The Girl from the Hermitage

I am so glad to have been given the opportunity to read and review The Girl From The Hermitage as part of this Rachel's Random Resources blog tour. My attention was captured by the very first heartbreaking scene - of a man scraping dried paste from wallpaper to make soup for his daughter during the bitter siege of Leningrad - and I remained engrossed in this accomplished novel from that moment on. I was amazed to realise that The Girl From The Hermitage is actually Molly Gartland's debut novel! Her characterisation, dialogue, world building and narrative are so spot on throughout this book that I had assumed it to be the work of a veteran novelist. I understand that Gartland spent several years in Russia herself and I felt that her experience of the Russian people and culture really shines through. This story is grounded in truth, while also being compelling historical fiction. We see Galina mature from starving war child to Perestroika-baffled matriarch and her poignant nostalgia for her past reminded me strongly of the nonfiction accounts I read in Dancing Bears by Witold Szablowski.

Art, particularly the psychology of its creation, plays a vital part in The Girl From The Hermitage and I loved the scenes where Galina immerses herself in her art as an escape from the realities of her situation. Gartland evokes the inconveniences of Soviet style communal living in the city and I freely admit to being envious of Galina's rural dacha. The constants of her art and the dacha provide Galina an anchor while we watch the Soviet Union disintegrate around her which I thought was such an interesting way to witness this time of great social change for Russia. The Girl From The Hermitage is a fascinating story, deftly and sensitively told, which I highly recommend to historical fiction fans.