The Madonnas of Leningrad by Debra Dean

This novel was an interesting fusion of dealing with Alzheimer's and shocking history. The main character, Marina, is an old woman who is losing touch with the present while recalling in perfect detail her past experience as a museum tour guide in the Hermitage in Leningrad during World War II.

I loved the art described in the book. It was beautiful, and made me run to the Hermitage's website to get a better mental image of the paintings and the halls.

I was also intrigued by the siege of Leningrad, not something I have ever heard or read about. As the author says, "I had never been taught in school about the Soviet Union's role in the Second World War...I had never heard about the siege of Leningrad." One of the Russian women she spoke with responded, "But we stopped Hitler...Over 2 million people died." I was disturbed a bit by the fact that we DON'T learn this in school.

It was a great book. Read it.