A Novella To Appreciate Peace

Hunger by Elise Blackwell
My rating: 4 of 5 stars


It was tough to express sympathy to those victims of the Siege of Leningrad without doing additional research.

I've recently learned that:
a. Leningrad is the previous name of St. Petersburg, it may not be the Capital of Russian Federation, but it is their naval base.
b. The geography of St. Petersburg is landlocked by other capitols, and their only opening is the Neva River on the Baltic Sea - where the Baltic Fleet is on defense.
c. The seige took more than 800 days, with the only aim is annihilation.

With these snippet of facts, before reading the book, the siege would give you curiosity, and yes, additional information to appreciate. While reading along, the book gives soul, since the story of the siege is told in a first-perspective view of the botanist. After closing the book, I was a bit disappointed that tears did not come to me, but I heaved a deep sigh and appreciated that I was not part of that world. I was born after the revolution here in Manila - a nonviolent one - and that is why I am grateful that I live in a peaceful place.


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