BEELITZ-HEILSTÄTTEN: Where Ghosts Never Die by Marina Osipova @marosikok #RBRT

 4.5 out of 5 stars

On Amazon (universal link)
On Goodreads

How I discovered this book: it was submitted to Rosie's Book Review Team, of which I am a member.

In a Nutshell: Timeslip terror, Pandora's Box opened...

A most interesting and unusual book.  Obsessed with seeing the place of her birth, a ghostly, derelict German military hospital near Berlin, Marion has no idea what will happen to her once she is inside, and what she will uncover, later.

I loved the timeslip element of this story, with Marion travelling back in time to the First World War, and finding herself working at the hospital as a nurse, tending to the injured men.  One in particular sends shivers of repulsion through her, though she doesn't know why; I liked how Ms Osipova endowed her with vague recollections about her life before, frustrating to her.  She knows something about various people, various elements of her life, but not what those 'somethings' are.  In the case of this patient, we know who he is, but Marion does not.

There are other truths to uncover about her present day life, as age-old documents are unearthed and she seeks the horrifying truth about the handsome young doctor she fell in love with during her dip back into the past, before the mind virus of Nazi Germany infected so many previously sane people.

This book is gripping, masterfully atmospheric, and unpredictable throughout - I thoroughly enjoyed it.

LAST TRAIN TO FREEDOM by Deborah Swift @swiftstory

5 GOLD stars

On Amazon (universal link)
On Goodreads

How I discovered this book: a favourite author, I was waiting for it!

In a Nutshell: WWII - perilous escape from NKVD and Nazis

After a harrowing escape from the Nazis in their home country of Poland, Zofia, twin brother Jacek and their Uncle Tata have found a home in Lithuania, along with many other Jewish refugees.  Alas, here they face a new danger - the Russian army, bulldozing their way through anything they deem to be anti-communist.

Once they realise that resistance is futile, the Japanese consul is their only hope for visas to travel on the Trans-Siberian express, away from imminent danger.  As well as escaping, Zofia has another mission to complete - the delivery of a secret package to officials in Tokyo.  The problem is that there are others who want to put a spanner in the works; some who appear to be helpful are not what they seem.

I was delighted to find out that Chiune Sugihara, the Japanese consul in Lithuania, was a real person who, against orders from his country, issued thousands of visas to Lithuanians and Polish refugees who would have otherwise been captured by the Russians or the Nazis.  Deborah Swift has written a piece about it HERE.

I loved this book from start to finish; it's utterly gripping and I could never guess what might happen next.  More than anything else, it illustrates what a dark, dangerous place mainland Europe was during the first half of the 20th Century, and the bravery of so many who fought on the side of good, against the forces of evil that were intent on eliminating their existence.  Highly, highly recommended - definitely my favourite of Deborah Swift's novels set in World War II.

THE LONG WALK by Slavomir Racwicz

4.5 out of 5 stars

On Amazon (universal link)
On Goodreads

How I discovered this book: I read a review of it by RosieAmber.

In a Nutshell: The allegedly true story of Slavomir Rawicz, who escaped from a Siberian labour camp during World War II, and, with comrades, trekked thousands of miles to reach safety.  Fact or fiction?

I'd read half of this book before I looked at it on Goodreads, and was so disappointed to find that there is dispute over the veracity of the story.  Some say that there is no record of Rawicz having been incarcerated at the gulag mentioned, but I wondered about that.  Service in Siberia was in itself a punishment for Russian soldiers who had fallen short of the demonic Communist party's expectations; perhaps successful escapees were scratched from the records for the officers' own safety?

The journey takes the small party from Siberia to Mongolia, the Gobi Desert, Tibet, the Himalayas and finally to India.  I was so absorbed in the story and found it completely convincing until I saw the comments on Goodreads.  After this, I questioned everything.  I am not sure if this says more about me than the book!  There was a moment, early on, when I wondered if I would have been so engrossed if it had been fiction; I was able to answer that question later.  Nevertheless, it's fascinating and a real page turner.

One part that made me wonder was the section in the Gobi desert when Rawicz and his friends survived for up to 12 days without water.  Two of them died, yes, but 12 days?  On the other hand, the longest known survival without is 18 days (yes, of course I looked it up!).  And some, such as Ernest Shackleton, have talked about the 'Third Man Factor', during which they felt, in circumstances of extreme danger and hardship, that there was another, unseen being walking with them.

If all true, it's the most incredible memoir of escape, resilience, brotherhood and so much more, in which I often felt the detail itself spoke volumes.  If not, it's still a great story.  

