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67th out of 305 books
—
489 voters
The Madonnas of Leningrad
by
Debra Dean (Goodreads Author)
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 t...more
In the fall of 1941, the German army approached t...more
Paperback, 228 pages
Published
February 20th 2007
by Harper Perennial
(first published 2006)
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When I allot the stars I go by my gut feeling, but I do try to be restrictive. When you have just finished a book and think of all the things you liked about it, you tend to give the book too many stars. If you do this, a four or five star book just doesn't mean anything! So this gets three stars.
I DO like this book! A lot. I liked the wonderful description of the Hermitage and the paintings there. Sometimes when you take a guided tour of a museum and you get a guide who really knows their stuff...more
I DO like this book! A lot. I liked the wonderful description of the Hermitage and the paintings there. Sometimes when you take a guided tour of a museum and you get a guide who really knows their stuff...more
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I reviewed this book for Harper Collins Canada, here's what I said:
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 Alzheimer’s in present day Seattle. The novel shifts smoothly back and forth from Marina’s battles in Leningrad with starvation and bitter cold and her present day battle with Alzheimer’s, comparing and contrasting the two. During the siege, M...more
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 Alzheimer’s in present day Seattle. The novel shifts smoothly back and forth from Marina’s battles in Leningrad with starvation and bitter cold and her present day battle with Alzheimer’s, comparing and contrasting the two. During the siege, M...more
May 20, 2011
Mary Etta
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommended to Mary Etta by:
SLTribune list of recommended 2006 books
Shelves:
book-group
August book group.
The story follow the current and past years of an aged woman, Marina, afflicted with Alzheimer's. Her earlier years are set in WWII Russia when she was a tour guide at the Hermitage in Leningrad. Her later years are set in WA state at the time of a grandson's wedding and her visiting daughter's recognition of Marina's current state of health. As I read the Russia years I thought of my reading of "Angela's Ashes" and my feeling of luxury in having ready access to food and comfor...more
The story follow the current and past years of an aged woman, Marina, afflicted with Alzheimer's. Her earlier years are set in WWII Russia when she was a tour guide at the Hermitage in Leningrad. Her later years are set in WA state at the time of a grandson's wedding and her visiting daughter's recognition of Marina's current state of health. As I read the Russia years I thought of my reading of "Angela's Ashes" and my feeling of luxury in having ready access to food and comfor...more
I am not a big fan of "Mom Fiction" and that is the specific sub genre that I would put this book in. The strong point of this work was the style that it was written in. Take an 80 year old Russian immigrant who suffers from Dementia and watch her have flashbacks to her youth at the Hermitage in Leningrad during the siege of 41. This is all happening as her daughter is planning to take her to her nieces wedding. Yes, this is where the mom fiction comes in. The book spends most of the time with t...more
This work of historical fiction hangs in my memory like a painting. Leningrad (St. Petersburg)is under seige by the Nazis and while many fled, several caretakers of the Hermitage take up residence in the basement. Their lives as tour guides transformed the paintings into life companions. Removing them from the walls, they stored these grand works of art in the deep recesses of the Hermitage's underground crypts. The women who cared for these paintings walked the halls and continued the tours wit...more
I liked all the references to paintings and art in this story. Some of my best memories of school are learning about art and the artists themselves. This story centers on a young woman who works in a museum giving tours and such before the war in Leningrad. During the war, she stays in a shelter beneath the museum and helps move the pieces to safety. Then the story flickers between then and now with her having Alzheimer's Disease. She cannot remember her family but she remembers the war. Very in...more
3 likes · like · see review
In Leningrad as a young woman, memories kept Marina alive during the siege and now a memory-eating disease is taking her away. The author paints vivid pictures of the cold, the fright, the hunger of WWII Russia and the cold and frightening illness that is taking her mind now.
This book appealed to me personally, on so many levels.
-My parents born in Ukraine(at that time Russia)and survived the WWII seige of the nazis.
-Art-which I love, (and I also visited the Hermitage museum website, as some o...more
This book appealed to me personally, on so many levels.
-My parents born in Ukraine(at that time Russia)and survived the WWII seige of the nazis.
