Summer Reading

Summer is for reading- in our family. I recently found this book in my bookshelf. How it got there? Not quite sure, but it was there and so it deserved reading. I am so glad I did. It was a fantastic book. A book which begs further research just for curiosity sake. Who is Esther Huatzig? What is a steppe?

This book is about a Jewish family from Poland who were forced from their homes and into exile at the start of the war. Suspected to be capitalist by the Russian army, they were enemies of the people. A family born into wealth and richness were now reduced to degrading poverty in Siberia. Written as an autobiography, Esther tells her story of life as a 10 year old child trying to find her place in a desolate land and finally learning to love the land that almost destroyed her family.

I loved reading the incredible strength of a people almost forgotten by our children and even our own generation. What must have it been like to grow up with nothing to play with? I wouldn't know- my kid's wouldn't know.