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3.97 AVERAGE
3.97 AVERAGE
Read this years ago, and just cleared it off my shelves recently.
A raw and quiet novel that left me rather touched.
We follow young Esther and her family as they are moved from Lithuania and are exiled to Siberia during World War 2. Forced to work in horrendous conditions and pushed to the brink of starvation this is a testimony to all who suffered through the terrors of WW2. Through all of the horrors the love, hope and kindness that radiates from Esther and her fellow captives is breath-taking. Even when reading books like this I can never quite believe the things that humans can do to one another, it's truly harrowing - yet Esther's story gives me hope for better.
I would highly recommend to all, especially those with a love of historical fiction and WW2.
We follow young Esther and her family as they are moved from Lithuania and are exiled to Siberia during World War 2. Forced to work in horrendous conditions and pushed to the brink of starvation this is a testimony to all who suffered through the terrors of WW2. Through all of the horrors the love, hope and kindness that radiates from Esther and her fellow captives is breath-taking. Even when reading books like this I can never quite believe the things that humans can do to one another, it's truly harrowing - yet Esther's story gives me hope for better.
I would highly recommend to all, especially those with a love of historical fiction and WW2.
Another book I remember vividly. There is a part when she is commissioned to knit a red jumper from one of the women also in exile, and she does it perfectly, but the woman has got fat because she had access to a cow and it's milk and won't pay for the jumper as it doesn't fit. The injustice of it still makes boil!
I've just about given up on this after numerous false starts. It seems so dreary and tedious. FWIW, I hated Anne Frank, so I suspect this will never be a favorite.
Jeg synes det er vanskelig å anmelde denne boka.
Jeg vet ikke om jeg skal lese den som en selvbiografi eller som fiksjon. Men jeg tror det er en bok i grenseland.
Handlingen er vanskelig å ta inn over seg. Og historien er annerledes enn andre bøker jeg har lest fra 2. verdenskrig. I starten tenkte jeg at den skulle være ganske lik [b: Between Shades of Grey|35383463|Lacking Shades of Grey The Thin Line Between Creativity & Genius|Nicole D'Settēmi|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1496844346s/35383463.jpg|56744549], men utover i boka gikk handlingen i de to bøkene forskjellige veier. Hovedpersonen og familien hennes i The Endless Steppe kjemper en kamp om å overleve. Det er hardt, men de gir ikke opp. De blir sendt til Sibir, midt i øde. De blir satt til å jobbe i en gruve, for å sove i et gammelt skolebygg og en liten brød bit. Etter hvert så får de et mer "fritt" liv, men det gjør ikke ting lettere.
Jeg vet ikke, jeg føler at boka var hard, men samtidig er jeg glad jeg leste den. For det er det jeg synes er veldig interessant --- å lese historier til "hverdagsmennekser" fra krigen. Lese om hvordan det gikk utover enkeltpersoner, ikke bare det militære, politiske og stormaktenes strid seg i mellom. --For det var faktisk mennesker det gikk utover(!) Sorry, dette er mer min mening generelt enn om boka, men det er en av grunnene til at jeg likte boka. Den forteller historien til folk og liv jeg aldri har tenk på eller hørt om. Vi lærer ikke om slike sider av krige på skolen.
Jeg vet ikke om jeg skal lese den som en selvbiografi eller som fiksjon. Men jeg tror det er en bok i grenseland.
Handlingen er vanskelig å ta inn over seg. Og historien er annerledes enn andre bøker jeg har lest fra 2. verdenskrig. I starten tenkte jeg at den skulle være ganske lik [b: Between Shades of Grey|35383463|Lacking Shades of Grey The Thin Line Between Creativity & Genius|Nicole D'Settēmi|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1496844346s/35383463.jpg|56744549], men utover i boka gikk handlingen i de to bøkene forskjellige veier. Hovedpersonen og familien hennes i The Endless Steppe kjemper en kamp om å overleve. Det er hardt, men de gir ikke opp. De blir sendt til Sibir, midt i øde. De blir satt til å jobbe i en gruve, for å sove i et gammelt skolebygg og en liten brød bit. Etter hvert så får de et mer "fritt" liv, men det gjør ikke ting lettere.
