The Madonnas of Leningrad: A Novel
by Debra Dean
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Book Reviews of The Madonnas of Leningrad: A Novel
Book Review: Too close to home
Summary: 5 Stars
Debra Dean does an amazing job of getting under the skin of the Siege of Leningrad, 1941. The conditions for life were utterly intolerable yet the heroine survived by using her mental capacities, remembering every item of the Hermitage Collection using her memory. Ms. Dean had never been to Russia (then, the Soviet Union) yet she recreates the horrors of the siege with clarity and candor. It is a remarkable tour de force. For anyone who has survived wartime bombing, Madonnas is "too close to home."Book Review: At times, achingly beautiful and transendent
Summary: 5 Stars
I have to admit I'd grown a bit tired of dual-track/flashback driven stories (and movies) of late. But this novel reminded me of why that tool--in the hands of a skill author telling a truly engaging tale--can be so potent and poignant.
The picture painted of the Siege of Leningrad was as vivid as the tours of the war-time Hermitage in the book.
This is a book I keep pressing eagerly into the hands of family and friends to share its complex and bittersweet beauty.
Book Review: Great book on different levels
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a very well-written, memorable book. There is the aging mom who is increasingly forgetful but her long term memory of the war and her work at the Hermitage Museum, now in city of St. Petersburg, is sharp. Quite the story of the suffering and beautiful artwork that the staff fought to save. It is a story of beauty and love despite the hardships with an appropriate, soothing ending. One of the best books I've read in a long time.Book Review: Transcending the Horrors of War Through Art
Summary: 5 Stars
I loved this book. It is about a woman in war-torn Leningrad during World War II. She looks with sorrow at the empty museum surrounding her. She gazes at the blank spaces on the wall where paintings used to be and visualizes them. This enables her to rise to the greatest heights of hope and spirituality despite the realities of death, war and starvation all around her.
This is a great novella and I highly recommend it.
Book Review: Interesting Insight into the Leningrad Blockade Impact on the People of Leningrad
Summary: 4 Stars
This was an interesting and enjoyable read.....The telling of the unbelievable living conditions during the blockade of Leningrad and how some people survived in the basement of the Hermitage....all remembered by an older women now suffering from Alzheimer's. It provides insight into the mind of someone suffering from Alzheimer's as well as the extraordinary experience she endured as a young women in Leningrad.