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Summary: The Bond of Family
Review: 'The Endless Steppe' is the true story of ten-year old Esther, who survived in completely strange surroundings. The story takes place during World War II, when the Russian government stated that capitalists were the political enemy and arrested them all. At the time, Esther was living peacefully in Vilna, Poland, with her parents and grandmother who were capitalists. However, her happy life ended when two soldiers forcefully entered her house and arrested her and her family. They were all sent to Siberia where the steppe continues endlessly and worked many years in the mines.When I read this book, I was surprised by how such a young child could survive in such a strange harsh environment. Everything was taken away, and they had barely enough money, clothes, and food to live on. The new house, new school, language, environment, every thing is new to her. But Esther always tries to enjoy her life. Everyone in Esther's family also has a difficult time in their new surroundings. The parents got new jobs and they had to work really hard. However, their common hardship knits the family together. They support each other in order to remain alive. From this book, I learned about the lives of people in Russia during the World War II. I believe there were many children like Esther in Russia, but not many of them could live like her. Her resolution, passion, and strong family bond make her strong in her new environment. It is a great book and I strongly recommend it.
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Summary: An excellent book to re-read.
Review: A very good book to read aloud and to your self. it is a great example of survival.
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Summary: A gripping story of a family who triumphs in Siberia
Review: Do you have a favorite book that you read and re-read? "The Enless Steppe" grabbed my heart as a high school student, and I have read it again each decade of my life. The story of Esther Rudomin and her family never ceases to give me courage to face any challenge life has sent my way. A triumphant true story
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Summary: Fantastic & Moving...
Review: Esther Hautzig has magnificently retold her gruelling story of her struggle during WW2. It is a fantastic tale of strength, courage, will power and resilience of the human spirit against all odds. An essential book that all young people should read to put life into perspective and make us appreciate the little things we sometimes take for granted. Superb and moving - a must read!
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Summary: 11year-old Esther learns the real meaning of survival&love.
Review: Esther Hautzig her mother, father, and grandmother learn the real meaning of survival after being sent to a concentration camp on the steppe of Siberia. Throughout the book Esther tells of her times of trouble during World War II.
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Summary: Can Exile be a Blessing in Disguise?
Review: Esther Rudomin, an upper middle class girl living in Vilna, Poland, is only 10 years old that fateful day in June of 1941, when her family and many other Jews are abruptly deported by Soviet soldiers. Horrified she sees her peaceful, happy world being shattered; she experiences shock at not being able to pack her precious photo albums and confusion at being labeled capitalistic enemies of the People. Under inhumane conditions some 150 Poles are herded into a cattle car, confined there for 6 wretched weeks heading ever eastward, across the Urals, on into the endless steppes of Siberia. Finally they stagger out into broiling sun, to learn that they will provide slave labor for a gympsum mine. No longer a privileged little girl, Esther becomes a lowly deportee for the next five years, struggling with heavy burdens: intense Siberian winters, loss of extended family, hunger, arctic storms, difficult agricultural work, a new language, outgrown clothing, snobby kids and callous adults. But this plucky girl creates a new life for herslf in this outpost of humanity; she learns to set goals, make friends, win academic respect--to do whatever is necessary in order to Survive. The dream of eventual freedom after the war--to return to her beloved Vilna--motivates and inspires her to endure incredible challenges. Family values are a priority of course, yet she gradually learns to appreciate and even love the seemingly harsh plains of Russia. But will she be able to fit in back home, after having been Siberianized? To her amazement she discovers that coming of age, even in exile, can still be wonderful!
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Summary: A Super Steppe
Review: Esther's life is perfect. She loves her parents, has everything she wants, and has a lot of friends. When she and her family are exiled to Siberia during World War II because her father is a capitalist, her world is turned upside down. Esther has to adjust to all the changes. She goes from a pretty, little, rich girl to a poor, dirty, hard-working girl. At one point in the book, a pair of shoes becomes her greatest desire. When first arriving in Siberia, she just misses her toys and books, but later on she discovers the importance of family. This is an amazing autobiographical book. Esther Hautzig wrote The Endless Steppe with great descriptions and plenty of dialogue. She said, "The conversations are not exactly accurate, for then I was speaking Russian or Yiddish or Polish, but the content is [accurate]." I loved the way the author described the cold, empty steppe of Siberia compared to her easy, comfortable life in Vilna, Poland. When I finished this book I realized everything I take for granted. The characters in this story were extremely lucky if they got a shower or a piece of meat. I could not put this book down. I can't believe anyone would be able to live through these experiences. I was amazed at the description of being stuck in a closed cattle car on the way to Siberia for six weeks. The Endless Steppe has a clear and interesting plot. I think this is a heartfelt book with a powerful meaning.
