The Snow Hare

by Paula Lichtarowicz

A woman dreams of becoming a doctor until World War II leads her instead into an astonishing love—and a fateful choice.

Is it possible to fall in love at the edge of life?

Lena has lived a long, quiet life on her farm in Wales, alongside her husband and child. But as her end approaches, buried memories begin to return. Of her childhood in Poland, and her passion for science. Of the early days of her marriage, reluctant wife to an army officer. Of the birth of her daughter, whose arrival changed everything.

Memories less welcome return, too. Her Polish village, transformed overnight by the Soviets, and the war that doomed her entire family to the frigid work camps of the Siberian tundra. And buried in that blinding snow, amongst the darkness of survival, the most haunting memory of that of an extraordinary new love.

Exploring motherhood, marriage, consequences, and our incredible human capacity for hope,  The Snow Hare  is the story of a woman who dares to love and to dream in the face of impossible odds, and of the peace we each must make with our choices, even long after the years have gone by.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Historical, World War II, Poland, Literary Fiction, Audiobook

408 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 31, 2023

About the author

Paula Lichtarowicz was born in Cheshire and studied English literature at Durham University and psychology at the University of London. When not writing, she makes television documentaries. She lives in London. THE FIRST BOOK OF CALAMITY LEEK is her debut.

Reviews

[Fran · Rating 5 out of 5]

Przemysl, South East Poland. Sixteen year old Lena Sadowska just received a medical encyclopedia for her birthday. All that mattered was her dream to become the first woman doctor in Poland. Older sister Ala, dreamt of marrying a count or an officer. When a gypsy caravan arrived, both sisters had their fortunes told. The fortune teller gifted Lena with a piece of Baltic resin the size of a duck's egg. "But know this amber for what it is; a thing of solidity. It will not decay like flesh. It won't warp like love nor rot like dreams of the future...you will need something solid to hold on to in life.".

England. On her deathbed, Lena cradled the amber. Memory fragments flashed of a life filled with unhappiness and suffering, but with the resolve to protect and nurture those she loved. A devastating accident ended Lena's dream of attending medical school in Krakow. Instead, she was forced to enter a loveless marriage to Lt. Bem of the Engineering Corps. He promised he would always care for her despite her injury....guilt perhaps? "The loss of a future is as great a loss as any other." "Lena tossed the amber from hand to hand wondering how it must be to end up trapped for all eternity.".

"What would be the outcome of all the posturing between Berlin and Moscow?" The world situation worsened. Lt. Anton Bem, Lena's husband, was arrested. Lena and her family were declared enemies of the state and transported to a work camp in Siberia.

In England, Lena remembered the sudden roar of a train...a long drawn-out squeak of wheels...deep drifts of snow...thin, tasteless soup at daybreak...the back-breaking work of felling trees...meet your quota or no bread for you at day's end. She remembered the bone man...love or love for the moment? Who is the girl running on the steppe?

In "The Snow Hare", love and determination prevailed in the darkness and emptiness of the Siberian work camp. While many faltered losing hope, Lena and her family persevered, surviving against all odds. This story of hope and courage was based upon the recollections of the author's grandmother, who, once released from the work camp travelled to Uzbekistan where a Polish army was forming. Thousands of tents were crammed together, unsanitary conditions, lack of food and medicine. The unbearable conditions were far from over. An excellent, haunting read. Highly recommended.

Thank you Little, Brown and Company and Net Galley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Kate O'Shea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Had to take an hour or two after finishing this excellent novel.

Snow Hare tells the story of Magdalena (Lena), whose life is caught up in the machinations of others - first the gypsy who tells her fortunes, her parents, her husband and finally World War II. Lena is determined to be a doctor but life dictates another path for her which leads eventually to a house in England.

The story is told by Lena as a memory of her life as it unfolded, moving back and forth from her bed in England as an old lady to her childhood through her marriage and the war which ripped through Poland and caused the deaths of around 6 million Poles.

