The madonnas of leningrad: a novel

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. . . .

publishers Weekly

russian Emigre 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. (on Sale Mar. 14) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.