a new author with lots of potential; I cant wait to see what she writes next! Teddy
2.0 out of 5 stars
The "boring" Madonnas of Leningrad,
This review is from: The Madonnas Of Leningrad: A Novel (Paperback)
I managed to read just over pages 100 in this book, when I realized that I did not care at all about the characters or the story. The plot switches back and forth between the present and the past.In the present, the main character is afflicted with dementia and the story is told about how it affects both her and her family. This arc in the novel is not bad, but it just is not exciting enough and it moves very slowly. The second arc of the book, is about the main character's past working in a museum in Leningrad. This part of the book is BORING. All that is described in this arc is the main character's various perceptions of the art displayed in each room of the museum. If I wanted a book on the history of the works of the Hermitage Museum in Leningrad, I would buy a non-fiction account. In a fiction novel, I want a good story, not a diabtribe on different paintings on the walls of a museum and how they are perceived by the protagonist.I do not understand the positive reviews of this book. What seemed like an ideal story, is just simply not fleshed out in the book. It is a very slow read. At page 100 or more, the story should flow and be a page turner for it to be enjoyable and this book just simply did not, so I gave up.
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Painting analogy,
By
This review is from: Madonnas Of Leningrad (Hardcover)
I've just finished this beautifully-crafted novel, and, strangely enough, a painting analogy came to mind in reference to it...impressionist, soft-focus. While the paintings described are in vivid detail, I felt the story itself was quiet and gentle. It's as if (for me) Marina's loss of memory and internal wanderings in an 'otherworldly' place were painted on a soft impressionistic canvas. There's an ethereal beauty to the story. When I came to the last page and realized that Debra Dean had used her grandparent's love affair and Alzheimer's illness as inspiration, it added another dimension to what I had just read of this sad and haunting story. She has inserted a thread of love and care throughout, which has come from her own heart. Dean uses the term 'shepherding' in thanking those who had been instrumental in 'shepherding this book'. I can imagine it was a journey of both love and sorrow for her as she wrote, and having that support along the way was comforting.
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