I was lucky enough to get both the ebook and audio version. I have to say the audio was an absolute triumph. The narrator (Rose Ackroyd) was excellent. I found my nails digging into my palms or shouting at the recording at some of the injustices Lena is dealt. I wept at several points.

This is not an easy read in places. The treatment of the Poles by both Nazis and Russians is horrifying and heartbreaking. Lena's story (based on the story of the author's own grandmother) is utterly captivating. I defy anyone not to be moved by this brilliantly told story and I'm going off now to order more of Paula Lichtarowicz's work.

Highly recommended. Many thanks to Netgalley for both the written and audio copy.

[Amber Smith · Rating 1 out of 5]

One star for the ending. Reading this book felt like walking up a sand dune in flip flops. It was a slough. It felt like that one person at a party that won't stop talking, even though no one is interested in what they are saying. I could not connect with the characters and struggled to stay engaged.

[Olga Kowalska (WielkiBuk) · Rating 5 out of 5]

W natłoku współczesnych powieści historycznych i okołohistorycznych można czasami się pogubić, można się też zawieść. Sięgam po nie zawsze z dużą ostrożnością, dbam, by polecany tytuł był wszystkim tym, czego szukamy w takiej opowieści, ale żeby nigdy nie przekłamywał rzeczywistości. „Ludzie z kości” są moim tegorocznym odkryciem – opowieścią inspirowaną wspomnieniami rodzinnymi, jednak nie udającą niczego ponad fikcją, którą jest. A jednak fikcją, która zachwyca i zatrważa jednocześnie.

Czas Leny dobiega końca. Przeżyła swoje życie, teraz odchodzi powoli pod mętnymi od łez spojrzeniami rodziny i pełnej czułości pielęgniarki. Zostało jej jednak jeszcze tyle czasu, by cofnąć się w przeszłość, raz jeszcze przeżyć to, czego doświadczyła i wreszcie – dogonić ulotnego ducha małej dziewczynki ze stepu. Powraca do nie cygański wóz i przepowiednia jej szesnastych urodzin. Powraca ukochana rodzina, powracają marzenia o studiach medycznych, powraca koszmar wypadku. I wymuszone małżeństwo. A potem… Czas wojny i Syberia. Wszystko to, co spotkało ją i jej bliskich, czas przetrwania za wszelką cenę, wybory, które musiała podjąć. Tych, których straciła po drodze. Czas Leny dobiega końca…

Paula Lichtarowicz nie wrzuca nas wcale w wir wojennych działań. Ba, wojna pod jej piórem przemyka niemal niewidzialnie, zza okna koszar, by wkrótce przenieść się na dalekie rubieże Syberii. A tam praca ponad ludzkie siły, głodowe porcje, choroby, na które nie ma lekarstwa. Obcy ludzie, którzy nagle stają się bliscy w cierpieniu. I przemoc, która czai się w spojrzeniach i słowach, nie tylko w czynach. Jej bohaterka żyje dla swojej córeczki. To ona jest jej motywacją, daje jej siłę i umacnia w najtrudniejszych decyzjach. Przeżycia wygnańców opisane są z bolesnym realizmem, ale także ich sny i nadzieje. Zaczytałam się w „Ludziach z kości”, pokochałam Lenę i jej bliskich, obserwowałam jej doświadczenia z największym wzruszeniem. To perełka pośród opowieści. Zaskakująca w swoim oddziaływaniu na czytelnika.

[teach_book · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jedna z piękniejszych, a zarazem bolesnych historii, jakie czytałam. O życiu pełnym bólu, niespełnionych marzeń, cierpienia, ale także o momencie, do którego wdarło się uczucie.

