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k_winchester's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.75
This was overall lovely, interesting, and at many times quite heartbreaking for a variety of reasons.
I was delighted to recognize many of the art terms in here - my art history classes paid off! 😂 I ended up looking up stuff about the siege of Leningrad that I didn't know, and the way Marina's past unfolds in that frame of wartime is incredible and very, very clearly based in real history. (I'm not usually very into historical fiction but this was really great and well done). The way the book flows between Marina struggling in the present with Alzheimer's as well as remembering her past during the war, is lovely and sad.
There were a few especially weird moments/scenes here and there, but I really liked the way the main kinda themes appeared together throughout: art (and the power it cab have to help people cope), war/tragedy, family, the struggle of alzheimer's, hope.
I was delighted to recognize many of the art terms in here - my art history classes paid off! 😂 I ended up looking up stuff about the siege of Leningrad that I didn't know, and the way Marina's past unfolds in that frame of wartime is incredible and very, very clearly based in real history. (I'm not usually very into historical fiction but this was really great and well done). The way the book flows between Marina struggling in the present with Alzheimer's as well as remembering her past during the war, is lovely and sad.
There were a few especially weird moments/scenes here and there, but I really liked the way the main kinda themes appeared together throughout: art (and the power it cab have to help people cope), war/tragedy, family, the struggle of alzheimer's, hope.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Mental illness, Dementia, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and War
Minor: Sexual content