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Published: March 2001

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A magnificent epic of love, war and Russia from the bestselling author of Tully, Red Leaves and Eleven Hours.

Leningrad 1941: the white nights of summer when the sun hardly sets on the beautiful palaces and stately avenues that still speak of a different age, when the city was known as St Petersburg. The Metanov family live in a crowded apartment, the two sisters Daria and Tatiana sharing a bed, their parents and brother crowded in another room, their grandparents nearby. It's a hard life, but one with room enough for love and romance.

However, when Tatiana first sets eyes on Daria's boyfriend, Alexander, she knows immediately that for her, the path of love will never be easy, but rather, one of sacrifice and denial. Hitler's invasion of Russia spells war and, for Leningrad, siege, and their earlier existence seems luxurious in comparison with the terrible deprivations that the family suffers. As the grip of winter closes as relentlessly as the advancing German army, so Tatiana is forced into ever more desperate measures in order to survive - both physically and emotionally.

About the Author

Paullina Simons was born in Leningrad in 1963. As a child she emigrated to Queens, New York, and attended colleges in Long Island. Then she moved to England and attended Essex University, before returning to America. She lives in New York with her husband and children.

Leningrad, June, 1941. Germany invades Russia and the lives of the seven members of the Metanov family, living in a two-roomed apartment, change forever. Only the youngest, 17-year-old Tatiana, will survive the siege of the city. Along with having to endure the cold, hunger and illness, she is bearing a secret; the love between her and the boyfriend of her older sister, Daria. Meeting the soldier, Alexander, by chance in the street, their instant attraction for each other is concealed, at Tatiana's insistence. Only when Daria dies can their love be enjoyed, but even then, the lovers' survival depends on the secret of Alexander's family background never being revealed; a secret known only to themselves and to the jealous, unreliable fellow soldier, Dimitri. Simons was praised for her debut novel Tully in 1995 and for her subsequent books. At over 600 pages there might be a better, shorter novel buried somewhere inside this book but in spite of that, if you have room in your luggage for such a weighty tome, this will make a superior beach read. (Kirkus UK)

ISBN: 9780006513223
ISBN-10: 0006513220
Audience: General
Format: Paperback
Language: English
Number Of Pages: 656
Published: March 2001
Dimensions (cm): 19.8 x 13.0  x 4.0
Weight (kg): 0.454