-Art-which I love, (and I also visited the Hermitage museum website, as some o...more
5 likes · like · see review
i was so intrigued by the plot of this book. the setting is both in WWII Leningrad and modern day California. The main character, Marina is a young woman in love in Leningrad (her fiance joins the army) and then as an 80 year old struggling with Alzheimers. I did not get caught up in the depictions of living with the war, which i thought i would. Instead, i was rivetted by the way the author took you back and forth between 1940's and present day, much in the way that Marina's mind was functionin...more
What a magnificent read this was! I am resisting the urge to start reading it again right away only because I have so many on my nightstand that I want to read. But this will be one to be read again sooner than later. I found myself spending so much time looking up the works of art mentioned in the book and the Hermitage Museum website that it took much longer than it should have to read this 228 page book. It is so beautifully written I found myself reading passages over and over again and mark...more
4 likes · like · see review
For the ending alone I could have given this 5 stars, but overall I'd say 4 stars is good. I liked the style - it went back and forth between present and past. Both present and past were so, so sad, yet the main character saw the beauty around her and I guess, that's really all any of us can do. It seemed too simple a story to me at times, but I think it couldn't have been anything other than simple. Beauty is pretty simple. Stopping and seeing the beauty is even more simple.
This is an interestingly written novel centering around an 80 year old woman with Alzheimer's, who was a docent at the Hermitage museum during the early years of World War 2. The chapters alternate between her present cognizance and what those years of starvation and deprivation were really about, and how the Russians saved most of the famous treasures. A glimpse into Alzheimer's disease and how the past re-emerges into the present with unbelievable accuracy.
1 like · like · see review
Such a beautiful book! It's hard to believe that this is the author's first. The characters are lovingly drawn, and the descriptions are so real that it is easy to imagine the paintings and the museum as she describes them.
The story is spiritually satisfying as well. The bookends of Marina's life are so unbearably heartbreaking, but there are moments of salvation. Although Marina claims to have no faith, her obvious love of art - in particular the religious art with its Madonnas - becomes her f...more
The story is spiritually satisfying as well. The bookends of Marina's life are so unbearably heartbreaking, but there are moments of salvation. Although Marina claims to have no faith, her obvious love of art - in particular the religious art with its Madonnas - becomes her f...more
I'm not sure what all the accolades are about. Everyone is crowing about what a great first novel this is. Nothing to write home about. The writing is lovely at times, and the premise interesting. But I wouldn't call it a great novel. The characters are flat and don't develop at all. Dean had never even been to the Hermitage, let alone Leningrad (St. Petersburg), before writing this novel. But I suppose it was hard to tell, as she'd done her homework. I met her and heard her do a reading from th...more
This is a gorgeously written book that follows two story lines: first, a young woman working in the Hermitage museum at the time of the seige of Leningrad, and second, that same woman, older and living in the United States, slipping into Alzheimer's. One review said you'll read it first for the compelling story, and you'll read it again to really appreciate the beautiful writing. I totally agree. The descriptions -- particularly those of the artwork -- are spectacular, and she captures the exper...more
I really didn't read this book. I was having some visual problems which made it impossible for me to read for a time. The Madonnas of Leningrad was our Book club choice for the month of January and it was not available in audio.
I asked my sister Jane, who was staying with me for the holidays if she would read it for me and tell me about it. She loves to read and I thought she would enjoy it.
A beautiful thing happened. My sister told me the story in such detail and with such emotion that the ch...more
I asked my sister Jane, who was staying with me for the holidays if she would read it for me and tell me about it. She loves to read and I thought she would enjoy it.
A beautiful thing happened. My sister told me the story in such detail and with such emotion that the ch...more
5 likes · like · see review
The Madonnas of Leningrad, by Debra Dean, narrated by Yelena Shmulenson, Produced by Harper Audio, Downloaded from audible.com.
This is a very moving novel involving an elderly Russian woman, Marina, now living with her husband in the U.S. In 1941, when the Germans swept across Russia, Marina was a guide at the Hermitage in Leningrad, now known again as St. Petersburg. She and her fellow workers found themselves carting up all the valuables they could get to and hiding them to save the collection...more
This is a very moving novel involving an elderly Russian woman, Marina, now living with her husband in the U.S. In 1941, when the Germans swept across Russia, Marina was a guide at the Hermitage in Leningrad, now known again as St. Petersburg. She and her fellow workers found themselves carting up all the valuables they could get to and hiding them to save the collection...more
Very easy book to read. The Madonnas refer to paintings in the Hermitage in St. Petersburg, then called Leningrad. The main character is Marina, a woman in her 80's living in the Northwest and quickly declining due to Alzheimers. The story goes back and forth between her current bewildering life and her time as a docent in the Hermitage Museum during the German blockade and seige of that city during WWII.
