A review by akross
The Madonnas of Leningrad by Debra Dean

4.0

Having lived in two Russian homes in which my host mother would insist I finish my meal, dredging up memories of the "blokad", I always like reading a good yarn about WWII and Leningrad. It's a fascinating and overlooked incident in history that warrants more stories like this one. Plenty of unanswered questions in the end (for better and worse) and not enough character development (Marina's daughter particularly could have been downsized or fleshed out). Loved the connected-disconnected timelines and the elegant prose. Dean shows a lot of promise, but also plenty of room to grow.