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The Girl from the Hermitage
It is December 1941, and eight-year-old Galina and her friend Katya are caught in the siege of Leningrad, eating soup made of wallpaper, with the occasional luxury of a dead rat. Galina’s artist father Mikhail has been kept away from the front to help save the treasures of the Hermitage. Its cellars could now provide a safe haven, provided Mikhail can navigate the perils of a portrait commission from one of Stalin’s colonels. Nearly 40 years later, Galina herself is a teacher at the Leningrad Art Institute. What ought to be a celebratory weekend at her forest dacha turns sour when she makes an unwelcome discovery. The painting she embarks upon that day will hold a grim significance for the rest of her life, as the old Soviet Union makes way for the new Russia and Galina’s familiar world changes out of all recognition. Warm, wise and utterly enthralling, Molly Gartland’s debut novel guides us from the old communist world, with its obvious terrors and its more surprising comforts, into the glitz and bling of 21st-century St. Petersburg. Galina’s story is at once a compelling page-turner and an insightful meditation on ageing and nostalgia.
256 pages, Paperback
First published April 23, 2020
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews
September 16, 2020
The book’s opening chapters immediately immerse the reader in the horrors endured by the people of Leningrad during the siege of that city in WW2 – the desperate shortage of food, the freezing conditions, the unburied bodies lying in the streets under a blanket of snow, the life and death choices individuals were forced to make. As Galina later recalls, “For many, it was luck that determined who lived and who perished. But for her, it was the Hermitage that saved her.”
The book charts the life changes Galina’s experiences – from daughter, to mother, to grandmother – and the many events that challenge her – betrayal, the loss of friends and family. In parallel, the reader witnesses the political changes that take place – the end of World War 2, the collapse of the Soviet Union, the formation of modern day Russia with its increasing commercialization. Looking back, Galina reflects, “How is it possible that so much can change in twenty short years? […] The collapse of the Soviet Union. One by one, she lost them.”
Despite everything Galina endures, she remains loyal to her homeland. As she explains, “It’s the motherland. I suppose it is like a family. No matter what arguments and problems we encounter, we still love each other. Even though, at times, we do and say terrible, hurtful things.” Let down by others more times than she deserves, Galina often has to call upon the resilience she learned at an early age. I admired her magnanimity and ability to forgive others, and the strength of character that enables her to remake her life many times over.
I loved the way in which the act of painting is described in the book. For Galina’s father, Mikhail, not only is the portrait commission a means of ensuring his and his daughter’s survival, the act of painting it is also a mental distraction. “As he paints, he forgets about everything he cannot control. He loses himself, the Hermitage, war and hunger in the viscous paint. He creates a rhythm: palette, canvas, palette, canvas. The brushes keep time, dancing between the two.” The portrait is also a dreadful reminder of the divisions in society that see some go hungry while others have plenty.
Later in the book, Mikhail’s artistic motivation is cleverly echoed in the feelings Galina experiences as she paints a portrait of a young girl by a lake on a day that will trigger both happy and sad memories in years to come. “Her brush dances, partnered with the symphony of squawking geese. The languid ebb and flow of their movements puts her in a trance as she focuses her attention on the emerging portrait.”
In the Afterword, Molly reveals the fascinating story – and the portrait – that inspired The Girl from the Hermitage.
The Girl From The Hermitage is an enthralling and emotional life story, a celebration of the artistic impulse, and a revealing account of a nation during a period of upheaval and change.
The book charts the life changes Galina’s experiences – from daughter, to mother, to grandmother – and the many events that challenge her – betrayal, the loss of friends and family. In parallel, the reader witnesses the political changes that take place – the end of World War 2, the collapse of the Soviet Union, the formation of modern day Russia with its increasing commercialization. Looking back, Galina reflects, “How is it possible that so much can change in twenty short years? […] The collapse of the Soviet Union. One by one, she lost them.”
Despite everything Galina endures, she remains loyal to her homeland. As she explains, “It’s the motherland. I suppose it is like a family. No matter what arguments and problems we encounter, we still love each other. Even though, at times, we do and say terrible, hurtful things.” Let down by others more times than she deserves, Galina often has to call upon the resilience she learned at an early age. I admired her magnanimity and ability to forgive others, and the strength of character that enables her to remake her life many times over.
I loved the way in which the act of painting is described in the book. For Galina’s father, Mikhail, not only is the portrait commission a means of ensuring his and his daughter’s survival, the act of painting it is also a mental distraction. “As he paints, he forgets about everything he cannot control. He loses himself, the Hermitage, war and hunger in the viscous paint. He creates a rhythm: palette, canvas, palette, canvas. The brushes keep time, dancing between the two.” The portrait is also a dreadful reminder of the divisions in society that see some go hungry while others have plenty.
Later in the book, Mikhail’s artistic motivation is cleverly echoed in the feelings Galina experiences as she paints a portrait of a young girl by a lake on a day that will trigger both happy and sad memories in years to come. “Her brush dances, partnered with the symphony of squawking geese. The languid ebb and flow of their movements puts her in a trance as she focuses her attention on the emerging portrait.”
In the Afterword, Molly reveals the fascinating story – and the portrait – that inspired The Girl from the Hermitage.
