Youp's Reviews > Journey into the Whirlwind

'Journey into the Whirlwind' stands out from other memoirs of gulag survivors I've read in two major ways. First of all, Ginzburg, as an intellectual, goes beyond describing the mere events of her imprisonment. She refers to numerous literary works and poems to illustrate her experience, which adds enormous depth and a certain beauty. Secondly, her ordeal as a woman was quite different from gulag memoirists such as Bardach or Solzjenitsyn. For example, the threat of being raped or the humiliation of having your head shaven makes for a uniquely female, yet obviously unsettling and tragic story. The ending of the book is quite abrupt, being continued in 'Within the Whirlwind', which I'm hoping to start reading as soon as possible.