Just Send Me Word: A True Story of Love and Survival in the Gulag by Orlando Figes

Just Send Me Word: A True Story of Love and Survival in the Gulag Reviews

• 
  Chrissie

  This book will appeal to those interested in learning more about life in the gulags. It is non-fiction and is based on 1,246 letters delivered to the Moscow Memorial Society in 2007. The letters were sent from July 1946 to July 1954 between Lev Mishchenko and Svetlana Ivanova. Lev had been imprisoned in the Pechora labor camp for eight years and four months, classified as a political prisoner. Lev and Svetlana, both born in 1917, had met in 1935 at Moscow University. Both studied physics. They fell in love. When Germany attacked Russia in 1941, Lev went off to war. During the war Lev was incarcerated at a POW camp and was forced to do translation for the Germans, the result being that after the war he was sent to the arctic gulag named above.
  
  The letters were uncensored, smuggled in and out via free workers at the Pechora labor camp. 647 were written by Lev and sent to Svetlana, 599 from her to him. The letters are a remarkable find. We are made privy to them via this book. Not only did Svetlana and Lev exchange letters, Svetlana visited Lev at the camp. There are additional notebooks, diaries and photos.
  
  Life in the camp, life in Moscow after the war and the psychological effects of living under Stalin’s totalitarian reign are revealed with startling impact. Of course, physical deprivations suffered are revealed too, but it is primarily the psychological impact that hit home for me. Observing how Lev and Svetlana were shaped by their experiences will leave the reader thinking.
  
  There is little in this book about either Lev’s or Svetlana’s weak points. These are mentioned, but not frequently. It is most often they themselves who find fault with their own behavior. Rarely do they allow themselves to express anger, which is surprising! How does a relationship, sustained primarily through letters, survive? I wish the book had spoken more of their relationship as a married couple living together, after Lev's release from the camp.
  
  Lev was freed July 17, 1954. They were married in 1955 and came to have two children. He died in 2008 and she in 2010.
  
  Coded words used in the letters are explained, and it is never hard to distinguish between who is who. This can be difficult with Russian names, but it isn’t here. The book is well constructed. A concise epilog ties up what happens to Lev, Svetlana and their family, as well as other prisoners at the labor camp. The author’s thoughts about the couple’s love for each other, their behavior and relationship are summarized quickly and intelligently.
  
  James Langton narrates the audiobook. He uses different intonations for Lev's and Svetlana’s letters. The rhythm of the narration is a bit strange, but you get used to this. The speed is uneven; too fast at times. I have given the narration three stars. It’s good.
  
  ******************************
  
  
  The Whisperers: Private Life in Stalin's Russia 4 stars
• 
  Daniel Matiș

  O poveste extraordinară!
  
  Este vorba despre 1.246 de scrisori - cercetărorii susțin că este singura corespondență completă din istoria Gulagului, care nici nu a fost supusă cenzurii (cu excepția celei autoimpuse) -, corespondența dintre Svetlana Ivanova și Lev Mișcenko, acesta din urmă condamnat la zece ani de muncă pentru că fusese prizonier la germani în timpul războiului - ceea ce în ochii Moscovei însemna că era „trădător de patrie”.
  
  Cei doi s-au cunoscut în timpul studenției, despărțiți de război, apoi de Gulag, reușesc totuși să rămână aproape prin scrisori. Svet (cum i se adresează de multe ori Lev însemnă lumină în rusă) călătorește incognito până la Peciora - lagărul în care era închis Lev - și intră clandestin în lagăr, doar pentru a-l vizita. Dacă ar fi fost prinsă cel mai probabil ar fi fost la rândul ei condamnată la câțiva ani de Gulag. Pur și simplu incredibil curajul (sau nebunia) acestei femei.
  
  Figes narează povestea celor doi oferind foarte multe citate din scrisori. Acest stil poate fi greoi și am văzut că sunt unii care chiar asta critică la carte - expunerea autorului, care poate părea că intervine abuziv în dialogul celor doi. Dar nu văd o alternativă. Cele peste o mie de scrisori sunt de multe ori greu de înțeles chiar de către specialiști - au fost folosite multe cuvinte prescurtate, aluzii, metafore etc. pentru a ascunde adevăratul sens al celor spuse în cazul interceptării scrisorilor. Apoi, mai este și problema contextului, în lipsa căruia nu știu câți cititori ar fi înțeles ceva. Publicarea simplă a scrisorilor, cu explicații în notele de subsol ar fi poate un document interesant, dar pe lângă miile de pagini ale unui asemenea document, câți oameni din publicul larg ar fi interesați de așa ceva?
• 
  Ali Di

