The remarkable autobiography of a courageous woman who spent five years in Stalin's labour camps and nearly 40 years trying to get home

I got this for my NSSBTSSS partner as it is on her wishlist. I hope she enjoys it

This has been on my wishlist *forever* and I'm so pleased to have a copy, thanks to Vespa! In addition to this book, I have been thoroughly spoilt with:

* Northern Lights by Philip Pullman
* Bookmark
* 2 bars Lindt chocolate ... yum!
* 10 glitter pens
* A card with the message "There's no such thing as too many books"
* A Dodo Pad 2008 diary

It was a wonderful NSSBTSSS ... a huge THANK YOU to Vespa! :)

This is an amazing book in which Flora tells the story of her life in the Soviet Union. It’s hard to believe that somebody who had led a comfortable early life in Glasgow and London should have suffered the horrors of Stalin’s Russia and all it meant for a British "spy": imprisonment, separation from her family, five years in a labour camp, and working in wretched conditions in a coal mine. Years of horror and difficulties - separation from her mother, food shortages, the struggles to get an exit visa - pass by in a few sentences and I had to remind myself of the nightmares these must have caused.

The introduction mentions that after Flora reached Britain, she learnt that her brother Samuel had survived and was living in the US. It would have been interesting to learn of their reunion, but it wasn’t mentioned again in the book. I was also intrigued by the Morton family who had travelled to the Soviet Union to live the communist dream. I’d like to find more out about them, and any others who made the same journey.

Flora died in 1999 – her obituary is here.

This is going to be a
Bookray
Some brief "rules"
* Journal the book when you receive it.
* PM the next person on the list for their address when you receive it so as to try to avoid hold-ups later on.
* If you don't hear from the next participant within a few days, PM them again. If after a few more days you still haven't heard from them, PM me to let me know, and move on to the next person on the list.
* Read (and hopefully enjoy!) Don't feel pressurised to read it in a rush (and life gets in the way sometimes!) but if you need to keep hold of the book for longer than say a couple of months, please journal to let us know.
* Journal again when you've read it to let us know what you think of it!
* Surface/economy mail is fine, but please make a note in the JE so the person you're sending to has a rough idea of when to expect it.

Participants
1. anglersrest, Devon (Can post anywhere)
2. squirk, London (Can post anywhere)
3. Iojima, France (Can post anywhere)
4. WelshHelen, Carmarthenshire (UK postage only)
5. scotsbookie, Peebles (Can post anywhere)
6. oceanripples, West Yorkshire
7. dolph1n, Cheshire (UK postage only)
8. wyjane (and her Mum!), Warwickshire (UK postage only)

The person at the end of the list gets to choose what to do with the book, although it would be nice to see it continue to travel!

Flora is heading off on her travels again.

Arrived this morning. Looking to reading this one. Have just Pmed squirk for an address in readyness!

Wow! An amazing book about the Scottish born author. The daughter of a immigrant parents - whose family & ancestors had migrated from a variety of Countries - Poland,Germany,Russia,Switzerland & France. Flora finds herself & her siblings heading back to Russia following the death of her father in Scotland. The life that Flora and her family were to endure was nothing short of horrific. Life was very hard & the Regime through this time was full of red tape and very restricting. I would have liked to have learn't about the reunion of Flora and her brother Sammy, who Flora believed had perished in the Camps in the Soviet Union.

I have squirk's address, so in the post tomorrow. Thanks dododumpling for sharing this incrediable book

Arrived safe and sound. I look forward to reading this!

Many thanks

This is a wonderfully interesting story. Utterly tragic and horrible in places, but uplifting in others. I would really like to see the documentaries about Flora and her brother - I'm still searching for them.

Many thanks Dododumpling for the opportunity to read this fascinating book. It's flown off to Iojima today.

Arrived this morning with another ring. Isn't it always the way. But it is No.2 or No.3 on Mt.Toobie. I also received some adorable sweeties, but I opened both envelopes at once and emptied the contents and now I don't know who to thank. So, thank you, anyway. :-)

Interesting story, but I wish she and her co-writer were better writers. Maybe I lack imagination, but it didn't engage me as I feel it should have. I have a hard time understanding that she never, ever felt resentment toward her mother for their stolen lives. Or that a 14-year-old should not have been able to speak better Russian after a few years. If it weren't for the bizarre fact of the story being about a Scot, I'm not sure that it would be on my list of recommended books on Russia. It is certainly worthwhile and easy read, but I've read many books that have given me a better feel for the gulag and for living conditions of ordinary Russians.

Arrived safely yesterday, thanks Iojima. I seem to be breeding ring books at the moment but I should get to this one pretty soon.

What an amazing book and an amazing woman! My one complaint, though, is that some of the years and her experiences were almost glossed over, whether, as Iojima said, because of bad writing or because of memory lapses. I'd also have liked to know more about Sammy's life and how he escaped the tortures that his mother and sisters suffered.

The lives that the Russian people led during those years seem impossible to understand or imagine, especially the poverty and lack of food in the 70s and 80s and I do wonder how life has changed in the smaller towns and villages in the more remote areas.

An incredible look at a sad part of Soviet history. Thank you, dododumpling, for sharing the book. I have scotsbookie's address and will hopefully post on to her tomorrow.

Arrived safely this morning, thank you WelshHelen. I have a couple of books ahead of it but will get to it asap.

A fantastic read, Flora's strength of character & determination shone through. An amazing story of Flora's life, from the 1930s to 1980s, in the USSR. Born in Glasgow Flora is taken, along with her siblings, to the USSR by her Russian Jewish mother influenced by the pro-Soviet propaganda espoused by the likes of George Bernard Shaw & Lady Astor. Flora endures life in labour camps, food shortages, grinding poverty & the huge amount of red tape needed to achieve anything in the USSR. Eventually, in 1984, Flora gets her exit visa & returns to the UK.

I have already PMd oceanripples & am awaiting their details.

Many thanks to dododumpling for the chance to read this book.

2nd PM to oceanripples sent.

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