It is winter here in northern Europe. What better than to stay indoors, wrap up warm with a cup of hot chocolate and a good book. The perfect accompaniment to the winter snow is to read Anne Applebaum's 'Gulag: A History'.
It is also a cracking good read - lots of personal stories and with plenty of analysis for the more academically minded. This isn't a full review (I havent finished it yet.) But this morning's snow made me thankful of the more benign era and location that I live in.
It is also a cracking good read - lots of personal stories and with plenty of analysis for the more academically minded. This isn't a full review (I havent finished it yet.) But this morning's snow made me thankful of the more benign era and location that I live in.
Have you read it before? I seem to remember talking about it when I read it a few years ago.
ReplyDeleteI remember I enjoyed it but felt it was less than objective in some ways -- not quite sure what I mean by that now though - will have to read it again!
Hope you and yours are well, btw :)
Oh and in an "what I'm reading" follow-up, I've recently been reading "Mother of all myths" ( http://www.amazon.co.uk/Mother-All-Myths-Aminatta-Forna/dp/0006387632/ ) - about how there is an impossible "perfect mother" myth and since no one can live up to it, all mums feel/are labelled "bad mothers" in one way or another. There is also discussion of how childcare methods and the role of the mother has changed in Western society and how it is different across the world. It's more journalistic in tone than a cited academic text but pretty interesting.
ReplyDeleteI think I'll move onto some fiction next - something good and snowy :)
Hey Louisa
ReplyDeletehave literally just finished reading it. I found it to be an amazing book. I do remember you saying you had read it, which made me look at it twice when I saw it in the library.
Everything is groovy up here - and will pass on the tip re. the muvvers book. be seeing you in the new year :)