[Svetlana]

It’s an interesting story how the fate brings you to unexpected adventures. Not the one you ever wanted or thought of.
A girl from a small unknown village all her life from age 10 just wanted to be a doctor.
And everyone and everything in that world was against that. She lived not the life she desired but the one into which she was thrown. But from everything bad that happened to her, she always ended with some happiness. Unhappy marriage, but the daughter she loved, the camp in taiga in Siberia, but the man she loved…
It is sad, but a very good story.
At the beginning, it was kind of difficult for me to get in. I was not hooked, it was boring at some places; I was not connected with Lena’s character and didn’t like these sick relationships between Lena and Anton. But from the other 60% of the book - I liked it so much.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing me a free digital copy of the novel.

[Maria Ortiz Marquez · Rating 4 out of 5]

As Lena lies in her deathbed, she remembers her days as a teenager in Poland - the ordinary rhythm of life at her family home and her absolute dream of becoming a doctor. Her dream engulfs her existence as she nurtures her passion by devouring books on medical terms. But destiny has other plans for her, and Lena is forced to postpone her dream in favor of becoming the wife of a military officer and a mother in a loveless marriage. Just when things start to look up for her, Lena is given the means to leave the country along with her daughter, as rumors of an imminent Soviet occupation reach her husband. Lena chooses to stay in Poland at her family home. It is there where the Soviets label them enemies of the state, shipping the family to a Siberian work camp, where life is unbearably hard, and death is part of everyday life. With a non-relenting hope in the direst of circumstances, Lena finds love at the camp, and just like a snow hare does, she takes care of her loved ones. It is in the camp where she makes a choice that will forever echo into her future, leaving a trail of regret throughout her life.

Even though I struggled with the pacing and with connecting with Lena’s character through the first half of the book, I came to admire how Lena used her characteristic resolve to hold on to hope and take care of her people. I also came to admire her growth and willingness to start again and live some of her dreams later in life, at least partially.
One thing I would have enjoyed is an afterword from the author providing further references about the political environment in Poland during WWII, as we are given few clues about the historical backdrop of the story. I would have also enjoyed learning about the inspiration behind the novel.

Overall, an interesting read, full of relevance considering current events. This is a testament to how history repeats itself nowadays, but it is also a testament to hope, forgiveness, and growth.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with a free digital copy in exchange for an honest review.

[K.S. Marsden · Rating 3 out of 5]

As Lena's life comes to an end, she thinks over paths that led her here. A comfortable childhood in Poland, a desire to be a doctor, and a war that will push them to the frozen edge of the world.

I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

The story follows Lena, as an elderly woman on her deathbed in England.
Her mind inevitably drifts back to the life she had led, and we also follow Lena as a young woman in Poland.
Lena is singularly focused and wants to be a doctor, despite not many women being allowed to take up the profession. Her family supports her dreams, and provide her with schooling and books; but her mother is also hoping that Lena will forget about the doctor dreams, when she falls in love with a suitable man.
All of their plans are thrown askew as the threats of war become a reality.

Unfortunately, I found the first half really slow and hard to connect to.
Despite the fact that I thought it was really interesting, watching how the war affected Lena's hometown. The Soviet soldiers came, and everything changed. Neighbours are turned against each other; everyone is living under the fear of being labelled as an "Enemy of the State", and made to disappear.
While Lena works as a nurse, you get to watch the risks that the local doctor takes, secretly providing medicine for people that aren't allowed it. You can feel the dark inevitability of what will happen.

The problem is that everyone else is interesting, but Lena seems oddly disconnected from the world.
You could argue that the memories of an old woman are imperfect; or that she remembers the actions of other more clearly; but it made it hard to be invested.
Lena is lacking in personality beyond the sole-focus to be a doctor, at the expense of everything else.
I found that some of her choices and actions (or lack of actions) contradicted everything her character had been built up to. Especially concerning a certain person. She allows herself to be pushed into things, despite her thoughts and words constantly opposing them.

