The Madonnas of Leningrad: A Novel
by Debra Dean
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Book Reviews of The Madonnas of Leningrad: A Novel
Book Review: disappointment
Summary: 1 Stars
I totally agree with Electra Wilson's review. The book was definitely not what I had expected. I know St. Petersburg quite well and bought the book because I was intrigued by its title. What I had hoped for was a typically Russian story but unfortunately I could not find the Russian soul in it anywhere. It should have been entitled "the war-time experience of an Alzheimer's patient." War is horrific in any setting, and Debra Dean made it Leningrad by mentioning a few monuments and streets and by choosing Russian names for her characters. But which authentically Russian "babushka" would worship a foreign painting, even in times of extreme hardship? She would perhaps have a time-worn picture of an ikon folded up in her pocket that she would take out and look at once in a while when times got hard. Marina's reunion with Dmitri after the war is also extremely far-fetched. What are the odds she would accidentally run into him on the street in another country? And what ultimately happened to the children Mikhail and Tatiana? There is no tying up loose ends and the story becomes totally unsatisfactory. If you love Russia, and especially St. Petersburg, like I do, skip the book.Book Review: Two stories reflecting each other
Summary: 4 Stars
As one can read from the summaries, this book is about a young woman's experiences during the Siege of Leningrad during WWII and her later descent into Alzheimer's. I found both stories to be compelling, but especially think the author did a good job of portraying Marina's confusion due to Alzheimers and the reaction of those around her at her granddaughter's wedding. It provided a great insight into the fact that we can never understand the past experiences of others especially our parents.
I do believe this is a very well written novel; however, at times, I must admit that it didn't grip me as it should. I don't have a strong art background and quite frankly found some of the descriptions of the paintings tedious (I know those of you who are art lovers are going to disagree with that statement). This is a great novel for the lovers of historical fiction AND art.
I would highly recommend The Siege: A Novel by Helen Dunmore which is also about the Siege of Leningrad.
Book Review: How Art Helps People Survive
Summary: 4 Stars
The Hermitage may be a better title for the book since Marina, the main character works at the Hermitage. She gives tours proudly and describes the majestic halls of an art museum as well as the priceless artwork contained within. It is here she falls in love with art, history, and public speaking. The Hermitage is also where her boyfriend finds her and, begging her to take time off, proposes to her. Even more, it is where she survives World War 2 by living in the basement with other employees and resorting to eating the glue off the frames to survive while haunting the empty galleries recalling the pictures which once hung there. The recollection of each painting becomes her purpose and helps her psychologically survive starvation, death, and loneliness.
Marina's time at the Hermitage is remembered by an older Marina, one who suffers from Alzheimer's. The story plays with the idea of memory with the central role it plays in helping Marina to survive, but in the way Marina's early life becomes real again as her present world escapes her.
Book Review: swept away
Summary: 3 Stars
I was pretty much swept away by this story. I enjoyed the non-linear plotting and all the layering involved. I thought constantly of the film Russian Ark and also a friend who was born in a displaced persons camp where his Russian artist parents ended up after the war. It rang true that the parents, having experienced such horrors, avoided the details with their children.
However, the modern parts of the story seemed perfunctory, particularly in contrast with the richness of the historical portions. That's too bad - it cheats the reader. Marina's daughter lacks passion and intellectual curiosity, which seems false given some of her life choices. I wonder what sort of book it could have been if there were more balance in the presentation of the two eras. My three-star assessment is recognition of a great story idea told half-well: not great literature, not total chick-lit trash, ultimately worth reading.
Book Review: not what I was hoping for
Summary: 2 Stars
There are some pretty turns of phrases, but this book cannot decide what it is.
Is it about Alzheimer's disease? Well, possibly. Is it about surviving the siege? Possibly.
But I bought this believing that I'd have a unique approach to a woman's struggle during the long, devastating siege of Leningrad by the Germans. It does in that it touches on people starving, people dying, but the general focus is on her tenure as a guide (and packer) at the Hermitage and what her speeches were to this and that group. It attempts to be mystical and misses the mark. This book didn't hold together well for me.
Chapters shifted back and forth between Marina's Russian life and her old age as her memory is receding...and the problems her husband has with her...and her daughter's lonely and complicated life...and you probably get the idea.
The madonnas of the story are paintings.