Journal Entry 1 by KimKerry from Prescott, Arizona USA on Tuesday, July 28, 2009

From Amazon.com:
Her granddaughter's wedding should be a time of happiness for Marina Buriakov. But the Russian emigre's descent into Alzheimer's has her and her family experiencing more anxiety than joy. As the details of her present-day life slip mysteriously away, Marina's recollections of her early years as a docent at the State Hermitage Museum become increasingly vivid. When Leningrad came under siege at the beginning of World War II, museum workers--whose families were provided shelter in the building's basement--stowed away countless treasures, leaving the painting's frames in place as a hopeful symbol of their ultimate return. Amid the chaos, Marina found solace in the creation of a "memory palace," in which she envisioned the brushstroke of every painting and each statue's line and curve. Gracefully shifting between the Soviet Union and the contemporary Pacific Northwest, first-time novelist Dean renders a poignant tale about the power of memory. Dean eloquently describes the works of Rembrandt, Rubens, and Raphael, but she is at her best illuminating aging Marina's precarious state of mind: "It is like disappearing for a few moments at a time, like a switch being turned off," she writes. "A short while later, the switch mysteriously flips again."

Dean did a great job of handling a tender, difficult subject. The novel is really several tales superimposed over each other -- a woman struggling to keep a grasp on the here and now, the terror and heartache of a city and people being torn apart, a daughter's "discovery" of her mother, and a detailed and rich art world. There were a few too many adjectives splashed throughout her paragraphs, but overall I loved the descriptions and the way in which Dean segues from one time period to another.

Passing on to a fellow bookcrosser. 

Journal Entry 2 by teenie-k from Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada on Monday, August 10, 2009

Arrived in today's mail.

Thanks KimKerry! I look forward to reading it :o) 

Journal Entry 3 by teenie-k from Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada on Monday, September 14, 2009

I loved this book. Very sweet and touching.

More than just a novel about a woman with Alzheimer's, this book also explores the intensity of surviving war-time, and how the many facets of love carry us through hard times.

 

Journal Entry 4 by teenie-k at Park Theatre & Movie Cafe- Winnipeg OBCZ in Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada on Monday, September 14, 2009

Released 2 yrs ago (9/14/2009 UTC) at Park Theatre & Movie Cafe- Winnipeg OBCZ in Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada

WILD RELEASE NOTES:

WILD RELEASE NOTES:

Bringing to the monthly meeting of local bookcrossers at our official bookcrossing zone at the Park Theatre Movie Cafe. If none of the members attending this evening take it home, it will be left on the shelf for someone else to take and enjoy.

Hello lucky reader.

You are holding a special book. A book that wants to be read by many different readers, and wants it previous readers to know where it has been. Please consider making a journal entry – you can remain anonymous if you like, and it costs nothing.

I hope you will consider joining this global book club, and if you do, I hope you will list me – teenie-k, as your referring member. Basic membership is free, and bookcrossing is a lot of fun.

You may do what you like with this book, but I hope you will consider passing it on, to a friend, co-worker, family, or just leave it somewhere new for someone else to find. If you have become a member, you might get to read about this book’s future adventures!

Happy Reading,
teenie-k
Winnipeg, MB, Canada

 

Journal Entry 5 by gypsysmom from Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada on Monday, September 14, 2009

Thanks teenie-k for bringing this to the meet-up. Fun time tonight!

I look forward to reading this. 

Journal Entry 6 by gypsysmom at Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada on Sunday, August 08, 2010

I'm going to take this book on vacation with me and will probably release it after I finish it. So it may be heading back to the USA but probably a different state than Arizona. 

Journal Entry 7 by gypsysmom at Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada on Monday, August 16, 2010

This is Debra Dean’s first novel but I certainly hope she writes more. She is very gifted and her humanity shines through this book.
Marina was a docent at the Hermitage Museum just before World War II came to the doorstep of
Leningrad/St. Petersburg. Her boyfriend, Dmitri, asked her to marry him just before he was shipped off to the front and they spent one night together. As an employee of the museum, Marina and her uncle and aunt sheltered in the basement while the Germans shelled the city. Marina worked as long as it was possible to box up paintings and other treasures. When the galleries were empty she used to continue to recite her tour as she went through. One of the babushkas told her that she was making a memory palace and she convinced her to continue. Marina had to spend nights on the roof of the building to watch for fires. Usually she had a partner, but one night she was alone and she believed she made love with one of the gods whose statues lined the roof. Of course, by this time the siege of Leningrad was in full force and everyone was starving so perhaps it was a dream or a vision. As the cold winter months went by Marina and everyone else starved and froze. Many people died. Her uncle died first and then her aunt a month or so later.
Marina lived, we know because the story also contains a present day story line in which Marina is suffering from Alzheimer’s Disease. She is soon going to attend her granddaughter’s wedding but she has trouble remembering who is getting married. She even has trouble recognizing her daughter Elena who comes to pick her and Dmitri up. However, she remembers clearly events from that terrible winter and she goes through her memory palace at will.
Does the title refer to the paintings of the Hermitage, many of whom were madonnas painted by the great masters? Or is Marina one of the Madonnas? It could go either way or maybe both meanings apply.
It was very interesting to me to read Dean’s take on Alzheimer’s Disease. My mother had this horrible affliction before her death. Dean apparently watched a beloved grandmother suffer from it. I guess we’ll never know exactly what the person with the disease thinks. Certainly in the early stages my mother knew something was wrong just as Marina did. I felt something similar to what Elena felt when the end came:
Several years hence, when Marina’s body is finally winding down, Helen will feel no grief, only a quiet detachment, as though she is waiting for a bus—it is late and she is tired but she has nowhere she needs to be and it will get here when it gets here. She and Andrei and Naureen and the grandchildren have long since said their good-byes, and Marina herself has left…
That’s the tragedy of Alzheimer’s; the loved one disappears before the body is gone. I was fortunate that my mother still knew me right up to the end but many are not so blessed. I hope we find a cure soon!
 

Journal Entry 8 by gypsysmom at Forest Service Campground in Red Lodge, Montana USA on Monday, August 16, 2010

Released 1 yr ago (8/15/2010 UTC) at Forest Service Campground in Red Lodge, Montana USA

WILD RELEASE NOTES:

I left this book on top of the pay box at the entrance. This release is for the 2010 52 Towns in 52 Weeks release challenge. This is the 25th town I've released a book in.