The Mirrored World
Debra Dean, 2012
HarperCollins
256 pp.
ISBN-13: 9780061231452
Summary
A breathtaking novel of love, madness, and devotion set against the extravagant royal court of eighteenth-century St. Petersburg, Russia.
Xenia is an eccentric dreamer when she falls in love with a charismatic singer in the Imperial choir. Though they adore each other, their happiness is overshadowed by the demands of the royal court, and by Xenia's obsession to have a child. When a tragic vision comes true, she withdraws into grief and undergoes a profound transformation, giving her possessions to the poor. Then, one day, she vanishes.
Years later, dressed in the tatters of her husband's mil-itary uniform, Xenia is discovered tending the paupers of St. Petersburg's slums. Revered as a soothsayer and a healer, she is feared by Empress Catherine, who perceives her deeds as a rebuke.
In this elegant tale, Dean reimagines the life of Xenia of St. Petersburg, one of Russia's most mysterious and beloved holy figures. It is an evocative exploration of the blessings of long and loyal friendship, the limits of reason, and the true costs of loving deeply. (From the publisher.)
Author Bio
• Birth—ca. 1958-1959
• Where—Seattle, Washington, USA
• Education—B.A., Whitman College; M.F.A.,
University of Oregon
• Awards—Nelson Bentley Prize-Fiction
• Currently—lives in Miami, Florida
Debra Dean worked as an actor in New York theater for nearly a decade before opting for the life of a writer and teacher. She and her husband now live in Miami, where she teaches at the University at Miami. (From the publisher.)
More
Debra Dean was born and raised in Seattle. The daughter of a builder and a homemaker and artist, she was a bookworm but never imagined becoming a writer. “Growing up, I read Louisa May Alcott and Laura Ingalls Wilder, Jane Austen, the Brontes. Until after I left college, I rarely read anyone who hadn’t been dead for at least fifty years, so I had no model for writing books as something that people still did. I think subconsciously I figured you needed three names or at the very least a British accent.”
At Whitman College, she double-majored in English and Drama and graduated in 1980. “If you can imagine anyone being this naïve, I figured if the acting thing didn’t work out, I’d have the English major to fall back on.” After college, she moved to New York and spent two years at The Neighborhood Playhouse, a professional actor’s training program. She worked in the New York and regional theatre for nearly a decade and met her future husband when they were cast as brother and sister in A.R. Gurney’s play The Dining Room. “If I’d had a more successful career as an actor, I’d probably still be doing it because I loved acting. I understudied in a couple of long-running plays, so I was able to keep my union health insurance, but the business is pretty dreadful. When I started thinking about getting out, I had no idea what else I might do. What I eventually came up with was writing, which in many ways was a comically ill-advised choice because the pitfalls of writing as a career are nearly identical to acting. One key difference, though, is that you don’t have to be hired first before you can write. Another big advantage is that you don’t need to get facelifts or even be presentable: most days, I can wear my ratty old jeans and t-shirts and not bother with the hair and make-up.”
In 1990, she moved back to the northwest and got her MFA at the University of Oregon. She started teaching writing and publishing her short stories in literary journals. “Everyone told me I needed to either get a PhD or write a novel, and logically they were right, but —well, as I’ve mentioned - I have no instinct for doing the smart thing.” The Madonnas of Leningrad, it turns out, was begun as a short story and when she realized that the short form wouldn’t contain the story, she put it back in the drawer for a few years.
“In retrospect, I’m very grateful for my circuitous journey, that I wasn’t some wunderkind. I like to think I have more compassion now and a perspective that I didn’t have when I was younger.” (From the author's website.)
Book Reviews
In Debra Dean’s skilled hands, history comes alive.... Though the world she creates is harsh and cold at times, it is the warmth at its center—the power of love—that stays with you in the end.
