Just Send Me Word

A poignant record ... as fascinating and inspiring as it is heartbreaking ... It is impossible to read without shedding tears -- Simon Sebag Montefiore * Financial Times * This powerful narrative by a distinguished historian will take its place not just in history but in literature -- Robert Massie Electrifying, passionate, devoted, despairing, exhilarating ... a tale of hope, resilience, grit and love * The Times * Remarkable ... moving... possesses extraordinary value ... a notable contribution to Gulag literature -- Max Hastings * Sunday Times * Immensely touching ... [a] heartening gem of a book -- Anna Reid * Literary Review * The remarkable true story of a love affair between two Soviet citizens ... as much a literary challenge as a historical one: the book can be read as a non-fiction novel * Telegraph * Figes has achieved something extraordinary ... the gulag story lacks individuals for us to sympathise with: a Primo Levi, an Anne Frank or even an Oskar Schindler. Just Send Me Word may well be the book to change that ... the kind of love that most of us can only dream of -- Oliver Bullough * Independent * Remarkable ... Figes, selecting and then interpreting this mass of letters, makes them tell two kinds of story. The first is a uniquely detailed narrative of the gulag, of the callous, slatternly universe which consumed millions of lives ... The second is about two people determined not to lose each other -- Neal Ascherson * Guardian * A quiet, moving and memorable account of life in a totalitarian state ... The book often reads like a novel ... captivating * Evening Standard * Orlando Figes has wrought something beautiful from dark times -- Ian Thomson * Observer * A heart-rending record of extraordinary human endurance * Kirkus Reviews * [A] remarkable tale of love and devotion during the worst years of the USSR ... [Figes's] fine narrative pacing enhances this moving, memorable story * Publishers Weekly *