THE DRAU RIVER FLOWS TO SIBERIA: The Victims of Victory by Marina Osipova

5 out of 5 stars

On Amazon (universal link)
On Goodreads

How I discovered this book: it was submitted to Rosie's Book Review Team, of which I am a member.

In a Nutshell: The story of two people who survived Stalin's Siberian gulags, and the fate of the Cossacks under the care of the Allies in WWII.

I feel quite exhausted having just finished this book, a lengthy novel in which I was engrossed throughout.  It centres around what happened to anti-Soviet Russian nationals at the end of WWII - mostly the Cossacks of Ukraine and other 'enemies' of the Allies - at the hands of the victors: the British and Americans as well as Stalin's Red Army, who also assured Germans that they would remain in the hands of the Western Powers.  All in the name of 'repatriation'. 

Anna and Zakhary, finally set free from incarceration under the most brutal of regimes, are strangers who meet by chance on an isolated peninsula of the Ob River, in 1955.  While waiting many hours for a boat, they tell each other their stories, immediately taking the reader back to the end of the war and the unforeseen dangers that lay along the paths they were about to walk.  

Zakhary was a German national whose Cossack father had taken his family to live in Germany.  Anna found herself separated from her family when the Wehrmacht occupied her town, and was offered the chance to work in Germany; sadly, she believed lies about what a good move this would be.  At the end of the war, though, she finds that nothing she experienced in the last few years has prepared her for what is to come.

The slippery hand of fate takes both of them to the Siberian Gulags; although this is fiction, you cannot help but be aware, throughout, that everything Anna and Zakhary went through was experienced by hundreds of thousands, many of whom would never see freedom again.

This isn't just about the evils of Communism, or of war, but man's inhumanity to man.  My only (tiny!) complaint is the occasional use of American English.  Words like 'normalcy' 'cookies' and 'fall' (rather than autumn) never sit right with me when the book is about European or Eurasian people.  But I doubt anyone will mind that as much as I do, if at all, and this really is a terrific book.

Here is an article about the Lienz massacre in Austria, in which the Cossacks were betrayed by the British army, and another one HERE.  Below, a short video.

WE THE LIVING by Ayn Rand @AynRandOrg

5 GOLD stars

On Amazon (universal link)
On Goodreads

How I discovered this book: I watched a documentary about Ms Rand, after which I knew I had to read this.

In a Nutshell: A love story set in the Communist USSR of the 1920s, first published in 1936.  Rand says it is not a book about the Russian Revolution; this is just the setting.  However, from a reader's point of view, it is indeed a novel about just that, expressed through the eyes, lives and minds of the characters.

This is one of the best books I've ever read.  Kept feeling excited about going back to it.  The main character is Kira, from Petrograd (formerly St Petersburg) who, as a child, migrated to the Crimea with her wealthy family when the revolution took hold.  Some years later, when the Red Army reached the Crimea, the family returned to Petrograd (which became Leningrad after Lenin's death), to find everything they had owned and known gone, under the new regime.  Like everyone else in the city, they were forced to live a meagre, dangerous life, frequently with not enough to eat.

Kira falls in love with Leo, also of the former bourgeoisie; their attraction is instant and intense.  The story follows their lives and the paths they and their families and friends choose in order to survive under the punishing Communist regime.

Many of the 'white' Russians who fled their homeland, like Kira's parents, considered the situation temporary, and thought their former lives would soon be restored.

The novel is widely considered part-autobiographical; it was written once Rand had managed to escape to America.  She writes about life in Russia as she experienced it, of the increasing threat to anyone who did not want to accept the new order.  Aside from being a warning to the world about the evils of Communism, however, it's a masterfully written story about love, sacrifice, survival, tragedy, about the good, the bad and the ugly of human nature, about fear and courage, those brave enough to suffer for what they know is right, and good versus evil.  It's neither preachy nor black and white; the basically brave and courageous can make bad choices.

I've read around the Revolution since finishing it, and discovered that the widely purported idea that it was an uprising of the downtrodden masses against the tyranny of the hated ruling classes is a myth.  It was actually crafted and funded by wealthy financiers from Germany, Britain and the US. Quelle surprise.

THE DISOBEDIENT WIFE by Annika Milisic Stanley

5 out of 5 stars

Drama set in Tajikstan

On Amazon UK HERE
On Amazon.com HERE
On Goodreads HERE

Reviewed by me as a member of Rosie Amber's Review Team

I enjoyed this book very much indeed, it's excellent and so unusual.  It's set in 2007/8, in Tajikistan, one of those countries that used to be part of the USSR; I'm ashamed to say that I didn't know where it is, but looked it up (it borders China and Afghanistan).
 

