True story – Shadows on the Tundra, Dalia Grinkeviciute

Submitted: 31st January 2019

Lithuania/Russia set memoir of a gulag survivor

This is the heartbreaking and true story of the author – Dalia Grinkeviciute – who was forced to leave her country and taken to a labour camp in Siberia. She is forced to work 16 hours days before escaping back to Lithuania at the age of 21. That was not the end of her struggles however. Her whole life was one spent in secrecy and pain.

This story has been put together from all the writings she scribbled on bits of paper and buried in the garden. She feared the KGB would find them and burn them. This is that story…

BookTrail locations in the novel

Book Setting: A journey towards a gulag in Siberia

Bookreview

This is such a heartbreaking read, it took me ages to be able to sit down and write this review. I honestly don’t think there are any words to do this book justice. It made me cry, think, want to sit silently for a while and let it soak in. How this woman and her family survived this horror, how Dalia managed to write it all down. Then think of burying the evidence so the KGB wouldn’t find it. It deserves to be published , translated and spread far and wide.

We start off in Kaunas, the then capital of Lithuania where Dalia is just fourteen. She is forced to endure a seemingly endless journey of deportation with her mother and brother. What makes this all the more remarkable is that her buried story was found in 1991. That’s not that long ago. Think of that as you read as it will make this even more poignant.

Moscow had ordered mass deportations from all the Baltic states—Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia. I admit that I knew nothing about this and had never really thought about these countries during the war. We hear of stories in Germany, Poland and Russia but not the Baltic states.

The story and journey are hard to read at times. Dalia is transported like cattle in a truck, then by train. The journey lasts for days, weeks, months. The final destination is bad enough but along the way the train stops to unload some of the human cargo. The most valuable cargo travels on further to the working labour camp in Siberia.

“The snow on your hair melts, then turns to ice. A winter hat. Silence. Darkness… The only thing visible is the snow

BookTrail locations in the novel

This battle has many highs and lows. As the train stops somewhere, the people on board dream of where they might be. A new start. New hope. You can only imagine the dire circumstances, the stench of the train, the fear in the people. Few words needed to bring this across.

The journey as a whole is heartbreaking and cruel. How people can treat other humans like this is beyond me. Despite this, it was the humanity and friendships forged between the prisoners which really shone through.

I was barely able to read as I reached the part where the gulag is described, but am so glad I did. Dalia and her family showed courage and strength not many people ever have.

The setting of Trofimovsk Island and the workings of the gulag were heartbreaking to read about yet fascinating too. I admire Dalia so much for writing this down. Her voice is being heard and it’s a powerful one.