The second half was much easier to connect with our main character, when Lena and her family are rounded up and sent to the frozen end of the world, to work in a labour camp.
Lena becomes more focussed on helping her family survive, and she learns to embrace each day, and appreciate the little things.
Lena's developing friendship with one of the guards is terribly sweet, a complete contrast to the horror they are all living through.

Throughout the second half of the book, you get the sense of foreboding - you know where Lena ends up, and you know that not everyone makes it. It's just a question of how it will happen, and it hovers over everything, making it so much more painful as you can't help getting attached to her family.

Overall, this was a 2.5 out of 5 for me. I found the second half of the book very moving, and it was interesting to learn more about life in a Siberian labour camp. Unfortunately, I found the first half very hard to get through, and I couldn't come to terms with some of Lena's decisions at the end of the book, too.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was accomplished historical fiction, successful at evoking time period and atmosphere and with a plucky protagonist in Lena. It was inspired by the author’s family history, a fact I wish I’d known (as well as a bit more about the setting) from the start. Pacing was the main issue for me: it’s not until the two-thirds point that we arrive at the Siberian work camp that the blurb heralds, and later still that we have the first spotting of the title creature, which is a symbol of parental protection.

This feels much more like a story of thwarted ambition – Lena wanted to be a doctor and was preparing to begin medical studies when she was hit by a tram (reminiscent of what happened to Frida Kahlo) and instead married Anton, the military officer who had been courting her – and incompatibility that climaxes in marital rape (a complicated scene because they hadn’t consummated their marriage, and of course Anton would expect sexual relations, and he’s warming her up after she goes out in the snow and nearly gets hypothermia, but it’s clear that she doesn’t want him – she’d previously blockaded her bedroom door and would have resisted were she not crippled and ill). Her daughter, Agata, is her consolation prize..

I felt that the literary touches – flashbacks and dream/hallucination sequences in italics as Lena, a dying old woman, communicates with a fleeting girl and the ‘bone man’ – were unnecessary and overdone. It would have been enough to proceed chronologically with a final section set far ahead. What we end up with is a Sophie’s Choice type of situation where Lena has to choose between her daughter and her lover, a guard at the camp. She only has one dose of antibiotics hidden inside the amber ball a fortune teller gave her when she was a teenager; she gives it to Grigori to save him from tetanus, but that means there’s nothing left when typhus sweeps through the camp. But it’s been clear all along that Agata is weak and will die. We hope that Lena and Grigori can be together after her release from the camp, but Anton is still alive so she’s still technically married; together, they emigrate and raise her late sister Ala’s son as their own child. (Ala and her mother both die in the camp, while her father, who had dementia, died in the train car on the way there.).

It’s quite bleak overall, as more and more is taken from Lena. The message seems to be that there’s no point in resisting fate – the fortune teller had foreseen suffering, and gently mocked the girl’s optimism that she would be able to choose her life course. (“I must be here by accident or destiny – because this was not my will,” Lena thinks; “it’s dangerous to dream.”) However, it made for a good book club read because of its meaty issues, illumination of a lesser-known aspect of WWII history, strong protagonist, and solid supporting cast.

[Paul Wagenbreth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, with the catastrophic consequences it has made for the nation’s population and its infrastructure, lends contemporary relevance to Paula Lichtarowicz’s World War II novel, “The Snow Hare,’’ with its depiction of the toll of the Soviet incursion into Poland and in particular its impact on the life of young Lena Luiza, whose life has already been upended by a tram accident that has left her a cripple.
A bar to her ever getting married, fears her mother, who is thrilled when a young army officer nevertheless seeks Lena's hand, even though Lena is less than taken with him. Marries him she does, though, shelving for the moment her aspiration to become a doctor, and joining him in life at a military installation, where, with almost Marilyn French-like attention to the daily circumstances of the marriage, author Lichtarowicz depicts Lena's life, including how she fends off Anton's amatory desires night after night until one night he won't be put off any longer and consummates the relationship – the one and only time, it would seem, intercourse occurs.
Sufficient it is, though, to make Lena pregnant, furthering her sense of alienation and culminating in an at-home self-delivery when for a horrifying moment the reader fears she might let the infant die. Maternal instincts triumph, though, and not only does she come to truly love the child but even comes in time to have more affectionate feelings for Anton until her life is upended once again with the Soviet incursion and her deportation to a brutal labor camp – the sort of fate one imagines has greeted the Ukrainians reportedly deported to Putin's Russia.
All too relevant for our own time, in short, Lichtarowicz’s novel, which with its depiction of one nation’s subjugation of another should be required reading for anyone inclined to argue the legitimacy of Putin's cause.

