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The Madonnas of Leningrad Debra Dean

The Madonnas of Leningrad By Debra Dean

The Madonnas of Leningrad by Debra Dean


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Summary

Marina was a guide at Leningrad's Hermitage Museum. In the autumn of 1941, she and her colleagues were set the task of taking objects d'art out of the grand galleries, storing them safely against the German bombardment. This is a novel about one woman's struggle to preserve an artistic heritage from the horrors and destruction of World War II.

The Madonnas of Leningrad Summary

The Madonnas of Leningrad by Debra Dean

This is a brilliant and moving debut novel about one woman's struggle to preserve an artistic heritage from the horrors and destruction of World War II. In this extraordinary first novel by Debra Dean, the siege of Leningrad by German troops in World War Two is echoed by the destructive siege against the mind and memory of an elderly Russian woman. Marina, the woman in question, was a guide at Leningrad's famous Hermitage Museum. In the late autumn of 1941, the Luftwaffe roared over and around Leningrad, she and her colleagues were set the task of taking the thousands of priceless paintings, sculptures and objets d'art out of the grand galleries of the former Tsarist Palace and storing them safely against the German bombardment and seemingly inevitable invasion. The German assault threatened to destroy a large part of Europe's artistic history: if Leningrad fell to the Germans, everything that was not destroyed would be looted and given to the Nazis. Marina, whose own parents had disappeared during Stalin's 1930s' purges of intellectuals, clings to her hope of becoming an art historian herself through her job at the Hermitage. The novel shifts between Marina's experiences at the Hermitage during the siege of Leningrad and her current existence as a very old lady in America whose mind has begun to fray. The shifts are masterfully done: Debra Dean depicts, with subtle skill, the way Marina's mind, already ravaged by disease, picks up some incident, object or person at the wedding she's been brought to, and flips back to the dreadful year-and-a-half in Leningrad which has informed her life ever since. This is an evocative and deeply moving novel about memory itself.

The Madonnas of Leningrad Reviews

'An unforgettable story of love, survival and the power of imagination in the most tragic circumstances. Elegant and poetic, the rare kind of book that you want to keep but you have to share.' Isabel Allende 'The Madonnas of Leningrad is an extraordinary debut, a deeply lovely novel that evokes with uncommon deftness the terrible, heartbreaking beauty that is life in wartime. Like the glorious ghosts of the paintings in the Hermitage that lie at the heart of the story, Dean's exquisite prose shimmers with a haunting glow, illuminating us to the notion that art itself is perhaps our most necessary nourishment. A superbly graceful novel.' Chang-Rae Lee, New York Times Bestselling author of 'Aloft' 'Vibrant ! Dean, making her debut, weaves Marina's past and present together effortlessly ! 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.' Publishers Weekly

About Debra Dean

Debra Dean worked as an actor in the New York theatre for nearly a decade before opting for the life of a writer. She lives with her husband in Seattle, where she teaches literature and writing. This is her first novel.

Additional information

GOR013565555
9780007215058
0007215053
The Madonnas of Leningrad by Debra Dean
Used - Like New
Paperback
HarperCollins Publishers
20060605
240
N/A
Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.
The book has been read, but looks new. The book cover has no visible wear, and the dust jacket is included if applicable. No missing or damaged pages, no tears, possible very minimal creasing, no underlining or highlighting of text, and no writing in the margins

Customer Reviews - The Madonnas of Leningrad