The Girl From The Hermitage is an enthralling and emotional life story, a celebration of the artistic impulse, and a revealing account of a nation during a period of upheaval and change.
July 20, 2021
A heart-breaking and moving novel, set in Russia. It reminds me so much about historical events that took place in my homeland Vietnam.
September 5, 2020
The opening paragraphs of Part One of this compelling and enthralling story describe Mikhail scraping a strip of ‘yellowing floral wallpaper’ off the wall, then holding it over a pot on the stove, gently scratching flakes of paste into the hot water to make a thin soup for Galaya (Galina), his starving daughter. He knows this won’t be enough nourishment for her but, apart from three tiny cubes of bread, he doesn’t have any more to give her. He then has to venture into the snowy streets to get water, something he must do before it becomes even colder and the bombs begin to fall again. As he does so, he sees a pile of frozen corpses just outside the entrance to his building’s courtyard, most are blanketed by snow, but his wife’s body remains exposed because no fresh snow has fallen since she died.
In spite of his concerns, Mikhail knows that by agreeing to paint the portrait the colonel has commissioned, he and Galaya, along with her friend Vera and Anna (her mother), can move into the cellars of the Hermitage, where there is the promise of more food, a school for the girls and is also where his best friend Boris works. When he arrives at the colonel’s home he is shocked by the life of affluence and plenty being enjoyed by the colonel and his two young sons. How can this be right when most of the population of Leningrad is starving? Although aware of the risks he’s taking, he cannot resist stealing food to share with family and friends at the Hermitage … but he lives in fear of the consequences should he be discovered.
Using the spare, elegant prose which would continue to define her brilliant storytelling throughout the novel, I found that within just a few pages the author had immediately evoked not only a vivid portrayal of a father desperate to do whatever he could to save his daughter from starvation (including adding a dead rat to the thin wallpaper soup) but also of a city under siege and a population prepared to go to any lengths to survive. I soon felt caught up in their struggles, concerned to know if they would all survive the harsh conditions they were facing and full of rage about the privations they were facing whilst the colonel’s home was warm and food was plentiful. It’s not often that I feel so immediately engaged with characters, a feeling of intimate engagement which increased as the story unfolded and made me want to keep on turning the pages. Even when I wasn’t reading, I found myself thinking about them, wondering what was happening to them, always eager to get back to the story to find out.
The subsequent three parts, set in 1979, 1999 and 2016 are told from Galina’s perspective, as she becomes a wife, a mother, a grandmother and great-grandmother, a teacher of art and a portrait painter. I don’t want to go into any detail about the developing story because its compelling nature is dependent on the gradual unfolding of not only the personal challenges she faces during her life, but also how she is affected by, and adapts to, the dramatic societal and political changes which take place during her journey from childhood to old age. Although the story is divided into these parts, in moving from one era to the next I didn’t experience any sense of dislocation because there were clear threads which linked them together to form a coherent whole.
I loved the many ways in which the author captured the combination of Galina’s determined, pragmatic resilience, as she dealt with the many challenges she faced during times of turbulent change, with her feelings of nostalgia for the loss of an old, familiar way of life. As the central character, her ‘voice’ was the loudest but, without exception, each of the other characters felt very well-drawn and vivid, with not one of them feeling in any way superfluous to the story. I enjoyed the many ways in which the inter-generational aspects of the storytelling not only added perspectives other than Galina’s on all the changes taking place in society, but also enabled reflections on how past events continued to have an impact on succeeding generations. Similar reflections emerged through the author’s explorations of her characters’ relationships and the changing nature of love, friendship, loyalty, loss and betrayal.
References to art and painting provide a continuous thread throughout the story, creating colourful, evocative images which, for me, added an almost tangible ‘texture’ to the storytelling. Also, the repeated descriptions of how Galina prepared her palette before starting a portrait were so vivid that I could almost believe that, given the right materials, I too could start to paint – quite an achievement given my total lack of talent!
The author worked in Moscow from 1994 to 2000 and I think she has used her knowledge and understanding of the country’s history and culture to create a convincingly authentic story, as well as a moving and thought-provoking one. I enjoyed getting to know all her characters and to feeling immersed in another culture and felt a real sense of loss when I finished the book. Whilst I felt content with the ending, I do find myself wondering what happened next and, as the story ends with Galina pondering how much she should share with her great-granddaughter about the history behind a portrait she painted in the 1970's, maybe the questions left hanging do provide an opportunity for a sequel … I recognise that Galina is now eighty-three years old but I’m sure she still has plenty insights to share!
With thanks to the publisher and NB for a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.
In spite of his concerns, Mikhail knows that by agreeing to paint the portrait the colonel has commissioned, he and Galaya, along with her friend Vera and Anna (her mother), can move into the cellars of the Hermitage, where there is the promise of more food, a school for the girls and is also where his best friend Boris works. When he arrives at the colonel’s home he is shocked by the life of affluence and plenty being enjoyed by the colonel and his two young sons. How can this be right when most of the population of Leningrad is starving? Although aware of the risks he’s taking, he cannot resist stealing food to share with family and friends at the Hermitage … but he lives in fear of the consequences should he be discovered.
