Customer Reviews

Without Vodka: Adventures in Wartime Russia

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

As an American interested in Russian affairs, and speaking little Russian- good books are hard to come by. Either translated from Russian, or written by Americans who don't really know what they are talking about- I have yet to read a book that really piqued my interest. Until this one. This book has a many things working well for it- it is written in english by someone who was THERE, it flows smoothly from chapter to chapter,and above all it is interesting. It is sad how little many Americans know about the gigantic country that we have fought for and against throughout history. Russia is amazing, and this book conveys that quite well.

This is a chronicle of the early years of WW2 as experienced by a Polish teenager. His arrest, torture and deportation to Siberia is followed by another major adventure in trying to reach the Polish Army in Uzbekistan.
Aleksander Topolski's detailed, thorough descriptions of the people he encountered, the places he passed through and the experiences he endured bring this account alive.
Personally, this book has allowed me to gain a tremendous insight into the experiences of my own father whose story is mirrored by this one.
A highly recommended read for anyone interested in learning about the unbelievable Soviet regime of days gone by.

From the first paragraph I was engrossed in the book and transported to another world. Similar in some ways to Angela's Ashes this book added the extra complexity of depicting the complexity of politics and war. The attention to detail and memory are phenomenal. I highly recommend this book.

Its a bit incongruous to say this is an uplifting book about such a negative subject as spending 3 years in a Soviet Prison Camps, but it is. Topolski's writing shows how the positives in his make up allowed him to endure such starvation and still find ways to survive. A cliche, but it shows what the human sprit can do when called on. On top of that, the writing is excellent; its interesting and its incredible how he remembered all this in such detail after so many decades. I highly recommend it.

it sounds so strange to recommend a book about such a depressing topic, but I openly admit I loved this book. I couldn't put it down and found myself reading it before I went to work in the morning and thinking about going home at lunch to read more. The pacing was excellent, the author managed to describe boredom without boring the reader to tears.

Topolski is open, honest, and clever in his writing. The reader is engrossed by a strange sense of humor underwritten in every sentence and is repeatedly shocked by the inhumanity and utter stupidity inflicted upon prisoners in the Stalin's USSR.

Bought this book a couple of years ago and have only just read it. For such a serious and dire situation, there are a lot of humourous moments and it is a very readable book. For me it reads like a screenplay - a collection of "scenes", tales taken from the author's memory and linked together in a story which would make a very good movie. I took it with a grain of salt whether he personally experienced every single detail, but do believe that he didn't exaggerate the insanity of the Soviet Union at that time (and maybe now too) and the severe conditions he experienced. The last book I read on the topic was The Ice Road, which I found superior to Without Vodka, mainly because I liked the author and his family better. It was hard for me to get a grip on Aleksander himself - on the one hand he left his family to (unsuccessfully) escape to Romania without much care of their feelings, he freely does whatever is necessary to survive, slipping very easily into telling lies and even crime, yet prays and feels great patriotism for Poland. People are complex, so I don't doubt that this is all true about him, but it doesn't make me like him or even understand him all that well. Stefan in The Ice Road was far better understood by me and therefore liked. However, having said all of that, Without Vodka is an excellent read and I do recommend it. Let's hope his follow-up Without a Roof is published soon.

I love WWII/Eastern European history, particularly gulag/concentration camp survival stories. This is one of the best, along side "The Long Walk", "Alexander Dolgun's Story: An American in the Gulag", "For Those I Loved", and "Kolyma Tales". It is the tale of a Polish teenager (Aleksander Topolski) who is captured by the Russians in 1939 attempting to cross into Romania to join the fleeing Polish Army. After brutal interrogations at the hands of the MKVD he is sentenced to 5 years imprisonment in slave labor camps, along with many other Poles. He manages to survive, despite inhuman deprivation of adequate food, shelter and clothing, until 1941 when a desperate Stalin agrees to the release of Polish prisoners to form a Polish (Anders) Army to help battle the Nazis. Released in the far north, Topolski's adventure continues as he slowly and tortuously makes his way by train to southern Russia seeking his elusive Polish Army. Using his wits he manages to overcome endless obstacles, including perpetual hunger and the constant threat of preying criminal gangs. The cast of characters and incidents he encounters en route is thoroughly fascinating. This is a survival story told in hindsight when the author is able view his ordeal as a grand adventure and see the humorous side of his encounters. It makes for a upbeat, entertaining read despite the nightmarish ordeal the author actually experienced. I've read this book twice and it remains on my read-again list. Highly recommended.