Des Dillon > Quotes

“Aleksei was reading a copy of Great Expectations. ‘Great Expectations,’ said Yelena. ‘Are you enjoying it?’ ‘Yes.’ ‘Where did you get it?’ ‘A man was handing them out.’ ‘A man was handing them out?’ ‘On Nevsky.’ ‘But why?’ said Stasia. ‘I didn’t ask him, everybody took one.’ ‘Did he ask for food?’ said Yelena. ‘No.’ ‘Money?’ asked Stasia. ‘No.’ There was a little boy on the cover. His hand was held up by a man and in the distance, a ship sailed towards the horizon. Yelena couldn’t tell if he was waving to the ship or not. As Aleksei read, Yelena sat by the window sipping cold tea and drifted. Leningrad was being stripped of all that could save her, people, guns and ammunition. It seemed like the end. But here was a man trying to feed the population with art. There was nothing he could do about their bellies but the spirit could be fed. This man, she decided, was a visionary.”
― Des Dillon, Yelena's Leningrad

“All changed, changed utterly, a terrible beauty is born.”
― Des Dillon, Yelena's Leningrad