Using the spare, elegant prose which would continue to define her brilliant storytelling throughout the novel, I found that within just a few pages the author had immediately evoked not only a vivid portrayal of a father desperate to do whatever he could to save his daughter from starvation (including adding a dead rat to the thin wallpaper soup) but also of a city under siege and a population prepared to go to any lengths to survive. I soon felt caught up in their struggles, concerned to know if they would all survive the harsh conditions they were facing and full of rage about the privations they were facing whilst the colonel’s home was warm and food was plentiful. It’s not often that I feel so immediately engaged with characters, a feeling of intimate engagement which increased as the story unfolded and made me want to keep on turning the pages. Even when I wasn’t reading, I found myself thinking about them, wondering what was happening to them, always eager to get back to the story to find out.
The subsequent three parts, set in 1979, 1999 and 2016 are told from Galina’s perspective, as she becomes a wife, a mother, a grandmother and great-grandmother, a teacher of art and a portrait painter. I don’t want to go into any detail about the developing story because its compelling nature is dependent on the gradual unfolding of not only the personal challenges she faces during her life, but also how she is affected by, and adapts to, the dramatic societal and political changes which take place during her journey from childhood to old age. Although the story is divided into these parts, in moving from one era to the next I didn’t experience any sense of dislocation because there were clear threads which linked them together to form a coherent whole.
I loved the many ways in which the author captured the combination of Galina’s determined, pragmatic resilience, as she dealt with the many challenges she faced during times of turbulent change, with her feelings of nostalgia for the loss of an old, familiar way of life. As the central character, her ‘voice’ was the loudest but, without exception, each of the other characters felt very well-drawn and vivid, with not one of them feeling in any way superfluous to the story. I enjoyed the many ways in which the inter-generational aspects of the storytelling not only added perspectives other than Galina’s on all the changes taking place in society, but also enabled reflections on how past events continued to have an impact on succeeding generations. Similar reflections emerged through the author’s explorations of her characters’ relationships and the changing nature of love, friendship, loyalty, loss and betrayal.
References to art and painting provide a continuous thread throughout the story, creating colourful, evocative images which, for me, added an almost tangible ‘texture’ to the storytelling. Also, the repeated descriptions of how Galina prepared her palette before starting a portrait were so vivid that I could almost believe that, given the right materials, I too could start to paint – quite an achievement given my total lack of talent!
The author worked in Moscow from 1994 to 2000 and I think she has used her knowledge and understanding of the country’s history and culture to create a convincingly authentic story, as well as a moving and thought-provoking one. I enjoyed getting to know all her characters and to feeling immersed in another culture and felt a real sense of loss when I finished the book. Whilst I felt content with the ending, I do find myself wondering what happened next and, as the story ends with Galina pondering how much she should share with her great-granddaughter about the history behind a portrait she painted in the 1970's, maybe the questions left hanging do provide an opportunity for a sequel … I recognise that Galina is now eighty-three years old but I’m sure she still has plenty insights to share!
With thanks to the publisher and NB for a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.
November 4, 2020
This book is superb. It's so beautifully written, about one persons life, living through the siege of Leningrad, and then a changing political backdrop over the next 80 (ish) years in Russia. The story is about her life and her family, the personal rather than the political, but the political influences everything that happens in her personal life, and that of her family. It's a huge story told in a small way, and that is what makes the book absolutely exceptional, and completely of it's own kind.
February 25, 2021
**'The Girl From The Hermitage' by Molly Gartland **
📚 Within the first few pages of the story of the 'The Girl From The Hermitage', I could not help but be enthralled by the vivid description of the desperation and horror experienced by those caught in the siege of Leningrad and that interest did not leave me until the final page was turned. The book is a moving tribute to the passage of time and how it feels for those swept along it, struggling to stay afloat as they cling onto the familiar. The use of paintings as a type of motif connects the arc of the characters across time in an extraordinary way.
Gartland's deep historical research and personal experiences in Russia is shown through the pages and provides the reader a unique insight into a side of Russia and the Soviet Union that is given less attention in Western literature. It's a story of a girl, her family and a humble dacha against the backdrop of a changing world.
For a debut album, this is absolutely superb and I would highly recommend it to all who love historical fiction (and art!).
📚 Within the first few pages of the story of the 'The Girl From The Hermitage', I could not help but be enthralled by the vivid description of the desperation and horror experienced by those caught in the siege of Leningrad and that interest did not leave me until the final page was turned. The book is a moving tribute to the passage of time and how it feels for those swept along it, struggling to stay afloat as they cling onto the familiar. The use of paintings as a type of motif connects the arc of the characters across time in an extraordinary way.
Gartland's deep historical research and personal experiences in Russia is shown through the pages and provides the reader a unique insight into a side of Russia and the Soviet Union that is given less attention in Western literature. It's a story of a girl, her family and a humble dacha against the backdrop of a changing world.
For a debut album, this is absolutely superb and I would highly recommend it to all who love historical fiction (and art!).
October 29, 2025
In 1942 we find young, 8 year old in Galina in Leningrad under siege. She lives in the Hermitage where her father worked restoring paintings. Conditions are dire as her father struggles to bring food to the table.
The Girl from the Hermitage follows Galina's life in four chapters, 1942, 1979, 1999 and 2016. The reader see the shifts and policies of the USSR which becomes Russia and the impacts it has on Galina's life.