  .
  می خواهم برای مدتها جوان بمانم"
  "بی اعتنا به قوانین فیزیک
• 
  Tasha

  It's not easy giving 2 stars to a story based on such personal hardship and suffering but that's what I'm going to have to do. While my heart goes out to those who suffered through the Gulag sytem, including both my grandparents, I just didn't find this author's writing style all that engaging. I found it a chore to pick up and looked forward to moving it off my shelf. It is no fault of the two lovers in this story, in fact, I felt sad for all they had to go through. It's the writing of this story that did me in. I think if you are new to learning about the Gulag and someone's personal experience during that time, this may work fine for you. Having read
  Anne Applebaum's
  Gulag: A History really set the bar high for any other books I read about the Gulag.
• 
  Claire

  I love you, I'll wait for you, come back.
  
  Queste parole famose continuavano a tornarmi in mente mentre leggevo Just Send Me Word. Qui però non si tratta di un romanzo e di parole accuratamente scelte da un autore, ma di una storia vera, eccezionale, per il risolvimento, per la durata, per la pazienza.
  I due protagonisti, Lev e Sveta, sono giovani moscoviti con molte speranze quando la guerra scoppia nel 1941 e Lev viene mandato al fronte. Viene catturato dall'esercito tedesco e spende quasi tutto il suo tempo da soldato come prigioniero. Alla fine di quella che in Russia viene chiamata Grande Guerra Patriottica, invece di venire ringraziato viene accusato di aver fatto la spia per i tedeschi e, dopo un lungo processo di venti minuti, viene spedito nel gulag di Pečora, poco al di sotto del circolo polare artico, con una sentenza di dieci anni come prigioniero politico (la categoria peggiore, vessata dai criminali comuni, con scarse speranze di riduzioni di sentenza, e con marchio - letterale, sul passaporto - che ti segue anche dopo il rilascio).
  Sveta, a Mosca, aspetta. Si laurea, trova lavoro, fa carriera, ma ripete continuamente che la sua vita è in sospeso, in attesa di poterla cominciare con Lev. Neanche una volta il sentimento per Lev si affievolisce, neanche una volta pensa di abbandonarlo, di andare avanti, di cominciare senza di lui. E gli scrive:
  
  I want to tell you just three words - two of them are pronouns and the third is a verb (to be read in all the tenses simultaneously: past, present and future).
  
  Sveta è una donna determinata: nonostante la depressione (di cui soffre da prima del distacco), la solitudine, l'irritazione nei confronti di chi ai suoi occhi ha tutto ma non è felice, la frustrazione, la paura di non riuscire a realizzare il sogno di diventare madre, resiste, e scrive (In totale la loro corrispondenza ammonta a circa 1500 lettere, alcune spedite tramite la normale posta, altre fatte arrivare tramite amici, lavoratori liberi nel gulag, e la cosa straordinaria è che non vengono sottoposte a censura), ma non solo: nel 1947, senza aver visto Lev per anni, decide di andarlo a trovare. Non ne ha alcun diritto, ed entra di nascosto, senza pensare alle possibili conseguenze. Negli anni le circostanze migliorano e riesce ad ottenere dei veri permessi di visita, e per cinque anni le vacanze estive di Sveta consistono in viaggi di lavoro che le permettano di proseguire fino al Gulag per vedere Lev per pochi giorni.
  Nel 1954, finalmente libero, Lev torna e, senza trambusto, sposa Sveta.
  
  Orlando Figes è uno dei miei scrittori preferiti, che ha già raccontato il Gulag e in generale la vita sotto Stalin, sempre in attesa di qualcosa di buono (il ritorno di una persona cara) o di cattivo (che l'NKVD bussasse alla porta), in The Whisperers. Questa volta il libro è naturalmente più "felice", non solo per il lieto fine, ma perché i protagonisti sono due persone fuori dal comune, che si tengono per mano nonostante la distanza, che si fanno forza a vicenda e, nonostante l'attesa, vivono insieme, se non fisicamente in uno spazio mentale comune. E per via della predominanza delle lettere e quindi delle parole di Lev e Sveta, l'autore si fa più indietro stavolta rispetto ai suoi altri lavori (che pure sono sempre ricchi di testimonianze). Amo Figes perché insieme alla storia racconta sempre le storie di persone comuni e della loro vita di fronte ai grandi avvenimenti che le spingono in tutte le direzioni; perché la dimensione personale è sempre fondamentale nel suo racconto. In questo caso forse l'impatto emotivo (nonostante la commozione) non è allo stesso livello di The Whisperers, in cui la cappa staliniana premeva su tutto, ma rimane comunque una bellissima storia, che meritava di essere raccontata.
  