This is a setting that I knew little about, and in I loved the descriptions of life in the c...more
This is a setting that I knew little about, and in I loved the descriptions of life in the c...more
This is a wonderful book, made all the more so because it reminds me of our trip to St. Petersburg and the fantastic art in the Hermitage.
It is a story about the present and the past. In the present, an elderly Russian American woman, who is afflicted with Alzheimer's, is taken by her family to an island off the coast of Washington to attend the wedding of her granddaughter. While she is confused about the present, her mind is clear about the terrible years of the Siege of Leningrad, during whi...more
It is a story about the present and the past. In the present, an elderly Russian American woman, who is afflicted with Alzheimer's, is taken by her family to an island off the coast of Washington to attend the wedding of her granddaughter. While she is confused about the present, her mind is clear about the terrible years of the Siege of Leningrad, during whi...more
Jan 28, 2013
Lianne
added it
It's hard to believe this this Debra Dean's debut novel. It is masterfully written, comprised of a little over 200 tight, powerful yet graceful pages. Marina, the main character, was a docent in the Hermitage Museum during World War II, just as the Nazis were advancing on Leningrad. She first helped to remove all the oil paintings and roll them up to be transported by train to the safety of the Ural Mountains. She then lived in the museum with her uncle and family throughout the war: enduring hu...more
Jan 21, 2013
Heather
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommended to Heather by:
Apple Dippers Book Club
Shelves:
historical-fiction
The point of view of this book is interesting and flows pretty well considering the main character is jumping between past and present due to Alzheimer's. However, the strongest parts of the book are the flashbacks to the past and the experiences during the siege of Leningrad. These portions of the book are strongly characterized but the staging is exceptionally strong. The museum almost feels like another character and I felt great sympathy for it's struggles as well. I also loved the strong pr...more
I was eager to read this book, knowing that some of it was set in Leningrad during WWII and had something to do with the Hermitage Museum. Alas, my interest in Leningrad (now once again known as St. Petersburg, as it was before the Revolution) and the Hermitage was not enough to make me warm up to this book.
For one thing, there were many aspects that struck me as contrived. The idea of memorizing the contents of the Hermitage Museum, for instance. This was a variation of Ray Bradbury’s notion o...more
For one thing, there were many aspects that struck me as contrived. The idea of memorizing the contents of the Hermitage Museum, for instance. This was a variation of Ray Bradbury’s notion o...more
- Beautiful writing
- I would have given this book a higher rating, since Dean especially handled the Alzheimer's aspect of Marina's story very poignantly, BUT...two major things derailed this story for me.
#1: The reader is told what happens at the end through Dima's backstory flashback about halfway into the book, when he describes how Marina found him at a prison camp with their son. Like, WHY would you reveal the ending of the story halfway through the book???!!
Up until that point, I thought D...more
- I would have given this book a higher rating, since Dean especially handled the Alzheimer's aspect of Marina's story very poignantly, BUT...two major things derailed this story for me.
#1: The reader is told what happens at the end through Dima's backstory flashback about halfway into the book, when he describes how Marina found him at a prison camp with their son. Like, WHY would you reveal the ending of the story halfway through the book???!!
Up until that point, I thought D...more
Marina works at the Hermitage in Leningrad during World War II. Her fiancé Dmitri leaves to fight at the front in the war, while Marina is trapped in the Russian city during the Siege of Leningrad. She and her aunt and uncle must move into the Hermitage with dozens of others. They are all staving to death, trying only to survive.
The secondary plot deals with Dmitri and Marina’s adult daughter Helen and her struggle with her parents’ declining health. Marina has Alzheimer’s and as she looses her...more
The secondary plot deals with Dmitri and Marina’s adult daughter Helen and her struggle with her parents’ declining health. Marina has Alzheimer’s and as she looses her...more
The Madonnas of Leningrad was so good on so many levels. The personal story of Marina, the main protagonist, is haunting as is the historical context -- the Siege of Leningrad during World War II. The starvation and deprivation and cruelty of that siege by the Germans are accurately portrayed. We visited the Museum of the Siege of Leningrad in St. Petersburg last year, and every broad detail described in the book is corroborated by exhibits in the museum.
The book also raises the question of how...more
The book also raises the question of how...more
I’ve had to ponder about The Madonnas of Leningrad a bit after I finished it because it was so different than what I was expecting. Marina is an elderly lady who lived through the siege of Leningrad during World War II and she currently has Alzheimer’s. The entire book is written with a feeling of seeing through the cloud of Alzheimer’s, nothing is crystal or poignant.