[Phyllis Kollar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Captivating... could not put it down...

[Henry Wade · Rating 2 out of 5]

Low 2 stars. Boring. Not sure why I finished it. Another book w/a totally unlikeable heroine. And it is very odd that this is a WWII book set in Poland, and the words Germany and Russia never appear in the book. It is like the author did not want to inject war stuff in the book. Not sure why. I would recommend this book if you were exiled to Siberia and needed something to start a fire...

[Elizabeth☮ · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this one as I saw it on a list somewhere, but I can't recall where now.

It is a WWII book that covers the war from the perspective of people of southeast Poland. Lena is a school girl when we first meet her and has dreams of becoming a doctor. She adores her father who believes Lena can do anything she sets her mind to including being a doctor. To that end, he gets her accepted to medical school in Krakow. But, you know, the best laid plans and all.

Lena is courted by a young officer Anton Bem. But this is someone she doesn't think she'll seriously end up with. When he proposes, she is taken aback. So much so, she steps into the street and is injured by a bus. Bem does the honorable thing and marries Lena. Much to her shock, she is stuck leaving her family and with a man she barely knows.

The story is written under the pretext that we are hearing Lena's story from her death bed. I'm not sure why the author made this choice as the narrative in present time doesn't really add much to the development of the story as a whole. We understand Lena's life didn't turn out the way she imagined, but I was much more interested in the life she had during the war.

Lena's life is turned upside not only by a loveless marriage, but by the effects of the Russian occupation and, ultimately, WWII. It's another look at WWII that I haven't heard. I like the story once it gets to the camp the family is sent to in Siberia. This is the story I really wanted to know.

[Tami · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Snow Hare is a beautifully written story of a Polish woman at the end of her life as she remembers her past and the love she experienced during her lifetime.

It was a bit disorienting in the beginning, but once I knew what was happening, I became engrossed in her story. Living in Poland when the Soviets invaded, her life was turned upside down when her family was sent to a Siberian camp.

As she recounts her years, readers will meet a young woman with dreams of becoming a doctor, a reluctant bride and later a young mother with a fierce love for her child. As she ages, her heart softens and it seems she has a bigger capacity for love. The proof of this is how her life has settled as she lays dying. The loved ones by her side are her reward for a life well lived—one of heartache, love and forgiveness.

This was a wonderful story for the snowy, rainy days we have been having and has a calming, yet sober tone overall.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Little, Brown & Company for allowing me to read an advance copy. I am happy to offer my honest review and recommend this book to readers.

[Andria Potter · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dnf'd at 15%. This just wasn't for me. Lovely cover, but the writing style annoyed me, as did the characters.

[Ulrica Kulturladyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Det här är en riktigt bra och gripande roman som är sprungen ur författarens egen släkthistoria. En berättelse om en kvinna som har drömmar och ett mål, men av omständigheter i verkligheten tvingas hon till ett liv hon inte valt. Trots detta vågar hon älska och känna framtidstro även när det är som allra mörkast… Jag tyckte väldigt mycket om den här historien. Det är en känslostark historia som grep tag i mig och jag läste ibland med andan i halsen för att få veta hur det skulle gå.
.
Lena är en fantastisk person som är livfull och bär på stora drömmar och som aldrig ger upp, kämpar på och ser möjligheter i det svåra. En mycket välskriven roman.