• 
  Andrea

  Based on the subject matter, Just Send Me Word should have been a fascinating book. Unfortunately, the author's writing did not work for me.
  
  Between work, my family, and my college course, I have barely any time to read now. I'm going to move on to a book I enjoy.
• 
  Iulia Sabou

  O lectură care impresionează și emoționează la nivel colosal! O recomand cu încredere! ❤️
• 
  Miriam Cihodariu

  A lovely account of a lovers separation, spanning over a decade, reconstructed by the historian author from interviews and the remarkably preserved hundreds of letters. It's also a story with an almost happy end, though a bittersweet one.
  
  Though the details are mostly focused on the human relationships (the one between the two characters, chiefly, but not only), you can still find out a lot of historical details about the gulag system and the general life of Soviet Russia. Some details are really touching, especially regarding the naive faith people had in the country's glory, even when the same people were the ones who were affected by injustice and abuse most.
• 
  Ana-Maria Bujor

  Fantastic, I loved every page to the extent that I did not want to put it down and go do whatever I'm supposed to do. While most stories about the Gulag are upsetting and dark to an extent, this one ends with a different message - regardless of the evil around us, humanity prevails. The case of Lev and Svetlana is probably a rare one - they managed to communicate with less censorship and his privileged position helped him survive. Sveta also proves to be strong and fearless at times, literally breaking into the Gulag to be with her fiance and waiting for him for a decade, while serving as a lifeline for dozens of inmates.
  While I did know they ended up together in the end and survived the ordeal, the book still kept me very engaged. Even while writing about the weather and office life, these two highly intelligent people separated by fate and a criminal regime do manage to put more on paper than just the words we can read today. A little piece of history definitely worth reading. For all of you romance enthusiasts out there, throw away them love triangles and check this out!
• 
  Susan

  This is the moving story of the love affair between Lev and Sveta, who first met while taking the entrance exam at Moscow University in 1935 and only ended with their death in old age. What makes this story extraordinary is that they were kept apart, first by WWII and then by Lev's sentence to ten years in a Gulag on his return to the Soviet Union. During all these years, they kept their love alive by infrequent, and often perilous, meetings and thousands of letters. What makes the letters even more important, is that they were often smuggled into and out of the camp, avoiding the censors and making them a fascinating record of life both within the Gulag itself and in state controlled Moscow during the years of the Cold War.
  
  Both Lev and Sveta seemed to be very sensible people; when they first met they were studying physics, which Sveta continued to work in for most of her life and they were both careful not to burden each other with negative feelings during their time apart. During the war Sveta found herself evacuated, along with her colleages, so they could continue their work away from the front lines. Meanwhile, Lev was taken prisoner and, at the end of the war was sent on a death march from Buchenwald. Forced into a force confession he then found himself sentenced to ten years in a Gulag near the Artic Circle. From 1946 until his release in 1954 his life was that of a prisoner. At first he was unsure about whether to contact Sveta or not, not even sure that she was still alive and unwilling to pressurise her with his feelings when he was a prisoner. However, it was clear from the start that Sveta still loved him - even though they had not seen each other for five years.
  
  What follows is an extraordinary relationship, where Lev literally lived through her letters. Eventually, Sveta wondered why, "if letters couldn't be smuggled in, why couldn't she?" and there begins the first of many desperate attempts to visit him, against the odds and many difficulties. Over the years their meetings were fleeting and few, but their letters were far more than the one censored letter allowed a month. She sustained him, while he attempted to keep his self-esteem, and she longed to have a child and a normal life.
  
