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This is the discussion thread for The Ukrainian and Russian Notebooks: Life and Death Under Soviet Rule by Igort.

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I'm glad I read this. As I said in my review "The graphic format works well. I almost certainly would not have picked up a textual book about these subjects, because I simply wouldn't want to read a long, scholarly description of them."

It was also through this book that I discovered this group. (There was a link to this discussion topic at the bottom of the page for the book.)

Ed wrote: "I'm glad I read this. As I said in my review "The graphic format works well. I almost certainly would not have picked up a textual book about these subjects, because I simply wouldn't want to read a long, scholarly description of them.""

I agree. I also wouldn't have wanted to read (or been able to get through) a long, scholarly description on this topic. As it is, this one was hard for me to get through because of the subject matter.

Ed wrote: "It was also through this book that I discovered this group. (There was a link to this discussion topic at the bottom of the page for the book.)"

I'm glad you found us! As you can see, we're still getting started, but I'm hoping we'll get some interesting discussions going and read some things we wouldn't otherwise read.

This was one rough but timely read. I know little about the Russian-Ukrainian wars and so this book, acting as an oral history of those who lived (and sometimes not) with it let me understand a bit more past the social-political and media hype that surrounds this conflict. The descriptions of the pain that people endured were gut wrenching. It does put some things into perspective. Namely, I feel I have long since moved past being shocked at the pain that humans inflict on other humans, but that doesn’t mean I can’t be shook. This book did that. The descriptions of torture, some told by those who experienced it first hand, the desperation and poverty, turning to cannibalism of children and family members. All of it. I had to take my time reading this and set it down for a day or so before I could pick it up again. I am glad I know these stories now though. These peoples names, experiences, and lives are captured and I will hold them in my own memory. Because of this GN they are not forgotten and while they may never receive true justice, they will have their place in the collective memory.

@Russell: So true re. timeliness. I didn't finish it at the time we were originally reading it because it's hard to get through, like you said. But this is probably a good time for me to go back and finish it.