Miami Herald
In her excellent second novel, The Mirrored World, Debra Dean has composed a resonant and compelling tale.... Dean’s writing is superb; she uses imagery natural to the story and an earlier time
Seattle Times
In her second novel (after The Madonnas of Leningrad), Dean returns to Russia to reimagine the intriguing life story of St. Xenia, as seen through the eyes of the fictional narrator, Dashenka. A terrible fire in 1736 in St. Petersburg forces a young Xenia; her sister, Nadya; and their mother to seek refuge in Dasha’s childhood home. The girls grow up together and are ushered into society the same year. Soon after, Xenia falls in love with Col. Andrei Petrov and the two wed. Dasha is not so lucky, but is kindly welcomed into Xenia’s house, where she witnesses Xenia unravel, first over her difficulty in conceiving, then the deaths of her only baby and husband. When an unstable Xenia begins to relinquish her worldly possessions, Dasha becomes concerned, and Xenia suddenly disappears, only to resurface years later as a saint to the poor—much to the chagrin of the royals. For those familiar with the story of St. Xenia, this is a gratifying take on a compelling woman. For others, Dean’s vivid prose and deft pacing make for a quick and entertaining read.
Publishers Weekly
Xenia, a patron saint of St. Petersburg, is the inspiration for this melancholy novel depicting the lives of three girls in the 18th-century "Venice of the North." Nadya marries an older suitor and lives a stuffy, bourgeois life. Dasha, the narrator, marries a musico, an Italian eunuch who performs in the Imperial choir. Their life is unconventional and sad. Xenia marries Andrei, a handsome officer who sings in the same choir. Their grand passion ends abruptly with his death in a drunken fall. In her grief, Xenia becomes a Holy Fool living on the streets and ministering to the poor and afflicted. Verdict: Dean made a skyrocketing literary debut with The Madonnas of Leningrad and follows up with a meditative spiritual saga that honors its subject with an artful recreation of Xenia's era. Subtle period details and dramatic facts of the 18th century enliven this fictional biography though the stories move along at a stately processional pace. —Barbara Conaty, Falls Church, VA
Library Journal
Dean’s novel grows more profound and affecting with every page.
Booklist
From Dean (Confessions of a Falling Woman, 2008, etc.), a lightly fictionalized retelling of the life of the Eastern Orthodox St. Xenia, who left her comfortable home in 18th-century Russia to live as a "holy fool" among the poor. Xenia's cousin, Dasha, who grew up with Xenia and her older sister, Nadya, narrates Xenia's history. From an early age, Xenia clearly has an independent spirit. She is an eccentric who cannot help showing her often-passionate feelings about the world around her without restraint. She also has dreams that are particularly vivid and can "see" what others cannot.... The novel follows the factual particulars, but Dasha's narration remains at such a formal remove that readers never experience what makes Xenia tick as a saint or a woman.
Kirkus Reviews
Discussion Questions
1. The novel opens with a striking dream. What is its portent?
2. Talk about Xenia as a child, a wife, and a widow. What adjectives would you use to describe her? Was she too sensitive for the difficulties of the material world? How does Xenia compare to her sister, Nadya and her cousin, Dasha?
3. Talk about Xenia's relationship with her husband, Andrei. Can someone love too much? Is love itself a form of madness?
4. What about Dasha and Gaspari's relationship? What are the most important components of a successful marriage? Is passion necessary?
5. What are your impressions of life in eighteenth-century Tsarist Russia? How does Debra Dean bring this time and place to life?
6. After Andrei's death, Xenia tells Dasha, "I have let people starve that I might wear that lace. But I shall be naked before God." Was Xenia right to feel guilty over her privilege while so many of her fellow citizens starved?
7. Is Xenia blessed by God, or is she mentally disturbed, driven mad by inconsolable grief? Is it "crazy" for a person to give up all material possessions as she did?
8. Was there anything that Dasha or anyone could have done to help Xenia or was her transformation the true purpose of her life? Do you think Xenia found peace in her transformation?
9. Compare the Tsarist Russia of Xenia's time with our world and our own society. Despite the obvious differences, do you see any similarities?
10. How would a person like Xenia be viewed today? Is most of the modern world too cynical to believe in miracles? Do you believe in miracles? Xenia has become one of Russia's most revered saints. What makes someone a saint? What do you think of Xenia?
11. What are the challenges and rewards of long friendship? Have you had a friend who changed dramatically, and how did you handle that?
(Questions issued by publisher.)