Mike’s Reviews > Journey into the Whirlwind > Status Update
Mike
is on page 400 of 418
This is still interesting, in a sort of horrifying way. There's really not much to say about this - this is more like a very long work of journalism than a real memoir with themes or much of an artistic vision. Competently written, but considering the vast number of memoirs about this subject, nothing special.
— Jul 22, 2019 06:51PM
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Mike’s Previous Updates
Mike
is on page 320 of 418
The horrors described in this book really are incomprehensible. I don't know if anything I write could really convey that.
— Nov 21, 2018 02:13PM
Mike
is on page 300 of 418
I think the horrors of this book are finally starting to get to me. Although part of it is because I already know just how bad Kolyma is.
— Nov 19, 2018 08:49AM
Mike
is on page 260 of 418
Not much to say that I haven't said already. This is okay, not particularly special, certainly of no particular literary value.
— Nov 18, 2018 06:34PM
Mike
is on page 220 of 418
It's really interesting to hear about the aspects of being imprisoned that Ginzburg actually found good for her psyche. Probably the most 'challenging' aspect to this book.
— Nov 17, 2018 01:15PM
Mike
is on page 200 of 418
It's hard to call this bad, but I can't think of any other memoir about prison that I would prefer this to.
— Nov 16, 2018 11:52AM
Mike
is on page 120 of 418
Maybe I've been too hard on this book. It's a little more conventional and accessible than most memoirs like this are, but that doesn't necessarily make it bad. It has its interesting moments.
— Nov 13, 2018 01:37PM
Mike
is on page 80 of 418
This just doesn't have the intensity of most memoirs of similar topics that I've read. I can't picture the prison cell, I can't feel Ginzburg's emotions as she goes through what surely must be traumatic events. It's distancing in its conventionality.
— Nov 12, 2018 07:46AM
Mike
is on page 40 of 418
I find the writing to be pretty distancing, but not in an intentional way, more that Ginzburg just doesn't describe the scenes in enough detail to form a connection with her. This is one of the weaker metaphors about Soviet Russia I've read.
— Nov 11, 2018 11:04AM
Mike
is on page 20 of 418
This already reminds me quite a bit of Hope Against Hope, except that the writing isn't as interesting. Well, it's still early in the book, we'll see what happens as it goes on.
— Nov 10, 2018 04:07PM
