The Prodigal of Leningrad

Daniil Aslanov is a docent at the famous Hermitage art museum during the Nazi siege of Leningrad in World War II, the most deadly siege in world history. He is also a man with a shameful secret. At the same time his grandfather, an Orthodox priest, is approaching the end of his third decade in the Gulag. 

The grandfather loves God and thanks God for allowing him to be in the labor camp, ministering to the suffering. His grandson loves Rembrandt. Daniil, a skeptic, is especially devoted to Rembrandt's The Return of the Prodigal Son, which he features in every tour he gives.

Interestingly (and historically true), during the siege these tours were in rooms of empty frames. The art of the Hermitage was evacuated for safety, but three soldiers showed up one day and asked to see the paintings. When told there were only frames on the walls, they asked to see the frames. This began one of the strangest events in art history--tours of empty picture frames in a great museum by many thousands of people, including the blind, over many months of starvation, bombing, and death. 

Over time, Daniil progressively loses — through starvation, disease, and war--friends and family. As his own body grows weaker, his sense of guilt over his secret grows stronger. As do his thoughts about his grandfather and the painting The Prodigal. His secret comes out at the end and the ambiguous conclusion hints at the possibility of forgiveness and healing, much like the story depicted in Rembrandt's painting.

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 Paraclete Press/ 2026
 ISBN: 9798-89348-0221