I'm always happy to find another copy of this book for release. I read it several years ago and loved it. My comments from the earlier release:
A very moving story. It treats two very difficult subjects without being impossibly depressing to read. The contrast between Marina's clear memories of the war years and her loosening grip on present reality is handled beautifully as the narrative moves almost seamlessly between the two. I was particularly touched by the scene at the wedding reception when Marina is talking to the "nice lady in a pink dress" [may not be an exact quote; I lent the book out without writing it down].

I had never heard that during the siege, museum employees gave tours of the museum, stopping before the empty frames and describing in great detail the paintings that used to hang there. That they remembered not only the fine points of hundreds of works, but also their precise location is a testament to their love of art and dedication to their job.

It was interesting to learn that Ms. Dean wrote the book before she had the chance to actually visit St. Petersburg [Leningrad]. Her account of the trip she took with her husband post-publication was quite humorous.

Left at about 3:00. Hope the finder enjoys it!

Released for Leap Into the Wild Challenge hosted by AlterEgoZoe.
Released for Oh, the Places We Can Go Challenge hosted by Secretariat.

DEAR FINDER,

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Picked up at the LFL on Middlesex Turnpike in Burlington, MA on my way down south today. Thanks!

(In retrospect, looking back at my journal entry of the "catch", I'm really annoyed that I didn't set my location to the place where I actually caught the book!)

But wow, I'm so glad I picked this one up; what a gem. The picture I'm uploading here is one I took in December 2013, during a trip to St. Petersburg (the former Leningrad). It's of the Jordan Staircase in the Hermitage Museum, which is mentioned several times in the book.

Taking this to today's meeting of the Boston Bookcrossers.

I claimed this softcover at this afternoon's BookCrossing Meetup at the Porter Square Panera in Cambridge MA, intrigued by the premise of trying to protect art during the horrific Siege of Leningrad...

What a poignant story! I enjoyed this - and, yes, got a bit teary here and there. The past and present were woven together well, and I appreciated both the history of the museum and its loyal staff during the siege and the heart-wrenching look at Marina's gradual loss of memory as Alzheimers took over. (I've known people suffering from that awful disease; their past memories seemed to last the longest, as the recent ones disappeared.)

The scenes where Marina describes the absent artworks in such detail that her audience begins to see them - those were my favorites. But the suffering and mutual support of the staff during the siege was also memorable. Impressive book!

[Side note: the empty-picture-frames scenes resonated with me, as I'd just read Guardians of the Louvre, a manga which included scenes of the Louvre's empty frames when its artworks were taken away during WWII. Oh, and in the author's list of references I found Russian Ark, a film exploring the Hermitage, and now I want to see it! ]

I left this book, bagged against the elements, on a bench on the town common while geocaching in the area. Hope the finder enjoys it!

[See other recent releases in MA here.]

*** Released for the 2019 Keep Them Moving release challenge. ***

*** Released for the 2019 Oh the Places We Can Go release challenge. ***

Lol