Used to the comfort and security of life of the polish upper class she finds herself thrown into the harshest of conditions. There is no comfort whatsoever for the deported, they are forced to work in a mine and even later, when conditions improve a little, the discrepancy to the life Esther lost in Poland must have been overwhelming.

Despite of all this, the spirit of the book is very matter of fact, the story doesn´t get lost in self pity or complain. Esther Hautzig is eleven when they have to settle in a far off corner of the Siberian steppe and she recalls the arduousness’s of getting used to the total lack of comfort and security, she talks about families being ripped apart and people dying like flies. But in midst of all this hardship she is able to find beauty and friendship.

The Endless Steppe is not so much travel literature. It is a book about courage and optimism in the harshest of circumstances, about values and composure. And along the way you get to know a not so widely known aspect of the history of world war II – and the vastness and beauty of the Siberian steppe.

More about books: The Smart Travellers Guide to Armchair Travel