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

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I read this book on my kindle. I was enticed by a review I read, and presto, I bought it and read it. Gotta love this instant society.

The world that Svetka and Lev lived in was definitely NOT an instant world. Theirs was a world where communication was sporadic, censored, and even dangerous. Despite these odds, they persisted in their love for each other, and continued to devise ways to "speak" through letters, photographs, and the occasional (never more than annually) visit.

Lev and Svetka devised a system of numbering each letter, so communications could be accounted for, and they would know if a letter was missing. Svetka communicated about the outside world to Lev, and Lev shared what life was like in the Gulag to Svetka. Their love, although not often spoken with words (despite all these letters), comes through in their words of encouragement and hope to each other.

Researchers are amazed at these uncensored letters which give a peek into life in the 1940s in both Moscow and the Gulag. Letter writing, and journaling, are becoming a lost art. I wonder if historians will find any depth to the writings they will cull from blogging, tweeting, facebook and the like? It seems that the richness of language diminishes with the more technology that we have. The letters in this book, however, will give you a good picture of who Lev and Svetka are, the lives they led, and admiration for their courage and persistence.

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