Introduction

2023 Independent Publisher Book Awards Silver Medalist in Military/Wartime Fiction
2022 Foreword INDIES Gold Winner in War & Military (Adult Fiction)

From the tyranny of Stalin through the desperation of World War II, this is a story of struggle and survival, of devotion, duty, and family, and of love lost and sometimes found again. June 1941. Hitler’s armies race toward vulnerable Leningrad. In a matter of weeks, the Nazis surround the city, cut off the food supply, and launch a vicious bombardment. Widowed violinist Sofya Karavayeva and her teenage granddaughter, Yelena, are cornered in the crumbling city. On Leningrad’s outskirts, Admiral Vasili Antonov defends his homeland and fights for a future with Sofya. Meanwhile, Yelena’s soldier fiancé transports food across the Ice Road—part of the desperate effort to save Leningrad. With their help, the two women inch toward survival, but the war still exacts a steep personal price, even as Sofya’s reckoning with a family secret threatens to finish what Hitler started. Equal parts war epic, family saga, and love story, Lost Souls of Leningrad brings to vivid life this little-known chapter of World War II in a tale of two remarkable women—grandmother and granddaughter—separated by years and experience but of one heart in their devotion to each other and the men they love. Neither the oppression of Stalin nor the brutality of Hitler can destroy their courage, compassion, or will in this testament to resilience.

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Excerpt

Along the broad, late-night avenues of central Leningrad, the last of the concert-goers hurried home ahead of curfew. They hastened down side streets and darted into courtyards, while Sofya leaned against the wall of the artists’ entrance inside Philharmonia Hall. She pulled on her boots as her comrades finished sharing a cigarette and some gossip with the guard. ... view entire excerpt...

Discussion Questions

From the author - added by Pauline

1. Before reading Lost Souls of Leningrad, what did you know about the Soviet Union’s tragic experience in World War II and important role in defeating Nazi Germany? Had you heard of the Siege of Leningrad and were you aware of the enormous civilian casualties the Soviet Union endured in that city?

2. Describe Sofya. What kind of woman is she?

3. What aspects of Soviet society, either before or during the war, did you find surprising, unsettling, or horrifying?

4. Vasili’s position and knowledge allows Sofya to prepare for the coming war. Did her ability to secretly hoard food make all the difference in terms of survival? What other things contributed to Sofya and Yelena’s ability to fend off starvation? What helped them stay strong emotionally?

5. Which of the four main characters did you find most relatable? How much were Vasili, Pavel, Sofya, and Yelena driven by a sense of duty? By fear of their own government?

6. Besides access to food, what do you think helped some people survive while others succumbed? Luck? Determination? Ruthlessness?

7. Were you surprised to learn of the role music and literature played in the suffering city?

8. As Leningrad crumbled, how did Sofya and Yelena maintain their humanity and compassion?

9. In Lost Souls of Leningrad, love nurtures hope for the future, provides solace and practical support, and is an important component of survival. How did each of the three relationships—Sofya and Vasili, Yelena and Pavel, and Sofya and Yelena—help the?characters survive? Which of these love stories do you think was the most important?

10. Is resilience inborn or learned? Do we all have a reservoir of resilience?

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