[Jan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read most of this book while I was traveling home from Florida. It took me a little bit to get the author’s format, and didn’t appreciate some of the language at the beginning, but it was very gripping. I was giving mini book reviews to my husband as he drove.

[Ksiazkamikaze]

To książka jednocześnie na 5 gwiazdek i na 1. Muszę jeszcze pomyśleć 🙈

[charlotte, · Rating 4 out of 5]

(3.5)

oh this was good, for the most part, but it became rushed towards the end. i think the siberia section needed to happen earlier so that two years weren't condensed into too short a space of time, but the uzbekistan part suffered the most, particularly the typhus outbreak. like i said though, good, and i thought lena & anton's relationship was very compelling. i wanted more of their reunion, since that's part of what gets squished into the final few pages. lena & grigori's relationship — supposedly something that has a big impact on lena — is another aspect that suffered from this poor pacing, especially since, the moment lena leaves siberia, she seems to forget about him. still, these were comparatively minor qualms in this case.

[Joan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m not really sure what to say about this book. It was set during WWII in Poland, which normally I’m all excited about. But this…..was like being stuck inside a bad Dostoyevsky novel. Slow, plodding, hard to read in places because of the horrors of the war, but I realized I didn’t really care for anyone in this book. Three stars, more like two and a half really.

[Audra · Rating 2 out of 5]

In the afterword, Paula Lichtarowicz writes that The Snow Hare was inspired by stories told by her grandmother. While that's cute and everything, I think it has to be said that not everyone's grandmother's story is a novel. I spent the whole novel just waiting to care about something, anything. I felt bad for the protagonist, but I never got past pity to anything else. I just simply didn't care; at first she had single focus on being a doctor, and then she had single focus on being a mother. Characters who only ever have a single focus simply aren't all that interesting and the story wasn't especially interesting. Yes, the fact that all these people were sent to work camps was horrible, but there's nothing about Lena's experience particularly that warrants four hundred pages. Maybe there's a case to be made for novels telling ordinary stories about ordinary people, but The Snow Hare does not make that case. The writing is good, but the story and the characters are spectacularly uninspiring. I was never going to love The Snow Hare as it's a WWII novel about motherhood, but I'd hoped to like it more than this.

[Mozaika Literacka · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wyśmienita, wręcz imponująca proza. Paula Lichtarowicz z wyczuwalną intymnością zakrada się w echo własnej przeszłości rodzinnej, przenika fragmenty przygniecionych wojną wspomnień, przywołuje okrutne fotografie, boleśnie wrzyna się także w syberyjską surowość. Ludzie z kości to rodzaj swoistego pamiętnika – historia inspirowana ludzką niezłomnością, w fabularnym zgiełku dosadna i prawdziwa, choć niekiedy metaforyczna, zauważalnie domagająca się świadomego oka. To powieść przenikająca duszę, pasjonująca w zarysie medycznych ciekawostek, przecierana żałością i tęsknotą serca, napełniona goryczą pożegnania, do ostatnich stron napełniona nadzieją oraz odpornością na nieludzkie zło.

[Vanessa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic, and beautifully written. A story that will warm and break your heart.

Lena aspires to study in Krakow and become a doctor, but instead marries a military officer and starts a new life in the mountains of Southern Poland. After the start of the war, Lena and her family are deemed enemies of the state and are sent to a labor camp in Siberia where she experiences love and loss at the edge of the world.

[Mary Lins · Rating 4 out of 5]

“The Snow Hare”, by Paula Lichtarowicz, is not your typical WWII story! It takes place in Poland and Siberia and shows us a unique point of view of the invasion of Poland and then the break in allegiance between Stalin and Hitler.

But that history is just the backdrop and action catalyst for the story of our protagonist, Lena, a young woman who is singularly focused on becoming a doctor (just as Polish medical schools are beginning to admit females), when something cataclysmic happens to her.

