Binding: Paperback
Publisher: HarperPerennial
Date Published: 2007
ISBN-13:9780007215065ISBN:0007215061
Description: Good. **SHIPPED FROM UK** We believe you will be completely satisfied with our quick and reliable service. All orders are dispatched as swiftly as possible! Buy with confidence! read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: HarperPerennial
Date Published: 2007
ISBN-13:9780007215065ISBN:0007215061
Description: Good. Our aim is to create value for our customers through the provision of low cost, affordable products and an overall satisfying buying experience. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: HarperPerennial
Date Published: 04/06/2007
ISBN-13:9780007215065ISBN:0007215061
Description: Used-Good. Book in good or better condition. Dispatched same day from warehouse. Please email with any questions for quick response. read more
Edition: First British Edition
Binding: Card Covers
Publisher: Fourth Estate Ltd, London, United Kingdom
Date Published: 2006
ISBN-13:9780007215058ISBN:0007215053
Description: Near Fine. 8vo-over 7¾"-9¾" tall. Unread paperback with slightest signs of storage-231 pages. Next post dispatch. read more
Description: Good. Shows some signs of wear, and may have some markings on the inside. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: HARPERCOLLINS PUBLISHERS Country = UNITED KINGDOM
Date Published: 2007
ISBN-13:9780007215065ISBN:0007215061
Description: BRAND NEW PAPERBACK. 288 pages. 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, and the ensuing lifelong memories from this extraordinary experience. (Paperback) read more
Description: Very Good. Dust Jacket present. VERY GOOD with minimal wear to cover and pages. Binding fully intact. We offer a no-hassle guarantee on all our items. Orders generally ship by the next business day. Default Text. read more
Binding: Trade paperback
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Date Published: 2007
ISBN-13:9780060825317ISBN:0060825316
Description: Very good. No dust jacket as issued. Clean inside out, tight binding, very good cover. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 231 p. Contains: Illustrations. P.S. (Paperback). Audience: General/trade. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Date Published: 2007-02-19
ISBN-13:9780060825317ISBN:0060825316
Description: Good. Clean pages, no spine creases, some page corner creases, minor shelf-wear to cover, minor moisture ripples on bottom does not reach text. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Fourth Estate Ltd
Date Published: 05/06/2006
ISBN-13:9780007215058ISBN:0007215053
Description: Used-Good. Book in good or better condition. Dispatched same day from warehouse. Please email with any questions for quick response. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Fourth Estate Ltd
Date Published: 05/06/2006
ISBN-13:9780007215058ISBN:0007215053
Description: Used-Good. Book in good or better condition. Dispatched same day from warehouse. Please email with any questions for quick response. read more
Binding: Trade paperback
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Date Published: 2007
ISBN-13:9780060825317ISBN:0060825316
Description: Very good. No dust jacket as issued. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 231 p. Contains: Illustrations. P.S. (Paperback). Audience: General/trade. read more
"During the siege of Leningrad in 1941, Marina worked as a tour guide in the Hermitage museum, where she and other staff were instructed to cut all the paintings out of their frames to be stored in a safe place, leaving the frames on the walls as a symbol that the art works would return. Marina loved all the paintings, and she missed seeing them, so she formed a "memory palace" in her mind, and could go around a gallery visualizing all the paintings. The story of her time in Leningrad alternates chapters which tell of the lives of Marina and her husband Dmitri 50-60 years later, when Marina's memory is failing her. The blurb on the jacket calls this book a "searing portrait of war and remembrance, of the power of love, memory, and art to offer beauty, grace and hope in the face of overwhelming despair.""
"Synopsis: The story moves back and forth between the present day and World War II in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Marina worked in the Hermitage museum as the paintings were packed away and hidden in undisclosed locations. Every night as German bombers would bomb the city, Marina and the other workers were stationed on the roof as the museum as fire watchers. The present-day portion of the book takes place near Seattle. Marina is now an old woman suffering from Alzheimer's and while attending her granddaughter's wedding she just can't remember who anybody is.
My Review: I thought that I would like this book more than I did. While the book moves seamlessly between war torn Russia and present-day America, I found the story difficult to follow and simply not that interesting. During a lot of the book, Marina is trying to remember the rooms of the Hermitage as they were before the paintings were removed and I enjoyed the descriptions of the paintings, sculptures and rooms (The Hermitage was a former Imperial Palace before being converted into an Art Museum. My parents and I toured the museum after my mission - very beautiful)."
"I have had this book for a few years, having won it in a blog contest from Wendy at Musings of a Bookish Kitty. Occasionally, I would think about reading it, but never felt "in the mood," until recently.
The main character, Marina, is an elderly Russian woman, living in America, and suffering from Alzheimers. Her husband is devoted to her, but he is also elderly, and not always able to keep up with her. Her grown children are anxious for their parents to move to a care facility where they can remain together, but where there father will have help with their mother.
The story goes back and forth between the current-day wedding of a granddaughter and the Fall of Leningrad in 1941, when Marina was a tour guide at The Hermitage, and helped the staff save the priceless collection from destruction.
I found this book to be fascinating, not just for the "personal" history of life in Leningrad during that time, but also as a peek into the mind and existence of someone with this terrible disease. To have your past become easier to remember than the names of your children seems so unthinkable, yet Debra Dean writes in such a way that you truly feel that you are in Marina's head.
"Descriptions of art and the decor of the museum goes over my head largely. I'm not a very visually perceptive person! Seems so strange to me that even reading the descriptions, I can find it so hard to imagine what the narrator is seeing. But it got easier as I went along.
I enjoyed this book but didn't find it that compelling. There's a minimal use of magical realism, which I am not a fan of. Perhaps the aforementioned lack of sensory perceptiveness/appreciation is part of why I don't have an affinity for magical realism? I found it hard in the Erdrich books (though less so in Master Butchers Singing Club) and in House of Spirits and Eva Luna by Allende. I was struggling to work through a recent Gabriel Garcia Marquez book in Spanish, as I did with Casa de los Espiritos when I was in Houston. Vivir para Contarla lingers on my nightstand, and I realize I never even bothered to put Allende or Garcia Marquez on my books here. I retained so little, they probably don't warrant my keeping count of them! :)"
We guarantee every item's condition, as described on Alibris. If you are not satisfied that an item is as described, return your purchase for a refund.
rating
