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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.
domite's review against another edition
2.0
I had to read this for school. meh... I feel so sorry for people who had to go through this but it was such a slow read.
adoptalibros's review against another edition
3.0
En "Lituanos junto al mar de Láptev" nos encontramos frente a un testimonio real sobre los desplazamientos forzados que comenzaron durante la Segunda Guerra Mundial y que se prolongarían, en el caso del pueblo lituano, durante el periodo en que formó parte de la URSS. Es una narración directa de una de las propias protagonistas que lo vivieron, algo que no es tan habitual en los libros de estos periodos históricos. Aquí nadie nos cuenta una historia basada en hechos reales, ningún historiador tras meses de investigación recompone ciertos hechos del pasado con mayor o menor veracidad. Es este caso Dalia Grinkevičiūtė dejó por escrito en distintos momentos de su vida lo que había vivido y lo que estaba aún viviendo.
Por esto mismo, no se trata de una novela, en muchos momentos puede parecer algo no demasiado literario, ya que se trata del conjunto de los textos que ella fue escribiendo en distintos periodos de su vida y en los que iba relatando sus vivencias, cambiando en ocasiones la forma de narrar y dando saltos en el tiempo.
Es cualquier caso, es desde luego una forma distinta a lo habitual e interesante, de acercarse a este periodo histórico. Tanto por la forma, como he comentado, como por el contenido en sí, ya que se centra específicamente en lo referente al pueblo lituano, historia que sin duda es desconocida para la gran mayoría de la población. Por una vez es protagonista uno de los países en los que más se sufrió todo este periodo y del que no se hacen películas ni se escriben best seller como de las principales potencias.
Por esto mismo, no se trata de una novela, en muchos momentos puede parecer algo no demasiado literario, ya que se trata del conjunto de los textos que ella fue escribiendo en distintos periodos de su vida y en los que iba relatando sus vivencias, cambiando en ocasiones la forma de narrar y dando saltos en el tiempo.
Es cualquier caso, es desde luego una forma distinta a lo habitual e interesante, de acercarse a este periodo histórico. Tanto por la forma, como he comentado, como por el contenido en sí, ya que se centra específicamente en lo referente al pueblo lituano, historia que sin duda es desconocida para la gran mayoría de la población. Por una vez es protagonista uno de los países en los que más se sufrió todo este periodo y del que no se hacen películas ni se escriben best seller como de las principales potencias.
uogabunbuckis's review against another edition
dark
sad
fast-paced
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Excrement
clarereadstheworld's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
slow-paced
4.5
Have you ever read a book which left you shocked to your core?
It is hard to know how to start writing a review of a book as harrowing as this one. The ghost of Dalia Grinkevičiutė will definitely stay with me for a long time, and the current war only makes this read more chilling.
In 1941, at the age of 14, Dalia and her family were deported by the Soviets to forced labour camps in Siberia. What followed were long challenging years of hard work, minimal rations, polar winters, death and disease. Amazingly, Dalia finally managed to escape, and while in hiding back in Lithuania she wrote the story of her years in the Siberian Labour camps. Fearing the KBG, she buried her papers in her garden. Many years later, in 1991 the story was found by chance, and published.
Although she was not writing while she was in Siberia, but several years later, Dalia writes in the present. The reader has the feeling that although she may be writing from a place of relative security, her experiences of the long, harsh polar winter have never left Dalia. It's a grueling read, the details of the conditions in the labour camp and graphic, and it's heartbreaking to be reminded what humans do to other humans.
This is definitely not an enjoyable read, it's tough and upsetting, but I think it's also an important read. We can not pick and choose which pieces of history we want to remember, and we mustn't shy away from the ugly parts of the past.
It is hard to know how to start writing a review of a book as harrowing as this one. The ghost of Dalia Grinkevičiutė will definitely stay with me for a long time, and the current war only makes this read more chilling.
In 1941, at the age of 14, Dalia and her family were deported by the Soviets to forced labour camps in Siberia. What followed were long challenging years of hard work, minimal rations, polar winters, death and disease. Amazingly, Dalia finally managed to escape, and while in hiding back in Lithuania she wrote the story of her years in the Siberian Labour camps. Fearing the KBG, she buried her papers in her garden. Many years later, in 1991 the story was found by chance, and published.
Although she was not writing while she was in Siberia, but several years later, Dalia writes in the present. The reader has the feeling that although she may be writing from a place of relative security, her experiences of the long, harsh polar winter have never left Dalia. It's a grueling read, the details of the conditions in the labour camp and graphic, and it's heartbreaking to be reminded what humans do to other humans.
This is definitely not an enjoyable read, it's tough and upsetting, but I think it's also an important read. We can not pick and choose which pieces of history we want to remember, and we mustn't shy away from the ugly parts of the past.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Forced institutionalization, and Excrement
cirulputenis's review against another edition
I won't give this a star rating but I highly recommend it, especially for those that aren't familiar with the plight of the Lithuanian/Latvian/Estonian people during the Soviet deportations.
ladymirtazapine's review against another edition
5.0
As grim and as valuable as Primo Levi's If This Is A Man, and to critique the writing would be to miss the point of the work - which is to bear witness and ensure that what happened is not forgotten.