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.