The Madonnas of Leningrad told the story of Marina as a young woman in Russia and as an old woman living in the United States. The young Marina worked at The Hermitage, a large art museum in Leningrad during World War II. The elder Marina suffered from Alzheimer’s, struggling with her memory. Both versions of Marina showed a woman deeply passionate about her contribution to preserving some of the greatest pieces of art in Europe.

The story fluctuated between Leningrad and Marina’s home in Washington. The Leningrad parts of the story were fascinating – Marina and her co-workers hurriedly packed up the artwork throughout the Hermitage, saving it from German bombs. Not only did Marina pack away this valuable art, she made a “memory palace” so she would remember where to place the art once the war was over. The Hermitage was a large museum, so memorizing each placement was no small task.

Once the Germans reached the city border, Marina and her family moved into the cellar of the Hermitage (along with 2,000 other Russians). Through this part of the story, you learned about the sparse conditions, scarcity of food and bitter cold that the Russians endured during the siege.

When the story slipped to the elder Marina, you saw the ravaging effects of Alzheimer’s. Marina could not remember her children’s faces, how to dress or when to use the restroom. But her memory of her time at The Hermitage was perfect.

Fans of historical fiction, especially about World War II, can learn a lot from The Madonnas of Leningrad. It’s also a clear look into the darkening mind of an Alzheimer’s patient. My only wish was that Debra Dean devoted more pages to Marina’s life in Leningrad. Her depictions of the siege and the museum’s art left me wishing for more. Nevertheless, this book was a beautiful tribute to the brave people who risked their lives to save something beautiful during the ugliness of war. ( )

This is the haunting tale of Marina, a woman who works and later lives in the Hermitage art museum in Leningrad during the long winter of the German siege in World War II. It switches back and forth between her suffering at the museum and her present day self in the Pacific Northwest as an elderly woman whose mind is failing her.Though I had never read about Russia during this time period, much less the siege of Leningrad, as I read I began to wonder if perhaps I'd heard too many stories from WWII. The hunger and death grew wearisome, with the only real interest of the story coming from Marina's passionate descriptions of the art in the Hermitage. But things improved, and I left this book happy I had read it. This is one of those books you wander through with only mild interest until the last few scenes, when everything picks up and ties together, and you turn the last page feeling uplifted and truly satisfied. ( )

At times this book was quite lovely (especially when focusing on the museum in Leningrad). Other times I felt it pushed too hard to be sensitive and meaningful and touching. Nicely told, with alternating chapters in past and present, but not quite the extraordinary experience I was expecting. ( )

In the present day, Marina and her husband Dimitri attend her grandchild’s wedding, and her Alzheimer’s reaches new stages of confusion for her and for her family as she relives her months living through the Siege of Leningrad during World War II.

The flashbacks were confusing to me at first, and I never loved Dean’s style of writing. The entire book is written in the present tense: both flashbacks and current events. But as I became somewhat accustomed to the style, I came to appreciate the stories. The lack of tense shift accurately portrayed the confusion Marina experienced with her Alzheimer’s and it added to our own sense of confusion as to what was going on now.

I only wished that there were more to the novel. As a short 225-page novel, Dean was unable to fully delve into either story: the siege story and the modern-day story. It was an okay novel overall, but I was rather disappointed when it ended. The premise held such promise.

More detailed review on my blog