It's time for a book report!
Name: Annette L.
Date: May 6, 2008
Book Report
- Title of Book: The Madonnas of Leningrad
- Author: Debra Dean (This is her debut novel and bravo to her!)
Setting: Where does this story take place? Mainly in a woman's memory
Main Characters: Give a brief description of each character. Use words like kind, lonely, helpful, gets into trouble, etc.
Separate these words with commas.
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Main Characters are: |
Brief Description of the character |
| Marina | A woman in the throes of dementia who can't remember her children very well but has total recall of her life during World War II in Leningrad. |
Summary: Write a summary about the story. Don't retell the whole story.
During WWII Marina is a tour guide at the Hermitage Museum. As the Germans close in on Leningrad, Marina and the other workers, take down all of the paintings from the museum walls so they can be carefully packed and shipped by train to a safe harbor. As a reminder that the paintings won't be gone forever, they leave the empty frames mounted on the walls. Marina and the other guides are encouraged to create a "memory palace" in their minds by memorizing from the frames left behind where each of the paintings goes. With the help of a mentor Marina masters the missing paintings exact locations. So as not to forget, Marina walks the Hermitage daily concentrating on the missing paintings locales particularly the many Madonnas.
As the conditions grow worse and worse for the Hermitage workers who are living in its basement with no food and no heat in a Russian winter as the Germans shell the city, Marina finds refuge in her "memory palace".
Years later after leaving Russia and as dementia destroys Marina's short term memory she vividly remembers her life at the Hermitage and that is where Marina spends her days, in her "memory palace".
Marina's family has no idea why she talks and acts like she does and it is very frustrating to them, particularly to her daughter, Helen.
Conclusion: How did the story end ? Very fulfillingly as a connection between Marina and her daughter is finally made.
Did you like the book? Why or Why not? Reading the book was pure pleasure and the author adroitly handled the moving back and forth in time from Russia in WWII to the present which is very hard to do! I highly recommend it.
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