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Summary: it sure is endless
Review: Esther's wonderfully sincere and illustrative writing will hold even an adult's attention from cover to cover. I have read it over and over again for the last 22 years. As a child in 1979 at age 11, I found myself in my family's frozen garden pretending to be Esther herself, wandering through Siberia in search of frozen potatoes. When I would take a bath, after playing in the snow and getting chilled, I would revel in the marvelous heat of the water and imagine I had just been given a rare cake of soap. When thirsty, I would make myself wait for a drink of cool water from the tap until my throat was parched, so that the first drip of water on my tongue would be heavenly. I would then suck the water into my cheeks as Esther did and swallow very slowly, trying to make it last. My younger sister and I would walk into my dad's livestock truck and pretend we were on a cattle car headed for the Steppe, and we would make a makeshift hut under a log fort we had near the barnyard. Esther's life story filled my thoughts, my days and my head for years following, and reminded me to always care for others and not to take my life in rural United States for granted. Esther wrote in a way that made me feel as if I had somehow managed to form a personal friendship with her. In 1995, I was able to speak with Esther on the phone, and I have never forgotten that wonderful conversation. Talking with her (she still has a very noticable accent) was as if the book itself came to life, because I realized I was actually visiting with the woman who was the couragous child in the book. Esther's writing encouraged me to be thankful, to be grateful, to be kind, and to never give up. I majored in journalism in college, and though I have never had such an extreme happening in my lifetime, I hope to eventually put down in words something that will touch other's lives as Esther Hautzig touched mine.
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Summary: I spoke to Esther. Her book has impacted me for 22 years.
Review: Esther's wonderfully sincere and illustrative writing will hold even an adult's attention from cover to cover. I have read it over and over again for the last 22 years. As a child in 1979 at age 11, I found myself in my family's frozen garden pretending to be Esther herself, wandering through Siberia in search of frozen potatoes. When I would take a bath, after playing in the snow and getting chilled, I would revel in the marvelous heat of the water and imagine I had just been given a rare cake of soap. When thirsty, I would make myself wait for a drink of cool water from the tap until my throat was parched, so that the first drip of water on my tongue would be heavenly. I would then suck the water into my cheeks as Esther did and swallow very slowly, trying to make it last. My younger sister and I would walk into my dad's livestock truck and pretend we were on a cattle car headed for the Steppe, and we would make a makeshift hut under a log fort we had near the barnyard. Esther's life story filled my thoughts, my days and my head for years following, and reminded me to always care for others and not to take my life in rural United States for granted. Esther wrote in a way that made me feel as if I had somehow managed to form a personal friendship with her. In 1995, I was able to speak with Esther on the phone, and I have never forgotten that wonderful conversation. Talking with her (she still has a very noticable accent) was as if the book itself came to life, because I realized I was actually visiting with the woman who was the couragous child in the book. Esther's writing encouraged me to be thankful, to be grateful, to be kind, and to never give up. I majored in journalism in college, and though I have never had such an extreme happening in my lifetime, I hope to eventually put down in words something that will touch other's lives as Esther Hautzig touched mine.
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Summary: The Other Tyranny
Review: Here in America, when someone mentions the atrocities of World War II, most people think immediately of the Holocaust and Hitler's plan to rid the world of Jews and establish the German "master race". However, Hitler was not the only one during this time committing atrocities which killed millions of people. The Soviets were guilty of this as well, though this is not as well known to Americans. This is the story of a young girl who is a victim of the Soviet forced-labor camps. Her family did nothing wrong, but with the Russian invasion of Poland, her parents and grandparents were considered "capitalists" and therefore deported to Siberia. This book is very well written. The characters are very well deveoped, which is especially important since this book is autobiographical. Reading this gives a real sense of how far out in the middle of nowhere these people were. There is the beauty of this pristine land versus the terror which haunts the people who have been sent here, as well as the true desolation of the place. In time, Esther, who is 15 by the end of the book, really feels that this is the place her life is, rather than Poland, where she lived before, even though this is the place of her imprisonment. Hautzig also does a good job of describing the constant suffering and scrabbling for humanity that these people went through as political prisoners. It was a hopeless situation, but the one thing that they could least give up was hope. This is one of the very few children's (or young adult) books that does focus on what was happening in the Soviet Union during this time. There are many kids books which focus on the Germans and the Holocaust, but that was only part of the story, and to forget the rest of these people who suffered and died because of the same sort of tyranny is an affront to them.
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