The Disobedient Wife of the title could refer to Harriet Simenon, ex-pat wife of a Belgian diplomat who is unhappy in her current surroundings, or her home help/nanny Nargis, a young mother who has suffered much over the years; her first husband, who she loved dearly, died from cancer caused by toxic waste, and her second husband was violent.  Under Tajikistan tradition, Nargis is seen as a fallen woman because she left him; he kept their son with him.  I like book titles that could refer to more than one aspect of a book; it might also apply to a friend of Nargis who rebels against her controlling husband by taking a lover, a decision that has terrible consequences.

Nargis's life is one of harsh drudgery, but she's a fighter and I loved her character. Aside from the fact that the story is so well planned out and beautifully written, I was fascinated by the insight into the lives of the people of this country, and the effects of the release from Russia's control. 

At the beginning of the novel, English Harriet comes across as shallow, selfish and self-obsessed, but as her own marriage runs into difficulty and her friendships with her ex-pat friends are shown to be superficial, her relationship with Nargis deepens, and she begins to understand her strength, and examine her own way of life.

The story is written most from alternating points of view of Nargis and Harriet (some of Harriet's is written in the form of her journal, which gives yet another insight), with occasional chapters looking at Harriet's revolting ex-husband, who becomes involved with some dangerous people in an effort to better himself.

I was completely engrossed all the way through this book.  There's plenty going on, it's quite a page-turner, and it's as well written as any best seller by an established writer (and probably better than many).  Highly recommended, I think it would be enjoyed by readers who love gritty crime/real life drama and more emotional women's fiction alike, as it's a mix of these two genres.  Big thanks to the author for educating me about this country, too.

RISE OF THE ENEMY by Rob Sinclair

4 out of 5 stars

Espionage thriller

On Amazon UK HERE
On Amazon.com HERE

Reviewed by me as part of Rosie Amber's Book Review Team

I wasn't sure if I was going to like this at first, as espionage thrillers are not a usual reading choice for me, but I liked the cover!  I didn't realise it was a sequel when I first began to read it, but the necessary backstory is provided artfully, in an unobtrusive way, and it works fine as a stand alone.

Carl Logan is an agent working for the JIA, the Joint Intelligence Agency, which employs both US and UK agents.  Rise of The Enemy is based around his capture and escape from the Russians and his realisation that he cannot trust his own people, either.

I wasn't grabbed by the story until it got to the 'three months later' bit of Chapter 4, when, for me, it went up by about ten notches and I became totally absorbed, looking forward to getting back to it when I had to put it down.  The structure of the part in Siberia in which Carl Logan escapes from his Russian captors is one I like: chapters alternating between the present, and flashbacks of an ongoing story that leads up to that present.  I loved reading about Siberia, too; it's clearly been well researched.

The book is very professionally presented, which is always a big plus for me; I don't think I found one proofreading or editing error, which is practically unheard of in a Kindle book, even for the traditionally published.   I read in the Q & A with Rob Sinclair in the back that he loves spy thriller books, films and TV series, and it shows; he's obviously very au fait with the genre, and thus there are a few clichés to be found in this story, but not too many.  

My only problem with this book is that, despite it being extremely well written as a drama, it stopped being so thrilling at around 60%, after which the suspense only made me think 'hmm' instead of 'oh my God, WHAT is going to happen NEXT?'  You know those bits in programmes like 24, when Jack Bauer overcomes four enemies against all odds, in a seemingly hopeless situation?  Carl Logan does this sort of thing, too, but it's all a bit laboured.  Sinclair has painstakingly described every action, down to which hand he jerked into which arm, in such a way that it's just an account, a sequence of events, and not action packed.  Some bits that should have been in-your-face thrilling were actually quite boring; if I had not been reading the book to review I would have skipped them, and just gone to the end of the section to find out who was still alive.  The beginning of the book is written in a very dramatic way.  A suspenseful way.  With short sentences.  To add impact and drama.  And it works, but doesn't carry on throughout the book.  My interest in the plot tailed off towards the end.

To sum up:  A bit less detail, a bit less repetition, a bit more punch, and this book would be excellent.  If this is your favourite genre, I'd definitely recommend it because it's intelligently written, feasible and well thought out.  I suspect, too, that Rob Sinclair's writing will develop positively the more he writes; the talent is obviously there.