Review: A very different sort of history book!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 03 20, 2014
The history of the Russian/Soviet nation is something we all think we know about, and history books paint the big picture of revolution and social change throughout the 20th century. This book has something very valuable to add to all that – it talks about individuals, ordinary men, women and children in a selection of short narratives, stories, poems based on the memories and experiences of the author Orest Gladky who lived through this turbulent period of history, experienced much first-hand and survived to tell the tale. The stories in the collection are sometimes quirky, sometimes sad and often moving with the undercurrent of suffering in a harsh world, but always utterly charming and compelling as they revolve around the lives of  ‘ordinary people’ caught by the power of ‘policy makers’. Gladky's writing is not without humour and points out the ridiculousness of some of the situations – his uncle and family are forced to give up one of their two rooms in the early years of the revolution for it to become the telegraph office, and are consequently not allowed to use the door which is boarded up, but have to climb out the window for nine months! I would strongly recommend this work to anyone interested in the human experience in these times.