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The Ukrainian and Russian Notebooks: Life and Death Under Soviet Rule by Jamie Richards, Igort
geekwayne's review against another edition
5.0
'The Ukrainian and Russian Notebooks' by Igort with English translation by Jamie Richards is an excellent non-fiction graphic novel, but it's not one that is easy to read because of the subject matter.
It's really a two part story, with enough atrocity for both stories. The Ukrainian notebook is about something called the Holodomor that happened in the 1930s under Stalin. The events of that time are told as vignettes by survivors that the author has run across. Millions of people starved or were executed during this time. There are stories of people killing their horses, or hiding food, or eating things that are not true food to have something in their bellies. There was even cannibalism.
The Russian Notebook portion deals with more modern events in Chechnya and the death of a journalist. The author visits the building she lived in and recounts stories that she reported on. Increasingly, her life was threatened, so it is a tragic inevitability that her life should end. Individual stories in this section are by soldiers who were witness to, or participated in, atrocities.
The stories are not pleasant, but the tragic events of history need to be told so that they can never be repeated. I think a graphic novel works well to tell this sort of story because the violence is vivid and the stories are unflinching. A truly interesting work.
I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Simon & Schuster and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.
It's really a two part story, with enough atrocity for both stories. The Ukrainian notebook is about something called the Holodomor that happened in the 1930s under Stalin. The events of that time are told as vignettes by survivors that the author has run across. Millions of people starved or were executed during this time. There are stories of people killing their horses, or hiding food, or eating things that are not true food to have something in their bellies. There was even cannibalism.
The Russian Notebook portion deals with more modern events in Chechnya and the death of a journalist. The author visits the building she lived in and recounts stories that she reported on. Increasingly, her life was threatened, so it is a tragic inevitability that her life should end. Individual stories in this section are by soldiers who were witness to, or participated in, atrocities.
The stories are not pleasant, but the tragic events of history need to be told so that they can never be repeated. I think a graphic novel works well to tell this sort of story because the violence is vivid and the stories are unflinching. A truly interesting work.
I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Simon & Schuster and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.
krobart's review against another edition
4.0
See my review here:
https://whatmeread.wordpress.com/2019/05/07/review-1348-the-ukrainian-and-russian-notebooks/
https://whatmeread.wordpress.com/2019/05/07/review-1348-the-ukrainian-and-russian-notebooks/
literarybutterfly's review
3.0
I picked up The Ukrainian and Russian Notebooks on recommendation from a booktuber as a first read regarding the history of Ukrainian and Russian conflict. Now having read it, I can’t say that I agree, especially if you don’t have any prior knowledge of the 1932 Holodomor or the Second Chechen War. Very little context is given regarding these two periods of history and I had a really hard time following along. I don’t believe that was Igort’s intended purpose with this graphic novel. As this is a translated work, I assume Igort’s intended audience was expected to have general knowledge of Ukrainian and Russian history before reading his graphic novel. I believe Igort’s intended purpose was to document the stories of people who did and did not survive these historical time periods to highlight the true horror they endured. Depictions of this violence do get quite graphic at times. Had I known that ahead of time, I doubt I would have picked this up. After reading The Ukrainian and Russian Notebooks, I do have a better sense of the true horror that has been ongoing in that region of the world, but I don’t have a broader historical context as to how this perpetual violence has come to be. I hope to find another work to help provide me with this context.
caitlin2e's review against another edition
5.0
A sobering and haunting book. Highly recommend, especially if unfamiliar with modern Ukrainian and Russian relations.
imzadi755's review against another edition
3.0
Tegneserie (og litt tekst) om forhold mellom Ukraina og Russland som går fra lang tid tilbake og opp til annektering av Krymhalvøya. Brutale historier om sult, tvang, tortur, undertrykking og drap. Og ikke minst; folkemord.
_thislineismine's review against another edition
5.0
This graphic novel has left me speechless. I've learnt so much about parts of history that have been covered up. I've learnt about Ukraine and how it's war now is linked to its previous rule under communism. most importantly I've learnt about people's suffering and how everyone bats a blind eye to it.
bryanzk's review against another edition
5.0
A MUST READ if you want to understand Russia and its govs and its relationship with Ukraine.
Talking about tyranny, no matter in Russia or the country in the south of it..
Talking about tyranny, no matter in Russia or the country in the south of it..
cdmcc's review against another edition
2.0
This was tough. These stories are incredibly important to tell (made even more bracing through the treatment of a graphic novel), but unfortunately, the storytelling was just not there for this book.