I felt that the end of each chapter was often abrupt and often ended with a bit of a mystery which was not always explained satisfactorily later in the book.
I found that the book did provide an interesting history of the Soviet Union and Russia and how the changes impacted the citizens.
I was impressed that the author, Molly Gartland wrote the book about the artist of a painting she had purchased in Moscow.
The Girl from the Hermitage follows Galina's life in four chapters, 1942, 1979, 1999 and 2016. The reader see the shifts and policies of the USSR which becomes Russia and the impacts it has on Galina's life.
I felt that the end of each chapter was often abrupt and often ended with a bit of a mystery which was not always explained satisfactorily later in the book.
I found that the book did provide an interesting history of the Soviet Union and Russia and how the changes impacted the citizens.
I was impressed that the author, Molly Gartland wrote the book about the artist of a painting she had purchased in Moscow.
April 10, 2021
Absolutely fantastic book and I will be raving about this one everywhere and to everyone. :)
It will appeal to anyone with an interest in Russia - but not only that - anyone with a particular interest in reading a whole-life story for we follow Galina at all stages in her life - from a barely existing young girl in the seige of Leningrad, to wife, artist, mother, then mother in law, grandmother, great grandmother in contemporary Russia. Galina was a brilliant 'real' character and I believed in all her relationships, her suffering and her successes. She was so resilient and brave and her story helps us make sense of what life must have been like for many in the Soviet Union. This is an excellent debut - I thought it deserves to win prizes - and then I saw it has been shortlisted for several which is great - it deserves a wide-readership too. It's a fascinating story beautifully told.
It will appeal to anyone with an interest in Russia - but not only that - anyone with a particular interest in reading a whole-life story for we follow Galina at all stages in her life - from a barely existing young girl in the seige of Leningrad, to wife, artist, mother, then mother in law, grandmother, great grandmother in contemporary Russia. Galina was a brilliant 'real' character and I believed in all her relationships, her suffering and her successes. She was so resilient and brave and her story helps us make sense of what life must have been like for many in the Soviet Union. This is an excellent debut - I thought it deserves to win prizes - and then I saw it has been shortlisted for several which is great - it deserves a wide-readership too. It's a fascinating story beautifully told.
December 16, 2020
An eye opener
Fascinating read. A walk through modern Russian history and revealed so eloquently through this heart warming, sometmes heart breaking tale.
Fascinating read. A walk through modern Russian history and revealed so eloquently through this heart warming, sometmes heart breaking tale.
December 19, 2020
The historical information in this book was its strength. For me the decision to write most of the book in simple sentences made it unsatisfactory.
September 21, 2020
I’m a huge fan of historical fiction, and am always keen to read about places and periods I don’t know much about. The siege of Leningrad isn’t a setting I have read about before, and I feel like I learned a lot from reading this story. The opening chapter plunges the reader right into the desperate situation faced by the city’s inhabitants, narrating in vivid present tense how Mikhail struggles to keep his daughter alive in impossible circumstances. The sensory detail and obvious attention to accuracy in terms of research creates an immediate sense of trust in the storyteller – I was ALL IN, right from the beginning, plunged deep into the world that Gartland builds up with such care and skill.
We first meet Galya as an eight year old, ill, starving, cold, clinging onto life by her fingertips; it is a hugely impactful introduction, setting the stakes high in the opening pages. At first, I presumed the majority of the action of the novel would take place at the time of the siege, following Mikhail, Galya, Vera and Anna, unravelling the story of how they got there, and detailing how they managed to overcome the hardships. I buckled in for a wild ride, a dramatic, heroic tale of survival in a time of war. And then, the book surprised me. It flipped my expectation on its head and offered me something quite different, and far more interesting than I could have predicted. Something really special happened to me while reading this book, and I’m going to try and explain it below.
When the narrative jumped forward and I found myself following Galina, as a wife and a mother, and later a grandmother, through the post-Soviet changes and the family dramas that form the next stages of her story, I had a strange experience of feeling as if I was entering into a conversation with the protagonist as I read the novel:
Me: Oh, you’re a woman now, I was enjoying that story about the Hermitage. I thought we were staying there for a bit.
Galina: Just wait and see what is happening here.
Me: Oh, but it was so dramatic…
Galina: I can’t be the girl from the Hermitage forever. For survivors, life goes on, we grow up, we have families, we have to deal with the more mundane matters of existence, we have to leave the trauma behind and find a way to keep on going.
Me: Oh I see. You’re right, that’s much more interesting.
Galina: I told you. You need to trust me.
I apologise to Molly Gartland for putting words into her character’s mouth, but I really did feel as if Galina, as she gradually transforms into the wise old Babushka, was speaking to me through this book, patiently explaining that the ‘what next’ is just as important as the Big Event, the trauma, the time that can be neatly summed up in a striking title. Galina is not just ‘the girl from the Hermitage’ – she is so much more: an artist, a landowner, a matriarch, a woman trying to come to terms with the personal and political changes around her. It is testament to the author’s incredible skill (even more so when we consider that this is Gartland’s debut) that the voice of Galina came to me so clearly, with such wisdom. I really feel like I learned an awful lot from this novel, and I am beyond exciting to see what this incredibly talented writer produces next. I highly recommend this book: it is beautiful, intelligent, confident writing, full of characters who will stay with you and maybe even change you.
