Writing the Siege of Leningrad: Women's Diaries, Memoirs, and Documentary Prose (Pitt Series in Russian and East European Studies)

Rating:
Summary: An impressive compilation of writings by Russian women
Review: Collaboratively edited by Cynthia Simmons (Associate Professor of Slavic Studies, Boston College) and Nina Perlina (Professor of Slavic Languages and Literatures, Indiana University - and herself a child survivor of the Siege of Leningrad), Writing The Siege Of Leningrad: Women's Diaries, Memoirs, And Documentary Prose is an impressive compilation of writings by Russian women who struggled and suffered during Siege of Leningrad by German and Finnish troops during World War II. Focusing on the civilian experience from the women's perspective, experiences which ranged from replacing the men who died in industrial labor, to somehow keeping families together, and weathering immense casualties due to bloodshed, starvation and a bitter winter, Writing The Siege Of Leningrad is an profoundly important, deeply moving, insightful collection of human experience and a strongly recommended addition to Russian History, European Studies, and Women's Studies supplemental reading lists and academic reference collections.