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ipb1's review against another edition
4.0
More from the horror-show that was the 20thC. Visceral and moving.
Still at least 21stC is shaping up to be a utopian... - oh, bugger.
Still at least 21stC is shaping up to be a utopian... - oh, bugger.
thebooktrail88's review against another edition
4.0
Visit locations in the novel
This is such a heartbreaking read, it took me ages to be able to sit down and write this review. I honestly don’t think there are any words to do this book justice. It made me cry, think, want to sit silently for a while and let it soak in. How this woman and her family survived this horror, how Dalia managed to write it all down. Then think of burying the evidence so the KGB wouldn’t find it. It deserves to be published , translated and spread far and wide.
We start off in Kaunas, the then capital of Lithuania where Dalia is just fourteen. She is forced to endure a seemingly endless journey of deportation with her mother and brother. What makes this all the more remarkable is that her buried story was found in 1991. That’s not that long ago. Think of that as you read as it will make this even more poignant.
Moscow had ordered mass deportations from all the Baltic states—Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia. I admit that I knew nothing about this and had never really thought about these countries during the war. We hear of stories in Germany, Poland and Russia but not the Baltic states.
The story and journey are hard to read at times. Dalia is transported like cattle in a truck, then by train. The journey lasts for days, weeks, months. The final destination is bad enough but along the way the train stops to unload some of the human cargo. The most valuable cargo travels on further to the working labour camp in Siberia.
This battle has many highs and lows. As the train stops somewhere, the people on board dream of where they might be. A new start. New hope. You can only imagine the dire circumstances, the stench of the train, the fear in the people. Few words needed to bring this across.
The journey as a whole is heartbreaking and cruel. How people can treat other humans like this is beyond me. Despite this, it was the humanity and friendships forged between the prisoners which really shone through.
I was barely able to read as I reached the part where the gulag is described, but am so glad I did. Dalia and her family showed courage and strength not many people ever have.
The setting of Trofimovsk Island and the workings of the gulag were heartbreaking to read about yet fascinating too. I admire Dalia so much for writing this down. Her voice is being heard and it’s a powerful one.
purplepink951's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.75
stef369's review against another edition
5.0
Dit boek is inderdaad, zoals het op de voorflap staat, een "indrukwekkend oorlogsdagboek van een veertienjarig meisje in de Siberische goelag" - de tekst op de achterflap kan me minder bekoren: "... in één adem te noemen met het werk van Primo Levi en Anne Frank", alsof deze laatste een soort concurrentie aangingen met auteur van deze roman... Het fragment op p. 124 zegt veel: "In ons ijshol woon ik met wezens die ooit mensen waren. Die ooit hebben gelachen, geflirt, die vrienden bezochten, gasten ontvingen, hebben zitten nadenken waar ze het best hun zomervakantie konden doorbrengen na de lange, krachten verslindende winter in de stad, die zich boos maakten als de maatkleding niet paste en het tweekamerappartement te klein was. Nu zwijgen ze. Ze bestaan niet meer. Zoals ze ooit waren, zo zijn ze allang niet meer. Ze zijn op 14 juni vernietigd en liggen nu als halfdode gedaanten in barak nummer dertien. Hier heb je maar drie categorieën: lijken, stervenden en zieken die met een beetje geluk misschien nog gered kunnen worden. Wij, die zullen overleven, kunnen de generaties na ons, die zo'n hel nooit hebben meegemaakt, er later over vertellen, maar dat zal dan wel een heel ander type mens zijn." en verder op p. 125: "Alles is zinloos. Dit is de laatste poets die het leven ons bakt. De dood is gruwelijk. Mij wacht de lijkenberg op de toendra van het eeuwige ijs. Hier verga je nooit, hier is het altijd koud. Ik hunker naar warmte. Ik wil alleen nog warmte. Ik voel geen honger meer. De beelden van brood in mijn hoofd raken me niet meer. (...) Comedia finita est."
Als je beseft dat we zoveel gelezen en gezien hebben over de concentratiekampen van de Duitsers, en over deze Siberische strafkampen amper iets kunnen vertellen, als je beseft hoe lang na Stalin nog die kampen in Siberië zijn blijven bestaan. Als je beseft hoe veel moeite de KGB deed om de verhalen over de kampen monddood de maken, dan kan je niet anders dan dit boek als een heel belangrijke getuigenis te gaan beschouwen. Daarom alleen al verdient het zeker alle sterren.
Als je beseft dat we zoveel gelezen en gezien hebben over de concentratiekampen van de Duitsers, en over deze Siberische strafkampen amper iets kunnen vertellen, als je beseft hoe lang na Stalin nog die kampen in Siberië zijn blijven bestaan. Als je beseft hoe veel moeite de KGB deed om de verhalen over de kampen monddood de maken, dan kan je niet anders dan dit boek als een heel belangrijke getuigenis te gaan beschouwen. Daarom alleen al verdient het zeker alle sterren.
zaibasmakvynas's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
sad
medium-paced
3.25
NEVERKIAU.
Dalyte man patiko, fainas zmogus, idomi patirtis, stipri moteris.
Dalyte man patiko, fainas zmogus, idomi patirtis, stipri moteris.
thebooktrail88's review against another edition
4.0
Visit locations in the novel
This is such a heartbreaking read, it took me ages to be able to sit down and write this review. I honestly don’t think there are any words to do this book justice. It made me cry, think, want to sit silently for a while and let it soak in. How this woman and her family survived this horror, how Dalia managed to write it all down. Then think of burying the evidence so the KGB wouldn’t find it. It deserves to be published , translated and spread far and wide.
We start off in Kaunas, the then capital of Lithuania where Dalia is just fourteen. She is forced to endure a seemingly endless journey of deportation with her mother and brother. What makes this all the more remarkable is that her buried story was found in 1991. That’s not that long ago. Think of that as you read as it will make this even more poignant.
Moscow had ordered mass deportations from all the Baltic states—Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia. I admit that I knew nothing about this and had never really thought about these countries during the war. We hear of stories in Germany, Poland and Russia but not the Baltic states.
The story and journey are hard to read at times. Dalia is transported like cattle in a truck, then by train. The journey lasts for days, weeks, months. The final destination is bad enough but along the way the train stops to unload some of the human cargo. The most valuable cargo travels on further to the working labour camp in Siberia.
This battle has many highs and lows. As the train stops somewhere, the people on board dream of where they might be. A new start. New hope. You can only imagine the dire circumstances, the stench of the train, the fear in the people. Few words needed to bring this across.
The journey as a whole is heartbreaking and cruel. How people can treat other humans like this is beyond me. Despite this, it was the humanity and friendships forged between the prisoners which really shone through.
I was barely able to read as I reached the part where the gulag is described, but am so glad I did. Dalia and her family showed courage and strength not many people ever have.
The setting of Trofimovsk Island and the workings of the gulag were heartbreaking to read about yet fascinating too. I admire Dalia so much for writing this down. Her voice is being heard and it’s a powerful one.