We first meet Galya as an eight year old, ill, starving, cold, clinging onto life by her fingertips; it is a hugely impactful introduction, setting the stakes high in the opening pages. At first, I presumed the majority of the action of the novel would take place at the time of the siege, following Mikhail, Galya, Vera and Anna, unravelling the story of how they got there, and detailing how they managed to overcome the hardships. I buckled in for a wild ride, a dramatic, heroic tale of survival in a time of war. And then, the book surprised me. It flipped my expectation on its head and offered me something quite different, and far more interesting than I could have predicted. Something really special happened to me while reading this book, and I’m going to try and explain it below.
When the narrative jumped forward and I found myself following Galina, as a wife and a mother, and later a grandmother, through the post-Soviet changes and the family dramas that form the next stages of her story, I had a strange experience of feeling as if I was entering into a conversation with the protagonist as I read the novel:
Me: Oh, you’re a woman now, I was enjoying that story about the Hermitage. I thought we were staying there for a bit.
Galina: Just wait and see what is happening here.
Me: Oh, but it was so dramatic…
Galina: I can’t be the girl from the Hermitage forever. For survivors, life goes on, we grow up, we have families, we have to deal with the more mundane matters of existence, we have to leave the trauma behind and find a way to keep on going.
Me: Oh I see. You’re right, that’s much more interesting.
Galina: I told you. You need to trust me.
I apologise to Molly Gartland for putting words into her character’s mouth, but I really did feel as if Galina, as she gradually transforms into the wise old Babushka, was speaking to me through this book, patiently explaining that the ‘what next’ is just as important as the Big Event, the trauma, the time that can be neatly summed up in a striking title. Galina is not just ‘the girl from the Hermitage’ – she is so much more: an artist, a landowner, a matriarch, a woman trying to come to terms with the personal and political changes around her. It is testament to the author’s incredible skill (even more so when we consider that this is Gartland’s debut) that the voice of Galina came to me so clearly, with such wisdom. I really feel like I learned an awful lot from this novel, and I am beyond exciting to see what this incredibly talented writer produces next. I highly recommend this book: it is beautiful, intelligent, confident writing, full of characters who will stay with you and maybe even change you.
September 18, 2020
Russia in the twentieth century was a challenging place for its inhabitants, and this historical novel is a insightful look at one women’s life as she tries to meet various challenges. Beginning with a childhood of hunger and loss in the Hermitage during the siege of Leningrad, eight year old Galina will go on to encounter other challenges throughout her life as priorities change in so many ways, and society has different expectations. This is a moving account of one woman’s life as she stands for so much with her love and and her gifts as a painter. It is a book of memories as things are remembered, special events and times celebrated, and much more. It has a lightness of touch which is very special, a drawing of personalities which is memorable and an outstanding eye for detail in creating an atmosphere of Russian life. There is a depth of research in this book which is lightly expressed and carefully rendered into a story which carries the reader along. This is a very special book and was very pleased to have the opportunity to read and review it.
The book opens with a father, Mikhail, desperately trying to provide food for his daughter in a small flat in Leningrad as all nourishment has disappeared from the city. It is an enormous struggle, but his friend Anna has an idea which may save them as well as her daughter Vera. People are taking shelter in the Hermitage museum, as the paintings are gone elsewhere. Mikhail is asked to paint a portrait of an official’s sons, which he is initially reluctant to do, but as his daughter later discovers the painting of portraits means an entering into a special process of discovering something of the person. When Galina herself later paints a special portrait, she discovers that the surrounding circumstances stay with her just as surely as the painting. The painting that Mikhail undertakes has unforeseeable consequences, and this is one of the earliest observations of something which becomes an important theme in the book, that painting is a process of special absorption in time and space. As everything changes around her, her relationships with those she loves are threatened and changes are forced upon her, and little remains the same in one lifetime.
This is a mature and compelling novel which looks at how a desperate attempt to preserve life can lead on to so many things. It is about how the colours and paints that an artist uses can mean so much, and in skilled hands can capture a different reality. It is about loyalty and betrayal, love and sadness, hope and the tenuous perfection of experience even if it is for just one day. The colours, textures and so many details are conveyed by the writing which I so enjoyed in this book, as the enthralling depth of feeling emerges. It is a book of things, people, emotions and so much more. It is not a long book, but is entirely successful in telling the story of a special woman who represents so many. I recommend it as a historical novel which enthralls and involves the reader with great success.
The book opens with a father, Mikhail, desperately trying to provide food for his daughter in a small flat in Leningrad as all nourishment has disappeared from the city. It is an enormous struggle, but his friend Anna has an idea which may save them as well as her daughter Vera. People are taking shelter in the Hermitage museum, as the paintings are gone elsewhere. Mikhail is asked to paint a portrait of an official’s sons, which he is initially reluctant to do, but as his daughter later discovers the painting of portraits means an entering into a special process of discovering something of the person. When Galina herself later paints a special portrait, she discovers that the surrounding circumstances stay with her just as surely as the painting. The painting that Mikhail undertakes has unforeseeable consequences, and this is one of the earliest observations of something which becomes an important theme in the book, that painting is a process of special absorption in time and space. As everything changes around her, her relationships with those she loves are threatened and changes are forced upon her, and little remains the same in one lifetime.
