The Madonnas of Leningrad: A Novel
by Debra Dean
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Book Reviews of The Madonnas of Leningrad: A Novel
Book Review: 5 stars doesn't mean perfect.....
Summary: 5 Stars
I've thought about this book repeatedly since I finished it last week, a testament to how deeply it affected me. There is much to ponder, particularly the power of memory and the profundity of its loss. Marina is in her 80s, struggling with the early stages of Alzheimers disease. As her short term memory begins to falter, she drifts back to the dramatic years of her youth during the siege of Leningrad in WWII. Beautifully written, with nice transitions from the present to the past and back again without disruption.
So what didn't I like? I found it unlikely (but not impossible) that her children would know so little of their mother's past, and I felt the story would be richer had there been more exploration of Marina's present circumstances. That having been said, I highly recommend this novel for its originality and its loving depiction of the waning years of a life.
Book Review: "joy or grief, eventually they are inseparable"
Summary: 5 Stars
_The Madonnas of Leningrad_ shows us the world through the eyes of a survivor of the seige of Leningrad, both as it was happening to Marina in 1941, and as it was remembered by an 82 year-old Marina suffering from Alzheimer's. It is a heart-breakingly beautiful story, as Dean vividly describes not only the magnificence of the Hermitage (and its artwork), but also the struggles Marina faces as both a young woman and a crone.
I was particularly struck by the way Dean allowed me to see through the eyes of a woman with Alzheimer's - what Marina's husband, daughter, or construction workers saw as nonsensical, was, in fact, logical to what was going on in Marina's mind. The ebb and flow between time and place, the gradual loss of ones self, and the child-like wonder of someone suffering from dementia were humanely portrayed. Recommended.
Book Review: Loved it! And the madonnas were not only in the paintings.
Summary: 5 Stars
Someone may already have pointed this out, but isn't part of the point of the shifting timescape the fact that this is what happens in Alzheimer's? One minute you're there, and the next, you're not? Or you're somewhere else? I found the author's use of time-shifting extremely effective. In addition, I thought her blending of Marina's lives (for lack of a better word) was handled with delicacy and skill. The way she came back, at the end, to Marina's sweet attempt to "show her rescuer the world" was, in my mind, exquisitely done and very poignant. Marina had several worlds--some real, some imagined--all along. I am fortunate to have some knowledge of Russian history and the siege of Leningrad, but that certainly is not a requirement for enjoying the narrative. I thought this book was terrific--my favorite summer read. Highly recommended.Book Review: This is a great book
Summary: 5 Stars
I actually liked this book enough to write a review for it - and that's saying something for me. I thought the book focused more on young Marina (vs her 82-year-old self), the seige, the Hermitage and what it was like surviving at that time. That's what interested me the most. The parts about the "present" Marina were heartbreaking, watching a woman slowly succumb to Alzheimers. I imagine that your reading experience is enhanced if you have actually been to St Petersburg and to the Hermitage. It certainly compelled me to re-examine my scrapbooks. My only complaint is that it seems like the story just stopped. I would have liked it if it had been about 1/4 of a book longer, delving more into the young Marina and her experiences during and immediately after the seige. Otherwise, it's a quick, riveting read.Book Review: banal prose, flat characters
Summary: 3 Stars
The author must be commended for the idea of this novel, which is excellent. And I do not know how many novelists have attempted to write from the point of view of a person with Alzheimers. Again, commendable. However, the prose in this book is so predictable and turgid that at several times during my reading I looked up and say to my husband, "I hate this book." Twice on the same page, the author describes different parts of the lobby of the Hermitage as "a confection". I've been there, and yeah, it's gilded overmuch, but should the prose be also? People in this book "stare blankly" or even "stonily," they are "mesmerized by awful beauty," etc. etc. Perhaps I have been spoiled; I just read "City of Thieves", a much better book set in Leningrad during the seige.