  This book takes us through the Cold War. The problems faced not only by Lev, but also by Sveta - as Soviet scientists were under immense pressure and she suffered depression and the feeling her life was slipping away. Meanwhile, we read of how Lev and his fellow prisoners coped with the Gulag - as security increased or declined and prisoners were threatened with Siberia. This takes us through the death of Stalin and the changes that came about because of this. However, this book is not really concerned with politics - both Lev and Sveta were either too careful to discuss politics openly, or more interested in other matters, but this is the story of a personal relationship in troubling and tumultuous times. As the record of a love story it is an incredible and moving testament to the human spirit and a privilege to read. As Lev wrote, "let us hope, while we still have strength to hope."
• 
  Tony Laplume

  The gulag has developed an almost mythical status over the years. It's generally accepted to be a byword for the worst kind of prison. But what was life actually like inside it? Here we have a peculiar opportunity to find out. Turns out, if you've ever watched M*A*S*H, you already have a better idea than you'd think.
  
  At least as presented by Figes, it's really a matter of complaints. This isn't to say there weren't worse elements, but if you kept your nose relatively clean, you could survive relatively well. Not exactly what I was expecting to learn. The Soviet Union seems to have developed the gulag mostly as an incredibly cheap form of labor. Almost the worst that could be said about how it was actually run was with utter incompetence. Otherwise it seems to have fit right in with the ridiculous level of micromanagement that you don't need to have been in Soviet Russia to understand. In fact, micromanagement has become quite widespread in the United States, if not at the government level(thank god!) then certainly the corporate. You'd think we might have a few indications to suspect this might not be the best strategy...
  
  Anyway, no real complaints about Just Send Me Word except that Figes kind of...micromanages it. This is supposed to be a summary of an incredible series of letters sent between long-distance lovers Lev and Sveta, but instead it's more Figes' summary of a summary. More often than not you're reading Figes' summaries of what was happening, so that when he excerpts a letter you can see his hand guiding the conversation. You see only what he wants you to see, and it makes for a bloodless exercise. For much of it the book treads water between Sveta's visits to Lev in the gulag, and these visits are themselves glossed over, which begs the question...why put so much emphasis on them? The fact that they happen at all is remarkable, surely, but with so many letters...The narrative could go in so many directions, and yet Figes always chooses purely functional developments. There's very little sense of what it was actually like to exist in this state, not so much because there aren't complaints, but because there are only complaints. And yet they survive. Why? You have to guess.
  
  The personalities of Lev and Sveta emerge, and how they relate to others, and yet their continued devotion to a system that handicapped their lives can seem baffling. It's the very machine that gave them purpose that forced them into corners, again and again, and they never really question that. It becomes a lesson of explaining how these letters survived at all, really, in a kind of mechanical existence livened only by their devotion to each other, and I guess that is the point, but not a terribly romantic one. Which means if you're reading this book for a great romantic adventure, you're probably looking in the wrong place.
  
  But as a window into an era and a peoples' psyche, it's an interesting one, and pierces far beyond its subject. It's a glimpse into basic human nature, really, and at that a remarkably unguarded one, even with Figes' bumbling.
• 
  Molly

  This the best book I have read in 2022...thus far. Figes manages to illustrate something beautiful from a very dark period.
• 
  Alenka of Bohemia

  I feel kinda bad giving this book mere 2 stars, but I would like to point out that it is not the story, but the overall presentation of it that made this book an unpleasant chore. The whole time I was reading I kept having the same thought: This book should have been an edition of selected letters with explanatory footnotes, not a "proper book". Considering the 75% of the text ARE the letters anyway, the writing by Orlando Figes usually just jerked me out of the story and frankly seemed redundant. Interesting subject and admirable main characters, whose love and devotion is inspirational, but somehow still not a good book.
• 
  Victoria Blacke

  I enjoyed this book. It was a slow, quiet read about an amazingly steadfast enduring love. You peak behind the iron curtain and want to scream about the injustice of what happened to this unassuming couple. However you must admire the courage and famous Russian stoicism with which they meet all obstacles and beat the odds. This is book is not for everyone. However, if you are a history buff of WWII this provides an incredibly different perspective of the events during and after the war.
• 
  Carey

  I loved this account of an incredible story of two people who manage to stay together against all the odds. I have read fuller more horrifying accounts of the gulags (not least, The Gulag Archipelago), but this brings it all home to life. Wonderful.
• 
  Jos

  What a book...
• 
  James Folan

  A remarkable true story all right, but I found the telling of it strangely uninvolving.
• 
  Viktor Leijon

  an unforgettable book about boundless love and survival under disgusting conditions
• 
  Claudia