This is a mature and compelling novel which looks at how a desperate attempt to preserve life can lead on to so many things. It is about how the colours and paints that an artist uses can mean so much, and in skilled hands can capture a different reality. It is about loyalty and betrayal, love and sadness, hope and the tenuous perfection of experience even if it is for just one day. The colours, textures and so many details are conveyed by the writing which I so enjoyed in this book, as the enthralling depth of feeling emerges. It is a book of things, people, emotions and so much more. It is not a long book, but is entirely successful in telling the story of a special woman who represents so many. I recommend it as a historical novel which enthralls and involves the reader with great success.
September 20, 2020
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I love reading a good family saga spanning across generations, and this book executes it beautifully!
The author sets the tale very nicely where you see four generations of a family survive, from WWII till the present day. The characters are the highlight of the story, and I loved following Mikhail, Galya, Elena, Yuri, and Dasha in their journey. Masha is self centered and annoying, and the only character who I really disliked in the story. Personally, I loved Mikhail and Galina as the strong, mature leads who try to do the best under the circumstances.
The story was never null, as the characters always found themselves in interesting predicaments. Few scenes that made this book memorable was when Galina catches Dima in the act, and when Vera and Galina learn the history of Boris. However, there are some parts that made me very squeamish, like when they cut a rat to eat as food. On a side note, I also appreciate the author for providing a glossary of all the Russian words at the end. I also loved how art and paintings are a major theme in the story, and made the book very classy.
There were only few minor aspects which I felt could have been better. While I loved the story, I felt some of the chapters were too lengthy for my taste. Also, the author mentions some characters, but there is no resolution to them. For instances, I liked the flashbacks between Mikhail and Andrei, but we don’t really know what happened to Andrei.
Overall, the author did a wonderful job in writing this debut novel, and I look forward to reading her future works.
September 18, 2020
Fascinated by this period of Russian history since a teenager – after watching Dr Zhivago – I wanted to review Molly Gartland’s The Girl from the Hermitage, and I’m glad I did. Inspired by a portrait discovered by the writer in Moscow, a tragic sweep of decades is reflected in the lives of one woman, her friends and family, progressing through WWII, Perestroika and Glasnost to the 21st Century. Starting in 1941, the contrast between deprivation during the Siege of Leningrad with conspicuous consumption in 2016 carries the sense that, somehow, nothing changes, just the nature of the venality, fear and suppression. Galina is the girl from the Hermitage, as a child, living through the siege in its cellars with her art restorer father, following the death through cold and hunger of her mother. When he is commissioned to paint the portrait of the young sons of a colonel, the difference in wealth and lifestyle between himself and his sitters highlights the callous dishonesty of Stalin’s military, a negative precursor to the Soviet concept of egalitarianism. Galina becomes an artist and we follow her experiences, the theme of art and portraiture interweaving with the growth of capitalism, and overshadowed by increasing corruption. Enough of the plot; the characterisation is truthful and engaging, relationships as simple and complex as reality. Galina is a heroine of talent, wisdom and restraint, patience being her heritage from life in the Hermitage. As she aged through betrayal and injustice, I found myself angry and frustrated on her behalf and wanted to know what became of her – the mark of excellent storytelling. Molly Gartland’s knowledge of and connection with her subject is evident throughout; so firmly rooted in reality, the writing is also rich in imagery and attention to detail without ever halting the narrative. This is a book to be savoured and to learn from. Thank you Molly Gartland.
August 14, 2022
This is book 11 of my 20 Books of Summer 2022.
This was an often haunting read, as we followed the story of Galina from childhood to late adulthood as she lives through history and the changing face of Russia. It gives a real insight into the way that the country used to run, alongside the promise and downsides to the new promiseland that a new regime brings.
The Battle of Leningrad is where the story starts and Galina and her friend Vera are caught up in it, having to survive on rats and wallpaper soup and the story gives a real sense of how it hit the population. Her father is an artist and sees another side to the War as he's commissioned to paint for a prominent General. The sacrifices he has to make to keep his family fed are starkly brought to life.
We then follow Galina over the years as she begins her own working life, motherhood and seeing how she fares when faced with 'wealth' considering how she grew up. She sees the good and bad in the new ways of life, that many can't understand.
This is a story based on a painting that the author bought which got her thinking about the life of the artist, and this story is a powerful tale and one that has opened my eyes to the horrors that many lived through.
This was an often haunting read, as we followed the story of Galina from childhood to late adulthood as she lives through history and the changing face of Russia. It gives a real insight into the way that the country used to run, alongside the promise and downsides to the new promiseland that a new regime brings.
The Battle of Leningrad is where the story starts and Galina and her friend Vera are caught up in it, having to survive on rats and wallpaper soup and the story gives a real sense of how it hit the population. Her father is an artist and sees another side to the War as he's commissioned to paint for a prominent General. The sacrifices he has to make to keep his family fed are starkly brought to life.
We then follow Galina over the years as she begins her own working life, motherhood and seeing how she fares when faced with 'wealth' considering how she grew up. She sees the good and bad in the new ways of life, that many can't understand.
