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jyotsna_jay's review against another edition
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
5.0
soleglad's review
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.5
This book is well worth one's time. It is informative and/or moving on several levels
- From the big picture of Russia's war in Ukraine, to the specific case of the author's brother
- From the practical and bureaucratic goings-on in the wake of the brother's death, to the gut-wrenching (if prosaically written) and more abstract emotions and reflections of the author
- From lived reality in Ukraine to observing the war from abroad, including the lack of knowledge and empathy for Ukraine's situation in Western Europe esp. before February 2022
This is not the book to learn the textbook version of the war, with all its history and geopolitical nuances. What it gives you is a gripping account of one person's experiences, with a bit of macro on top. It widened my perspective and infiltrated my heart.
metamorphesque's review
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.0
- heartbreaking account of what war is for the people not on the front lines
- a tale of love and loss, the shitty eastern european bureacracy too that I have also had to deal with numerous times sjksjsk
- told by the sister of a soldier who dies on the frontline of the Ukraine-Russia war before 2022#
- no glorification, no pathos, just grief and a sister's love and confusion over losing her brother unexpectedly
- also about how fallen soldier were actually more than just soldiers; they are always only remembered as such, as fallen heroes who died for the greater good but that is not all they were - some were painters, some were writers, journalists, teachers etc.... this book reminds us all of that
- a perspective not from just one person, academic, woman, sister, but from the sizeable part of the Ukrainian nation
- picture of the Ukrainian society: volunteers, bystanders, soldiers, politicians
- a story of one family and the whole nation