  Se si pensa che racconta la vita di due russi si stenta a credere che nonostante tutto siano riusciti a stare insieme, si siano sposati, abbiamo avuto figli e trascorso una vita insieme fino ai novant’anni!!! Entrambi eccellenti fisici russi, si innamorano in università. I loro progetti vengono sconvolti dapprima con la seconda guerra mondiale dove Lev viene portato in un campo di concentramento tedesco: grazie al fatto che conosce il polacco riesce a resistere, in quanto opera come traduttore. Scappa dal campo, ma in Russia viene arrestato e accusato della più grave delle imputazione, il tradimento. Viene accusato di essere stato a servizio dei tedeschi e per questo condannato a 10 anni nel Gulag in Siberia. In qualità di ingegnere riesce a lavorare nella fabbrica per il legno, acquisendo sempre più autorevolezza tra i detenuti e i lavoratori volontari, grazie alle sue capacità. Riesce a mantenere un intenso rapporto epistolare con Svleta, riportate nel libro. Le lettere sono considerate patrimonio storico e si trovano a Mosca nel Mausoleo. Svleta dal canto suo riesce con molti rischi ad andare a trovare Lev all’interno del Gulag, coperta dai prigionieri amici di Lev. Svleta lavora a Mosca in una fabbrica di gomma come responsabile e per lei aver a che fare con i detenuti e’ molto rischioso. Nel 1953 Stalin muore e le cose cambiano; dopo la liberazione Lev riesce finalmente a vivere da cittadino comune.
• 
  Pamela Rae Stewart

  Beautiful and remarkable!
  
  Lev and Sveta had an amazing relationship!! The beginning of their time together was short and sweet and then the war got in the way and took Lev far from her. Then he was sentenced to a gulag and they wrote smuggled letters to one another for 8 long years. Both risking their lives for a yearly visit and at times had to go even longer to see one another. They kept each other sane by caring so deeply for one another and apprising one another of what was happening either in prison for Lev or in the outside in Moscow for Sveta. It’s incredible that their love continued to bloom and they grew more connected through carefully written letters. Using hidden meanings at times to pass by the censors if they were caught. Even more remarkable is every letter was dated and numbered and saved. They are now in Memorial for historical reference for all to see. After Lev’s release (finally!! Plus he was falsely convicted.), they married and raised a family. They lived into their early 90’s. God is so good to have protected them, connected them, and used them to help one another through extremely difficult years of suffering and then for reuniting them, and keeping their relationship so solid.
  It was a wonderful book. A little tedious at times, but great historical documentation of life for both of them and I feel it’s an important and beautiful book to read. A love story. Yet rarely did they say the words, I love you. It shows true sacrificial love and devotion throughout their lives for one another.
  The author is amazing to have assembled all these leathers and details!!
• 
  Elisa Goudriaan

  Een ontroerend en mooi geschreven boek, gebaseerd op een lange briefwisseling van 8 jaar (in totaal werden er 1246 brieven heen en weer geschreven tussen Lev en Svetlana in de periode 1946-1954), die van onschatbare waarde is om een beeld te krijgen van het dagelijks leven in de Goelagkampen. Hoewel het perspectief van Lev Misjtsjenko er maar eentje is, naast dat van Aleksandr Solzjenitsyn, Varlam Sjalamov en vele anderen, waarvan sommigen beduidend zwaardere werkzaamheden moesten uitvoeren, geeft het boek toch veel inzicht vanuit de eerste hand in de machtsstructuren die er in de kampen waren en in de enorme overlevingskracht die ervoor nodig was om elke dag weer door te gaan, in soms de meest mensonterende omstandigheden. Tot slot is het boek een prachtig document van een ijzersterke liefdesband tussen twee mensen, die stand hield dankzij hun beider moed, doorzettingsvermogen, troost, flexibiliteit en kracht. Lev geeft zijn zoon (en daarmee de lezer) nog een mooie raad mee voor de toekomst: waar je ook bent, ook al is het maar tijdelijk, probeer altijd te leven alsof het permanent is.
• 
  Padmin

  Praticamente un epistolario dal Gulag stalinista.
  1246 lettere
  647 di lui a lei
  599 di lei a lui.
  Lui è Lev Glebovič Miščenko, lei Svetlana Ivanov.
  S’incontrano per la prima volta nel 1935, all’università di Mosca, facoltà di Fisica. Nel ’41 lo scoppio della guerra li divide. Fatto prigioniero dai tedeschi, una volta tornato in patria, Lev viene arrestato e inviato in un campo di lavoro a scontare una pena di dieci anni per tradimento.
  Lev conosceva il tedesco e venne considerato una spia perché “s’immaginava” che fosse stato usato dal nemico come traduttore. La paranoia dei regimi totalitari non ha confini.
  
