Letters from St. Petersburg

by Victoria Hammond

With its shimmering palaces and decaying mansions, enchanted forests and basements full of Soviet art, the history of St. Petersburg comes alive in this memoir of one art devotee's journey to reveal the strength and wonder behind Russia's crumbling facades. These writings reflect the author's experiences in the artistic landscapes she inhabits, from the eerie beauty of Dostoevski's streets on a white night to stories of struggling artists and dignified intellectuals eking out existences in claustrophobic studio apartments. A compelling immersion into the Russia of today, this travel narrative shows St. Petersberg to be a city of ghosts and illusions where past and present and reality and fiction are inextricably fused.

Genres: Travel, Russia

312 pages, Paperback

First published October 28, 2005

About the author

Victoria Hammond is an award-winning author with a background as art historian and curator. Hammond has worked as Director at Shepparton Art Gallery and as Guest Curator at National Gallery of Victoria. She holds a Master of Arts from the University of Melbourne. Hammond has written several art exhibition catalogues and is the author of 'Letters from St Petersburg' and 'The Devil and Maria d'Avalos'. Hammond has been awarded several funding grants to assist with her work. She won the Varuna Fellowship, Eleanor Dark Foundation for 'Letters from St Petersburg'.

Reviews

[Daren · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this a long time ago, interested in St Petersburg, having travelled through there a number years before. It is written by an Australian author who was, before her travel to St Petersburg, a curator at an art gallery in Australia. Published in 2004, it is reasonable to assume her time in Russia was a year or two prior.

Given the authors involvement in the arts, this book, and her travels had an arts focus, but mainly because she had a mutual friend with the person who was to 'host' her in Russia. The people she most came into contact with worked in the arts, or were artists of some kind. However, it wasn't highbrow, and most of the mentions of Russian art and writers etc did not require an in-depth knowledge to maintain the narrative.

In fact, the author concentrates much more on the people and the interaction with people throughout the book than the art and architecture - although they are heavily present in the background, and if you knew more about these things you might draw more out of the book than I did on those subjects. For the duration of her three month stay, she was immersed in Russia - with only Russian people, and while she didn't learn more than the basics of the language, she got by with a few friends who translated for her.

The writing is honest - it praises where praise is due and is critical when appropriate. She writes well and captures the essence of St Petersburg and of the Russian people (even though she was way more in depth than the short time I spent there as a tourist). Hammond does well to provide a simple relevance to the historical periods of the USSR and Russia, where appropriate in the book, without spoiling the narrative with in-depth explanations.

I enjoyed this more than I expected to when I picked it up from my shelf. Always nice to be reminded of something from a place visited. A brief walk down Nevsky Prospect, the awesome 1904 Singer Sewing Machine building.

Four stars for me.
****

[Kathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think anyone who has ever visited Russia, let alone lived here will like this book. I underlined the whole thing. I was captured from the very beginning when she described arriving at Sheremetevo airport. The author is an Australian art curator, spending three months in and around St. Petersburg, with only Russians as companions. She nailed what it is like to be here.

[femme.fractale · Rating 5 out of 5]

Despite some weird inaccuracy in facts and names (for example, the author keeps referring to times after 1991 as ’perestroika’ though perestroika started actually in 1985 and lasted roughly till the beginning of 90’s) the book was pretty good and showed a fresh outer look on post-soviet realities. I am always interested in foreigners’ perception of Russia and Russian mentality and this book was no disappointment. There were some precise clever observations in it I noted to myself and I liked the general spirit of the book.

[Heloise Jacobs · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have always been attracted to a romantic Russia. In the past few weeks I have even been looking at possible jobs in Russia - just to live there for a year. But after reading this book it seems like living there is like playing Russian roulette. Hammond still makes Russia adventurous for me but is coming home with 4 kinds of worms inside you due to public toilets really the adventure I want? Perhaps not.

This is a depressing book but it does have lighter moments. Well worth a read.

[Jeremy · Rating 4 out of 5]

3 months spent in St Petersburg around the turn of the 21st century. A slow burn this one; it started slowly but finished very powerfully. Highlights in vivid detail the contempt Soviet Russia had for its citizens; a contempt they then reciprocated both towards the state and each other. Illuminating and also profoundly depressing

[Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

This travel memoir held my interest because it presents Russian culture in a way that is at once tender and critical. It neither glorifies nor damns, but it gives one traveler's unflinching perspectives on this beautiful city and its people. Of special interest to me are the discussions about Russian art. I'd recommend this book to anyone who is interested in Russian history, art, culture and music. I really enjoyed it.

[bookinglibrarian · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating and uniquely insightful account of this Australian author's experience of life and art in early 21st century Russia.

[V B · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked this a lot, and Lindsay did too.

[Maria · Rating 2 out of 5]

Memoir travel writing by art historian, quirky. Only interesting to me because she mentions Raskolnikov a few times. Nothing about the Vaganova School, for example, so this is limited.

[Angie Reyes · Rating 5 out of 5]

great read!