When Marina was a young woman as an art school graduate she worked as a docent or tour guide to the Hermitage Museum in Leningrad...more
When Marina was a young woman as an art school graduate she worked as a docent or tour guide to the Hermitage Museum in Leningrad...more
1 like · like · see review
An excellent book!
During the WWII siege of Leningrad by Nazi Germany, workers at The Hermitage packed up & shipped to a safe location thousands of pieces of priceless artwork. The frames of painitngs were left hanging on the wall as a promise of their safe return one day. A terrible winter during the siege took its toll on the inhabitants of the city leaving many dead in its wake.
The author brings this story to life through the character of Marina. We first meet her as an old woman suffering...more
During the WWII siege of Leningrad by Nazi Germany, workers at The Hermitage packed up & shipped to a safe location thousands of pieces of priceless artwork. The frames of painitngs were left hanging on the wall as a promise of their safe return one day. A terrible winter during the siege took its toll on the inhabitants of the city leaving many dead in its wake.
The author brings this story to life through the character of Marina. We first meet her as an old woman suffering...more
Beautiful. I thought I would add my favorite page:
206
"Green." The word doesn't begin to describe this.
For the moment, she forgets that she is lost, that she is weak and chilled and the soles of her feet are tender with sores. She pinches a leaf between her thumb and forefinger and holds it up. It is breathtakingly beautiful, the first green of the world, the light of creation still shining inside it. She studies it. Time recedes, and she floats beyond it, absorbed totally and completely in thi...more
206
"Green." The word doesn't begin to describe this.
For the moment, she forgets that she is lost, that she is weak and chilled and the soles of her feet are tender with sores. She pinches a leaf between her thumb and forefinger and holds it up. It is breathtakingly beautiful, the first green of the world, the light of creation still shining inside it. She studies it. Time recedes, and she floats beyond it, absorbed totally and completely in thi...more
The Madonnas of Leningrad is a beautifully written story that goes back and forth between the young and old lives of a woman named Marina. In her old age, she suffers from Alzheimer's disease and thinks she is still in the 1940s Leningrad. The story of her young life has her hiding out in the Hermitage Museum, packing up priceless works of art so the Nazis do not destroy them. It is also a love story of Marina and Dmitri, a boy she grows up with and comes to love. He becomes her husband and we r...more
The paintings in THE HERMITAGE were evacuated shortly before the Siege of Leningrad. Marina commits them to memory (her “Memory Palace”) to sustain her spirit over that three year period. This is how Dean brings these paintings to life for the reader. You will not want to read this book without summoning the actual paintings on your computer screen. They are really the whole point of the book.
One might even say that the advertising term, Borrowed Interest, applies to MADONNAS OF LENINGRAD, so ce...more
One might even say that the advertising term, Borrowed Interest, applies to MADONNAS OF LENINGRAD, so ce...more
Many thanks to Judy for this. When she wrote that one of the aspects of this book was a case of Alzheimers, I was someone reluctant. As it turns out, this is vital to the book's plot.
I didn't know that this book would fit into my new appreciation for historical fiction as well as my fascination with fine art. I think I had read/heard once upon a time about the efforts to save the art of the Hermitage, but the Madonnas truly makes these efforts come to life. While suffering, hunger, cold, and the...more
I didn't know that this book would fit into my new appreciation for historical fiction as well as my fascination with fine art. I think I had read/heard once upon a time about the efforts to save the art of the Hermitage, but the Madonnas truly makes these efforts come to life. While suffering, hunger, cold, and the...more
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Russian history and a love story all in one | 2 | 43 | Apr 03, 2013 09:32am | |
| Russian history and a love story all in one | 1 | 11 | May 05, 2007 11:06am |
Debra Dean’s bestselling novel THE MADONNAS OF LENINGRAD was a New York Times Editors’ Choice, a #1 Booksense Pick, a Booklist Top Ten Novel, and an American Library Association Notable Book of the Year. It has been published in twenty languages. Her collection of short stories, CONFESSIONS OF A FALLING WOMAN, won the Paterson Fiction Prize and a Florida Book Award.
Her new novel, THE MIRRORED WORL...more
More about Debra Dean...
Her new novel, THE MIRRORED WORL...more
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“You're unusual. That's better than popular if you have some courage.”
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20 people liked it
“She is leaving him, not all at once, which would be painful enough, but in a wrenching succession of separations. One moment she is here, and then she is gone again, and each journey takes her a little farther from his reach. He cannot follow her, and he wonders where she goes when she leaves.”
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