This is a story based on a painting that the author bought which got her thinking about the life of the artist, and this story is a powerful tale and one that has opened my eyes to the horrors that many lived through.
August 9, 2020
The Girl from the Hermitage is inspired by a picture the author bought when living in Moscow. She decided to research the history of the artist many years later and this book was born. Whilst reading the book, I researched the Hermitage Museum and how its collections were sent away during the second world war, for protection. I found it fascinating that the book was based around a true event and also haunted by how the ordinary people in Russia had to live during the war. The main characters go hungry and the descriptions of what they ate was heartbreaking.
The book tells the story of Galina from her childhood in 1941 to being grown up in 1979 and 1999 and then old age in 2016. She is an artist like her father and we follow both her and her paintings and her family through the years.
I found it a wonderful book and loved the history that it covered and the picture painted of Russia through the ages. I'm hoping there will be a second book as the ending suggests it could be possible!
The book tells the story of Galina from her childhood in 1941 to being grown up in 1979 and 1999 and then old age in 2016. She is an artist like her father and we follow both her and her paintings and her family through the years.
I found it a wonderful book and loved the history that it covered and the picture painted of Russia through the ages. I'm hoping there will be a second book as the ending suggests it could be possible!
September 17, 2020
I have to start off with this. The part where you read about Mikhail scrapping wallpaper from the corridor wall to boil up the paste for Galina to eat is heartbreaking. It really brings home how most of us are privileged today. This section really got to me. As a mum to two girls and a softy at heart, it brought tears to my eyes.
The Girl from the Hermitage is beautifully written. The descriptions of things we may see every day are described with care and great attention to detail. It’s really refreshing to read.
Brilliant. Tender. Moving. Strength. Survival are the words I would use to describe this book.
It gave me a perfect insight into Russia during the 1940s and onwards throughout the years and of course life in the Soviet Union. I haven’t read much about these times, but after reading this book, It’s a part of history I would be interested in finding out more about. I would highly recommend giving The Girl From The Hermitage a read.
You can read my full review here https://rachelbustin.com/books/the-gi...
The Girl from the Hermitage is beautifully written. The descriptions of things we may see every day are described with care and great attention to detail. It’s really refreshing to read.
Brilliant. Tender. Moving. Strength. Survival are the words I would use to describe this book.
It gave me a perfect insight into Russia during the 1940s and onwards throughout the years and of course life in the Soviet Union. I haven’t read much about these times, but after reading this book, It’s a part of history I would be interested in finding out more about. I would highly recommend giving The Girl From The Hermitage a read.
You can read my full review here https://rachelbustin.com/books/the-gi...
August 15, 2020
I really enjoyed this book. I don't feel I relate to one character more than another partly because I have been neither rich nor poor but some of their personality traits mirror my own.
I love the way this is written, especially the descriptions of things for example when the author describes the painting of the two boys, the colours of paints that were used and how he went about painting them. This was really good.
Also the descriptions of people, rooms, flowers and meals is exquisite. You really feel as if you're there walking alongside the character.
I also love art and having it described in the way it is in this book is almost like seeing watching the painter create the masterpiece.
Poor Galina has been through so much, you really feel for her.
I love when Galina is given an ipad to do a drawing on and she says she misses the feel of paper. I feel like this about books so I can really relate to her with this.
I love the way this is written, especially the descriptions of things for example when the author describes the painting of the two boys, the colours of paints that were used and how he went about painting them. This was really good.
Also the descriptions of people, rooms, flowers and meals is exquisite. You really feel as if you're there walking alongside the character.
I also love art and having it described in the way it is in this book is almost like seeing watching the painter create the masterpiece.
Poor Galina has been through so much, you really feel for her.
I love when Galina is given an ipad to do a drawing on and she says she misses the feel of paper. I feel like this about books so I can really relate to her with this.
September 17, 2020
A few of you may know that I’ve been struggling with reading lately. But this book finally got me back into it. Hurray! Something different. Historical fiction. The story is split into three parts. The few first pages had me hooked and interested.
It starts off with life during WW2 then part two moves onto after the war and finally part three is set on the future. It’s a life story of sorts focusing on a specific few characters. Brilliantly written and the cover is simple yet eye catching. Molly has a brilliant writing style and description for each time period. You can tell alot of research, time and thought have been put into this story.
Some chapters are a little too long for my personal liking but that didn’t bother me much as I was really enjoying reading it after my long book slump. A well deservesld four stars from me. Highly recommend. If you fancy something a little different this may be for you. Thank you for giving me my reading mojo back!
It starts off with life during WW2 then part two moves onto after the war and finally part three is set on the future. It’s a life story of sorts focusing on a specific few characters. Brilliantly written and the cover is simple yet eye catching. Molly has a brilliant writing style and description for each time period. You can tell alot of research, time and thought have been put into this story.
Some chapters are a little too long for my personal liking but that didn’t bother me much as I was really enjoying reading it after my long book slump. A well deservesld four stars from me. Highly recommend. If you fancy something a little different this may be for you. Thank you for giving me my reading mojo back!
October 7, 2021
The Girl from the Hermitage is a fascinating glimpse into life in Russia, from WWII through the Soviet era and into modern times.