Jeg vet ikke, jeg føler at boka var hard, men samtidig er jeg glad jeg leste den. For det er det jeg synes er veldig interessant --- å lese historier til "hverdagsmennekser" fra krigen. Lese om hvordan det gikk utover enkeltpersoner, ikke bare det militære, politiske og stormaktenes strid seg i mellom. --For det var faktisk mennesker det gikk utover(!) Sorry, dette er mer min mening generelt enn om boka, men det er en av grunnene til at jeg likte boka. Den forteller historien til folk og liv jeg aldri har tenk på eller hørt om. Vi lærer ikke om slike sider av krige på skolen.
The Endless Steppe is written for the 10 and up age range, which makes me like it all the more, since kids are often given very few types of perspective on any given event. It flows easily, though I wish the passage of time had been more explicitly stated throughout the book. The writing is good and doesn't *feel* like a children's book, and the content doesn't either really, since it's obviously going to focus on her childhood feelings and experiences as she was a child at the time.
That, to me, is the mark of a good children's book. Some authors talk down to children, some talk to them. This feels perfectly suitable for children, rather than feeling like a children's book.
That, to me, is the mark of a good children's book. Some authors talk down to children, some talk to them. This feels perfectly suitable for children, rather than feeling like a children's book.
Excellent storytelling. This is a memoir of the author's life in Siberia, after being deported there from Poland in 1941. Hautzig's writing is simple and descriptive, and her optimism is reassuring.
The Endless Steppe is an autobiographical novel, written by a Jewish woman of Polish origin, Esther Hautzig, née Rudomin.
In 1941, when she was a mere child of ten, she was deported with her parents and her grandmother to Rubtsovsk, a city in Siberia, near Altai. This region became infamous for hosting labor/concentration camps for political enemies of the Soviets. The Rudomins were accused of being Jewish and capitalists. Hautzig described perfectly the anguish and despair of being suddenly kidnapped by the NKVD in the full sun, while nobody tries to help for fear of reprisals, and the alienation caused by traveling for weeks crammed in livestock cars.
Fortunately for her and many Polish deportees, a Russian-American pact saved them years of laboring in a Siberian camp. However, they couldn't still leave Siberia and so they suffered great hardships for the following four years. Somehow, though, little Esther is capable of laughing in the face of adversity and she never loses hope. In fact, she finds resources even for throwing a real birthday party. I was thankful to find a little humor in the book - otherwise it would have been a total downer.
This is a great companion book to Anne Frank's diary. I, for one, didn't know much about the horrors perpetrated by the Soviet leaders until very recently. I think my education focused too much on presenting the Nazi as the sole evil guys, but both sides had their share in the genocide.
So I think The Endless Steppe has much to offer to the reader, both in terms of education and entertainment. I can't really understand why it isn't more popular.
In 1941, when she was a mere child of ten, she was deported with her parents and her grandmother to Rubtsovsk, a city in Siberia, near Altai. This region became infamous for hosting labor/concentration camps for political enemies of the Soviets. The Rudomins were accused of being Jewish and capitalists. Hautzig described perfectly the anguish and despair of being suddenly kidnapped by the NKVD in the full sun, while nobody tries to help for fear of reprisals, and the alienation caused by traveling for weeks crammed in livestock cars.
Fortunately for her and many Polish deportees, a Russian-American pact saved them years of laboring in a Siberian camp. However, they couldn't still leave Siberia and so they suffered great hardships for the following four years. Somehow, though, little Esther is capable of laughing in the face of adversity and she never loses hope. In fact, she finds resources even for throwing a real birthday party. I was thankful to find a little humor in the book - otherwise it would have been a total downer.
This is a great companion book to Anne Frank's diary. I, for one, didn't know much about the horrors perpetrated by the Soviet leaders until very recently. I think my education focused too much on presenting the Nazi as the sole evil guys, but both sides had their share in the genocide.
So I think The Endless Steppe has much to offer to the reader, both in terms of education and entertainment. I can't really understand why it isn't more popular.