Books by Irina Ratushinskaya

An epic and engrossing novel set at the beginning of the twentieth century, THE ODESSANS is the story of three families from Odessa in the Ukraine: the Russian Petrovs, the Jewish Geibers, and the Teslenkos, who are of Ukrainian and Polish descent. Throughout years of war, famine, political struggle and incredible hardship, their deep friendships sustain each of the families. Their lives are rent by tragedy; some friends are hounded by anti-Semites, while others join opposite sides in the Civil War or are forced to flee to Odessa. But through it all, their characteristic good humour and faith in each other enable their close circle to survive.

If it ever falls to you, my reader (though God forbid!) to see your name written on a prison wall and followed by the letters 'LYMTL', that will simply mean 'Love You More Than Life'. These letters are no harder to remember than 'KGB'. GREY IS THE COLOUR OF HOPE is the searing account of the author's experiences in a brutal Soviet labour camp. Only twenty-eight when she was imprisoned for her poetry, Irina Ratushinskaya was already regarded as a leading writer of her generation, in the line of Mandelstam and Pushkin. She nearly died from maltreatment and a series of hunger strikes before eventually finding freedom. With surprising moments of humour, her inspiring memoir reveals how a group of incarcerated women built for themselves a life of selfless courage, order and mutual support.