The girl in question is Galina Mikhailovna and we first meet her as a young girl in 1941 during the siege of Leningrad. This first section is both heartbreaking and shocking - in the opening scene we see Mikhail, her father, scraping the glue from the wallpaper to make soup in a desperate attempt to keep them from starvation.
The second section is set in 1979, and Galina is now an art teacher with a husband and a son. We catch up with the family again in 1999 where Galina now has a grandson, and one final time in 2016.
Galina is a fabulous strong character and gives a personal viewpoint to a turbulent history that many of us in the west only really know from news reports. The best historical fiction teaches you about something while you are simply engrossed in an interesting story, and this delivers on all fronts.
The girl in question is Galina Mikhailovna and we first meet her as a young girl in 1941 during the siege of Leningrad. This first section is both heartbreaking and shocking - in the opening scene we see Mikhail, her father, scraping the glue from the wallpaper to make soup in a desperate attempt to keep them from starvation.
The second section is set in 1979, and Galina is now an art teacher with a husband and a son. We catch up with the family again in 1999 where Galina now has a grandson, and one final time in 2016.
Galina is a fabulous strong character and gives a personal viewpoint to a turbulent history that many of us in the west only really know from news reports. The best historical fiction teaches you about something while you are simply engrossed in an interesting story, and this delivers on all fronts.
May 31, 2020
The Girl from the Hermitage takes the reader on a sweeping journey from freezing starvation endured during the Siege of Leningrad, through life in the Soviet Union and during its collapse, and into modern day Russia, told through the eyes of artist, Galina. From a young girl on the edge of death to an old lady, the author skilfully tells this story of one ordinary woman's life lived through extraordinary times. It's a tale of survival, strength of character and ultimately wisdom, all told with tenderness, authenticity and skill. A fascinating insight into life in St Petersburg throughout a tumultuous period of twentieth century history.
July 30, 2020
A careful balance of history and narrative makes this an excellent example of an historical fiction novel set in Leningrad/St Petersburg from 1941 until the near present. Garland’s portrayal of her protagonist is authentic. As a portrait artist Galya’s world is one of light and shade and this balance in her observations makes for a realism in characterisation that I really enjoyed. The historical content is judiciously used to provide context for a subtle story of the generations of a Russian family adjusting to their different contexts. Highly recommended debut novel published by Lightning Books - one of my favourite Indie Publishers.
March 9, 2021
Spanning eight decades starting with the siege of Leningrad in 1941, this novel tells the story of Galina. From struggling to survive as a young child in the face of starvation, grief and loss, to growing old and coming to grips with a new Russia, we see Galina grapple with life and the many hurdles that it throws at her. Sensitively and beautifully written, I loved this book and found myself reflecting on the importance of art and creativity during times of great turmoil, and ultimately on love and what it means to forgive. I can't wait to read what Molly Gartland writes next.
June 1, 2020
The story of Galya, Russian painter, takes us through the history of St Petersburg from the siege in 1941 to today - the terrible hardship of the war, the simple life under the Soviets, the war in Afghanistan, new Russia... Galya and her family are beautifully brought to life. As I read their story of survival and love, I felt surrounded with the smell of paint and Russian food. A beautiful book.
April 28, 2021
I was a bit disappointed in this novel. Even though some chapters were interesting and compelling, the structure of the book proved clumsy. Part one was very promising, but ended very abruptly. It seemed to me as if the author jumped too quickly to another part of Galina's life sometimes straight in the next paragraph. For me the novel appeared too quickly written with no depth. Too many questions remained unanswered, or the answers too abrupt.
June 2, 2021
I was most interested in the first section, which described the siege of Leningrad and the terrible living conditions, the girls and other people who lived in the basement of the Hermitage and the painting Mikhail was commissioned to make. The following sections each take place in the future and introduce new characters. They are interesting in their own ways, too.
September 23, 2021
I was disappointed in this book as it came with much hype and was well reviewed on Goldster Book Club. However, I found it "clunky" with research stuffed in and the long gaps in the story of our heroine I found irritating. It was a poolside read although chapter one during the siege of Leningrad was hardly a fun read. I won't chose to read another. This is not my kind of story or writing.
January 4, 2022
Whilst not a subject I would normally be drawn to, nor something which is so depressing at many points to read - it is, however, a most beautifully written book. I love Gartland's style and use of language, so much so that I just had to keep reading on, despite the subject material. By the end you realise it is also a perfectly formed story. I really hope Gartland writes some more!
May 3, 2020
It all started with a painting!
A very engaging story spanning five generations of a family of artists in St. Petersburg. Universal themes, great characters and the story flows really well, spiced with lots of Russian history and culture.
A very engaging story spanning five generations of a family of artists in St. Petersburg. Universal themes, great characters and the story flows really well, spiced with lots of Russian history and culture.
August 31, 2020
I really enjoyed The Girl from the Hermitage - the characters became more real and I became more invested in them (whether I liked them or not!) as the book progressed. I felt I understood better what life in Russia was like through such significant periods.
November 15, 2020
What a refreshing book. Interesting to read a story about Russia. The characters come alive and so do the scenes at the summer house. I want to read more of Molly Garland books. I really enjoyed the way she writes.
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