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4.17 AVERAGE
4.17 AVERAGE
erica_bjerning's review
5.0
An excellent memoir of life in Stalin’s prison system. It doesn’t go into grotesque torture details (although there is indeed a time and place for truth to be brought into the light). This is a good and thoughtful read about the general conditions. Probably a good introduction for folks without deep background knowledge to see if they want to dig deeper.
davison13's review
3.0
A book is so much more enjoyable when its not for a class. I'd give this a 3.5. Would probably be a 4 if it wasnt a required reading for class lol. There were parts I was losing interest but it sped up a bit in the end. Overall, solid book and I'm glad I finished it. I got to learn about a part of history that I didn't know much about before which is always a plus.
marcia's review
4.0
This was a very fascinating book. I almost didn't read it because I have read other prison/work camp books.
The difference is that the author is a die-hard Communist and truly believed that she had done nothing to deserve her punishment. She was released after 18 years and in the post-script to the book reaffirms her devotion to communism.
I looked her up on Wikipedia and after the publication of this book, she was again taken to work camps and died there.
it was interesting to read about her emotional journeys and the value of poetry in her life in prison. Makes me want to memorize more poetry, just in case I ever need it.
The difference is that the author is a die-hard Communist and truly believed that she had done nothing to deserve her punishment. She was released after 18 years and in the post-script to the book reaffirms her devotion to communism.
I looked her up on Wikipedia and after the publication of this book, she was again taken to work camps and died there.
it was interesting to read about her emotional journeys and the value of poetry in her life in prison. Makes me want to memorize more poetry, just in case I ever need it.
joylesnick's review
3.0
The first 25 pages were a bit rough because the Russian names and places (other than Stalin and Moscow - could I be more American?) were a bit difficult to follow. Also, I couldn't figure out why Genia was being arrested (and she couldn't either). Turns out, I don't know much about the Great Purge, which (according to Wikipedia) was "a series of campaigns of political repression and persecution in the Soviet Union orchestrated by Joseph Stalin in 1936–1938.It involved a large-scale purge of the Communist Party and Government officials, repression of peasants, Red Army leadership, and the persecution of unaffiliated persons, characterized by widespread police surveillance, widespread suspicion of "saboteurs", imprisonment, and executions."
I spent 15 minutes with Wikipedia, and now I'm hooked. The book chronicles the author's experience in prison and labor camps, including 2 years in solitary confinement. If you are skeptical about reading this for book club this month, maybe you should give it a chance....
I spent 15 minutes with Wikipedia, and now I'm hooked. The book chronicles the author's experience in prison and labor camps, including 2 years in solitary confinement. If you are skeptical about reading this for book club this month, maybe you should give it a chance....
kanjimanji's review
5.0
I find it amazing that such books survive and reach us. First of all, the author survived by the skin of her teeth. Second, she wrote a book about people who lose their lives by knowing someone who writes books like these.
It seems that the acutely paranoid Stalin turned against his own most trusted lieutenants, which later convoluted into a nationwide murder program, dooming the fate of hundreds of thousands of innocent people. This story has the emotional charge of Camp 14 and is eerily reminiscent of 1984 (published only about a decade later), especially the part about prison language and interrogations.
Eugenia shares a bone-chilling first-person experience with strong resonating post-effect that will take a while to settle down. It might never settle down.
I don't believe anyone who wasn't there will ever "get it." The book brings a powerful reminder that there are a few things in life that are beyond words. We haven't yet invented a language that accurately delineates feeling.
Although severely restricted to using words only, the author obliged and did a masterful job at approximating her massive and heroic endeavor.
It seems that the acutely paranoid Stalin turned against his own most trusted lieutenants, which later convoluted into a nationwide murder program, dooming the fate of hundreds of thousands of innocent people. This story has the emotional charge of Camp 14 and is eerily reminiscent of 1984 (published only about a decade later), especially the part about prison language and interrogations.
Eugenia shares a bone-chilling first-person experience with strong resonating post-effect that will take a while to settle down. It might never settle down.
I don't believe anyone who wasn't there will ever "get it." The book brings a powerful reminder that there are a few things in life that are beyond words. We haven't yet invented a language that accurately delineates feeling.
Although severely restricted to using words only, the author obliged and did a masterful job at approximating her massive and heroic endeavor.
dtd's review
1.0
Unreadable - not sure where all of the high ratings are coming from. Seemed like an interesting story, I wish it were better written.
travelgirl7's review
4.0
It's difficult to judge and critic a book that comes from a true story. What she faced was horrible, inhuman, and life changing. How did she not lose the will to live? Where did her strength come from? I do wish there was more about her children and husband in the book because I was left in a state of wonder regarding them. I would definitely recommend this book because it touches on a part of history that is not brought to centre view. The USSR somehow managed to avoid the criticism that Germany and China faced.
scr1be's review
5.0
First person perspective on life under Stalin and in the Gulags, which for some reason don't get near the attention that they should in history classes. This will teach you more about the perils of living under Post WW2 Stalinism than nearly any normal history class would, and is an interesting read to say the least.
amerynth's review
4.0
My "to read" pile is large enough that often a book rises to the top of it and I have no recollection whatsoever of what put it into the pile in the first place. This was definitely true of Eugenia Ginzburg's autobiography "Journey into the Whirlwind." But boy, am I ever glad for whatever put this book into my sights in the first place.
Ginzburg's autobiography takes place in the 1930's in Russia, where she, a loyal member of the Communist Party, is sentenced to 10 years in solitary confinement as part of Stalin's "Great Purge." By the end of this story, she ends up in a Siberian labor camp after slipping away from death numerous times.
I only wish I had read this book decades ago, when I was in college and obsessed with Russian history... it probably would have had an even greater impact. I also wish the book's ending was so abrupt... while Ginzburg mentions she never saw her oldest son again, there is no information on what happened to her family (or how she eventually left the labor camp herself.)
At any rate, this is a really moving book and provides a great deal of insight, not only into a horrible period of Russian history, but also the human condition.
Ginzburg's autobiography takes place in the 1930's in Russia, where she, a loyal member of the Communist Party, is sentenced to 10 years in solitary confinement as part of Stalin's "Great Purge." By the end of this story, she ends up in a Siberian labor camp after slipping away from death numerous times.
I only wish I had read this book decades ago, when I was in college and obsessed with Russian history... it probably would have had an even greater impact. I also wish the book's ending was so abrupt... while Ginzburg mentions she never saw her oldest son again, there is no information on what happened to her family (or how she eventually left the labor camp herself.)
At any rate, this is a really moving book and provides a great deal of insight, not only into a horrible period of Russian history, but also the human condition.
allymclaren's review
4.0
I loved it for the content and the easy style of reading about a historical event. My only complaint is that it dragged on at parts and skipped over others where I wanted more information. Still a great read though.