"I went to get the letters for our friends, and couldn't help but feel a little envious, I didn't expect anything for myself. And suddenly—there was my name, and, as if it was alive, your handwriting." In 1946, after five years as a prisoner—first as a Soviet POW in Nazi concentration camps, then as a deportee (falsely accused of treason) in the Arctic Gulag—twenty-nine-year-old Lev Mishchenko unexpectedly received a letter from Sveta, the sweetheart he had hardly dared hope was still alive. Amazingly, over the next eight years the lovers managed to exchange more than 1,500 messages, and even to smuggle Sveta herself into the camp for secret meetings. Their recently discovered correspondence is the only known real-time record of life in Stalin's Gulag, unmediated and uncensored. Orlando Figes, author of Natasha's Dance, draws on Lev and Sveta's letters as well as KGB archives and recent interviews to brilliantly reconstruct the broader world in which their story unfolded. With the powerful narrative drive of a novel, Just Send Me Word reveals a passion and endurance that triumphed over the tragic forces of history.
Download and start listening now!
"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." — Carey (4 out of 5 stars)
"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."
[Figes] fine narrative pacing enhances this moving, memorable story.
" Really enjoyed reading this one. The letters are amazing. "
" A fascinating work based on astonishing number of surviving letters. Lev and Sveta were a remarkable man and woman during the horrors of WW2 and the Soviet/Stalin Gulags. "
" This was an interesting read with a lot of historical information about Russian work camps that I didn't know about. The book focuses more on the love story than the horrors of the work camps. "
" Hugely moving story of love against the odds, and also against the a vast state apparatus. Provides a telling portrait of the impenetrable Gulag archipelago as well. or a small part of it. "
" This book is one of the few first person accounts of life in Stalin's Gulag. And it is a touching and true love story. "
" There was something enchanting about this. "
Orlando Figes is the author of many acclaimed books on Russian history. His books have been translated into over thirty languages. He is a professor of history at Birkbeck College, London University.
James Langton, an Earphones Award–winning narrator, trained as an actor at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama and later as a musician at the Guildhall School in London. He has worked in radio, film, and television, also appearing in theater in England and on Broadway. He is also a professional musician who led the internationally renowned Pasadena Roof Orchestra from 1996 to 2002.
Audiobooks Were Restored to Your Cart
[ShoppingCartItemsAddedOnMerge] audiobook(s) were left in your cart from a previous visit, and saved to your account for your convenience. You may view or remove these audiobooks on the shopping cart page.