At first I had a difficult time understanding some of Lena’s behavior, but then I soon realized that Lichtarowicz is writing Lena as someone on the Autism Spectrum (of course this is before Dr. Asperger made his diagnosis in 1944.) It was when a character who clearly has Tourette Syndrome was introduced that I understood; Lichtarowicz is showing us not only the lack of female power and agency in that place and time, but how much MORE difficult it would be for someone on the spectrum.

Lena lacks the “social graces” required of young women of that time, often abrupt and “rude”, she has a savant-like ability to recite medical facts, she does not notice social cues or gestures, she often lacks empathy towards the feelings of others, she is obsessive and intransigent. She lacks the ability to dissemble, even when that would be the prudent course of action.

All this makes Lina utterly FASCINATING; her journey and struggles are richly compelling. I was thoroughly immersed in the story and emotionally invested in all the characters and their various fates.

Thanks to Little, Brown and Company for an advanced reader’s copy of this unique novel.

[Pat Trattles · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is one of the hardest reviews I’ve written because after finishing, I am still unsure how I feel about the book. The writing was somewhat of a hot mess. I couldn’t connect with any of the characters. It felt like I was on a scavenger hunt to put all the pieces together to come up with a story. Or perhaps like I was watching an old reel to reel movie where all of the sudden the picture would be replaced by snow and static. It did, however, hold my interest enough to finish. 2.5 stars rounded to 3.

[Heather~ Nature.books.and.coffee · Rating 2 out of 5]

Unfortunately, this wasn't what I was expecting. I seen so many great reviews for it and it sounded so good so I wanted to give it a try. It started out interesting but then I felt it slowed down and it was hard for me to get into it. It was really a depressing story and I did skim parts. Please don't pass on this one if it intrigues you, like I said, I saw so many people loved it. 

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the gifted copy. All opinions are my own.

[Becky · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh my goodness, I loved this book so much and give it 5 enthusiastic stars! I picked this up on a whim at the Bend Library mainly because the cover was beautiful and it had the word “snow” in the title which I needed for the winter reading challenge. But I was immediately sucked in and read it within a few days. It’s a story going back and forth in time from a woman who is nearing the end of her life in Wales, as she recalls her life. She wanted to become a doctor but was forced into a loveless marriage with an army officer and had a baby. He sent her back to her home and the world changed as Russia overtakes Poland at the start of WW2 and her family is sent to a Siberian work camp. This is a view that war that I’ve never read much about and it was of course unbelievable awful, yet she found love there. After a year they are “liberated” and sent to a horrible typhus-infested tent city in Uzbekistan. I couldn’t put this book down and found myself teary-eyed in several places. I’m so glad I read this book - although it is heartbreaking and sad - despite that, I heartily recommend it.

[Liz Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lena has her life planned out. She is going to be a dr, one of the first females to begin training in Poland, but life has other plans for her. Entering a loveless marriage following an accident she and her family are transported to Siberia when the Soviets invade Poland.
I found this book a little difficult to get into at first but once I’d become familiar with the characters the story was interesting and well written. I liked how the author told the story through Lena in old age as she lay dying. It was clever how all the aspects of her journey came together. The horror of living in a Siberian work camp was vividly portrayed and yet love and survival somehow saw them through.
You will enjoy this book if you find Russian/ Polish history interesting and like a good love story.

[Daria · Rating 4 out of 5]

To była dla mnie bardzo ciężka książka.
Momentami potrafiłam drżeć czytając ją, czasami nawet robiło mi się niedobrze.
Odczuwałam wszystko to co się działo tak jakbym była Leną.
Potrzebowałam tej książki w moim życiu mimo, że czasem nie wiedziałam czy chcę przewrócić kartkę i dowiedzieć się co było dalej.

[Alicja Malinowska · Rating 5 out of 5]

Świetna i bardzo wartościowa książka