THE SIEGE

The year is 1941, and motherless Anna Levin has her work cut out for her. The 22-year-old aspiring artist serves as breadwinner and caretaker for both her father and younger brother in Leningrad, where threats of a German invasion and a harsh winter loom. In her harrowing tale of war’s desolation and the human capacity to endure affliction, Orange Prize-winning author Dunmore paints a nuanced portrait of the personal battles of citizens trapped amid the bloody trenches of WWII, where a quarter slice is your daily bread and the touch of a hand can make the difference between life and death. An affecting, devastating work.