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A review by kirsty_reads
Shadows on the Tundra by Dalia Grinkevičiūtė
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.0
This is a moving and harrowing read. I had previously only read about Soviet labour camps in fiction novels where the writing tends to set many Soviet camps in a similar vein to Nazi concentration camps. Whilst there may be truth in the comparison, this factual account highlighted the disregard for human life in a way I haven’t read before by showing that placing people in Arctic land where living conditions are impossible was another form of labour camps.
I would recommend researching the surrounding context of how this book was written as it is written from diary entries structurally it was difficult to follow in places. However, this is a natural reflection of the authors circumstances and these entries were found buried underground after her death.
There are archives and museums dedicated to retrieving and recording Eastern European accounts of Soviet labour camps. It is difficult to read and comprehend how these victims were released but into a system of continued oppression where their truths were never able to be spoken. Many wrote and buried their accounts perhaps hoping we could learn about them in the future or to provide them some form of closure they couldn’t otherwise achieve.
This is a period in history that doesn’t get the recognition it needs. I will be doing more to access the stories that have been found and shared to educate myself.
I would recommend researching the surrounding context of how this book was written as it is written from diary entries structurally it was difficult to follow in places. However, this is a natural reflection of the authors circumstances and these entries were found buried underground after her death.
There are archives and museums dedicated to retrieving and recording Eastern European accounts of Soviet labour camps. It is difficult to read and comprehend how these victims were released but into a system of continued oppression where their truths were never able to be spoken. Many wrote and buried their accounts perhaps hoping we could learn about them in the future or to provide them some form of closure they couldn’t otherwise achieve.
This is a period in history that doesn’t get the recognition it needs. I will be doing more to access the stories that have been found and shared to educate myself.