"At the beginning of The Siege, sudden news of German attack rips the peaceful Levin family from their countryside retreat, throwing their world into unimagined turmoil. Soon all of Leningrad is trapped by the besieging German army, but daily life must go on. While little Kolya plays with his toy fort, his tiny body grows cruelly thin. While twenty-two-year-old Anna dreams of an artist's life, she must forage for food in the ever more desperate city.

Likewise, Dunmore's lush, lyrical appreciation of life's comforts - a fire in the hearth, jam on the tongue - dwells in The Siege even amid the darkest despair." "Before the siege is over, a mysterious ex-actress and a gentle young doctor come to the Levins' frozen little apartment. Not all of the five will survive, but their struggle and their tragedy will ultimately bear hope for a new beginning."--BOOK JACKET.