Having read Anthony Beevor’s “Berlin, The Downfall”, my eye was drawn to A Writer at War, being as it is, a significant historical source for the Russian experience of the German invasion and its aftermath.
Grossman was despatched by his editors to the locations of most of the key events in the Russian war with Germany, and the book is particularly interesting because it runs right through from the invasion, to the defeat of Germany.
Grossman describes countless small events which fill in the broad picture with illuminating detail. He records the capture of a Russian deserter who tried to sneak back home in full peasants rags, but had the misfortune to be recognised by troops of his own unit. He met with brave peasant women who gave their all in order to survive the terrible events that came upon them. There are many stories of Russian military officers and men, snatches of conversation, descriptions of their appearance and behaviour, which all fill out the picture of “Ivan” and show their loyalty to their homeland – and their ignorance of how utterly their political masters were failing them thought lack of foresight and planning.
The book benefits from a fine commentary by Beevor – the diaries are not just edited, they are interpreted for us by a great historian who sets them in context and explains the background to the events, so that the book builds up to a complete history of the Russian war.
I highly recommend this book which reveals a compassionate and humanistic man who recorded the lives of “everyman” on the Russian front and enables us to understand more about the events of those terrible years.