  Il romanzo epistolare ripercorre tutti gli anni del gulag (a Pečora, in Siberia), i rarissimi, rocamboleschi incontri, la paura, lo scoramento, ma soprattutto l’amore tra i due, che mai viene meno.
  Riescono a sposarsi solo dopo la morte di Stalin (e a questo proposito non posso fare a meno di ricordare il “balletto” di Berja attorno al cadavere: Il gatto è morto, il gatto è morto, siamo liberi! Una scena degna della più grande letteratura russa).
  Non è soltanto una grande, struggente storia d’amore, ma anche una sorta di manifesto etico: mai Lev e Sveta perderanno la loro caratura morale, mai smarriranno la loro umanità.
  
  In esergo il libro regala una perla di Anna Achmatova (poetessa –insieme a Blok- molto amata da entrambi), quasi un compendio di tutta la storia.
  
  Nera e tenace è la separazione
  che ci portiamo dentro io e te.
  Perché piangi? Porgimi la mano,
  prometti di tornare ancora in sogno.
  
  Io e te siamo montagne di dolore…
  Per me e per te non c'è un incontro al mondo.
  Se solo tu potessi, a mezzanotte,
  attraverso le stelle, mandarmi un saluto.
  ----------
  N.B. L'edizione originale s'intitola "Just send me word". Non capirò mai perché certi titoli (penso anche ai film), una volta oltrepassate le Alpi, vengano stravolti a questa maniera.
  
• 
  Macarena

  un ensayo basado en las cartas y conversaciones mantenidas con los protagonistas de esta historia. Svetla y Lev una pareja que sobrevivió a 14 años de separación. Supieron mantener su amor y esperanza a través de múltiples cartas.
  Es una tremenda historia, que a pesar de lo trágico, él termina en un gulag despues de haber estado prisionero de los alemanes durante la 2da guerra, vuelve a Rusia y lo envían a trabajos forzados por "traición" por colaborar con el enemigo, lo único que hizo fue hacer de traductor. En fin un librazo, que aún cuando es una historia fuerte, esta lleno de esperanza, impresionante como a través de las cartas se apoya entre los dos para sobrevivir a esta enorme prueba.
  No se hace para nada pesado, aún cuando no es una historia facil.
  
• 
  Eric

  Don't get me wrong, I did like this book. A contemporary account of life in a Soviet gulag is priceless and those bits in the letters are the best part of the book. I also enjoyed the details around daily life in Moscow and the Soviet Union that were in Sveta's letters. She was quite brave in visiting Lev the times that she was able to. Those parts were cool, as well.
  
  It was the lovey-dovey stuff that bored me. There wasn't a ton of it, but what was there slowed the book down and never grabbed my interest. On the other hand, it's not like I wasn't warned that this was part of the book. It's right there on the cover.
  
  Overall, I liked it and glad I read it and it will likely serve as a useful reference.
• 
  Stephen Selbst

  Just Send Me Word is a valuable contribution to the Gulag literature. JSMW is a history of the incredible survival of a relationship between a former Soviet POW who is sentenced to a 10 year prison term after the war and his pre-war girlfriend, who becomes his wife after he is freed. But for 9 years they carried on an epistolary relationship punctuated by brief visits at his camp. There is not much new about the camps; between Solzhenitsyn and Applebaum we know the outlines of that horror. But as a human story of survival and the retention of pure human dignity, this is a remarkable -- and likely rare -- story.
• 
  Grant

  A truly remarkable story, recreated from the largest collection of GULAG letters in existence. The story of Lev and Sveta is fascinating and inspiring, but caution must be exercised that this tale is not taken as typical for camp inmates. Figes is to be commended for his excellent research and writing.
• 
  Giu Giu

  I still haven't sent you the letter from yesterday but once again I'm drawn towards paper - for no particular reason, just to find a place to write your name: there is no room left for it inside my head, where I've been repeating it incessantly in every intonation and in every permissible and impermissible grammatical form ...
• 
  Yuetong Zhong

  I know why this book is forbidden in my country. Because the history in Soviet now happens here.
  
  I was not only touched by their unshakable love, but also was touched by those kind people around them. Under such strict inhuman environment, those people were willing to give them a hand. I saw the kindness and courage in them.