The Long Walk by Slavomir Rawicz

Blogs,The Long Walk,Books,Hexham,war,Vercelli's,endurance

  

'DOOMED FROM THE START BUT A TRIUMPHANT END WITH A FEW INCREDULOUS DEVIATIONS'

                                       

 ....   Controversy ensued at the last meeting regarding reading books some people have already read or re-reading books already blogged!  The debate continues.  This resulted in a last minute decision to read The Long Walk by Slavomir Rawicz.  

....   The Long Walk was a long struggle for some but, finally, all of the hussies completed the book.  

This is a, supposedly, true story about a Polish Officer named Slavomir Rawicz, who, like many others living on the Polish Border, was wrongly arrested, convicted and sent to the Gulags for a life sentence along with many an 'out of line'  Prison Officer,  all imprisioned in the hostile world of Syberia.  Stay and die or escape and die were the only two options available.  This book takes the reader on Slavomir's incredible journey, along with 6 other escaped prisoners, trekking for 9 months through the most treacherous conditions known to man from Syberia to Tibet, and, ultimately ....  Freedom!  I say, 'supposedly', because after being drawn into a relatively enjoyable, easy page-turner of a book, following their incredible journey, questions began to arise.  After a quick Google!  The bubble of enjoyment had burst and doubt ensued.  However,  as one hussies remarked, 'even if he didn't actually do the walk, someone did'.

....   The hussies thoughts regarding the book were rather mixed.  They all did agree it was a good page turner covering an epic journey.  However, one hussie felt that the arrest, trial and torture at the beginning of the book was unnecessary and did not enhance the story or do the book any justice.  It did put her off continuing, but with perseverance it proved worthwhile.  Also, certain parts made for an incredulous story, namely, the sighting of a, not so plausible, 'abominable snowman'.  That apart, it was still a good read showing tenacity and endurance, with an interesting geography lesson thrown in for good measure.  Another hussie felt it was a little contrived.  Always finding food or water at the 11th hour, surviving the Gobi Desert in their condition and never intentionally harming anyone or stealing from anyone on their journey.  The writing may have lacked a little substance which could have been due to translation and also the fact that it was an account rather than expressive or creative novel.  That said, we did feel an empathy for the individual characters even though pronouncing the Russian names proved bothersome.  Another hussie,  likewise, felt some of the extreme conditions were insurmountable, ie.  Surviving the winter night standing huddled together in the Himalayers.  Questioning what the other two died of in the desert and maybe giving a bit more insight into the politics and societies of the countries they were passing through.  Also, the book did finish rather abruptly leaving you wondering what happened to the men and why only one ended up telling the story.

....   Once the authenticity was questioned, it did raise a lot of unanswered questions which made for an interesting discussion.  Maybe because our generation has never experienced war or such hardship in travelling on foot in such adverse conditions, we could never contemplate such a story to be true!  As pointed out, there would have been many debriefings and, maybe, some more exaggerated than others, but, one thing is for sure .... Someone walked it and it was a good read!!

Image from http://www.vercelli.co.uk/css/images/location.png.

....   Vercelli's was chosen for our discussion night, firstly, because last time one of the hussies couldn't make it and, secondly, the food was previously good and we thought it deserved another try.  It is a larger than usual Italian so ambience and coziness are not words that come to mind.  However,  in general the food, service and portion sizes were very good, albeit, a touch expensive in some hussies eyes.  King Prawns and Scallops do come at a price..

....   Staying with the theme of true stories and non-creative writing!  No disrespect!  We are dipping into the medical world to investigate .....

                                       'The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot'

                                              

Join us for, what should be, an interesting discussion !

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

Medical ethics and racial injustice. Discuss...

Yes this months choice did read more like a thesis than a summer read but its' no nonsense style gripped the Hussies and spurred them on to the end. Skloots' non fiction best seller tells the human story behind the HeLa cells. It is a testament to her skill as a writer that she manages to combine science and humanity in a way that engages the reader and doesn't require any subject specific knowledge. For those unfamiliar with  He La cells this book gives a comprehensive account of their successful growth and subsequent immortality in a lab dish. The reader learns how the cells have been used by scientists over the years for incredibly diverse purposes, not just in America but across the whole world and beyond, even travelling in to outer space. 

The author covers the facts behind the harvesting of the cells from their owner, a young black woman called Henrietta Lacks, hence the name He La cells.  Henrietta never knew nor agreed to her cells being used for medical research, however at that time it was seen by the medical profession  as a form of payback for free medical treatment. Henrietta was poor and had no medical insurance and in 1951 Baltimore black people did not have access to the same medical care as their white counterparts. She died from cervical cancer in 1951, a time when it was the norm for Dr's to use parts of their patients for medical research without gaining consent. The author sites other cases in America where patients were used as guinea pigs for medical research. The book raised questions about ethics and racial discrimination but a lot of the things that happened were of their time and modern medicine has moved on so much its hard to imagine any procedure going ahead without full written consent.

The book is of interest to non medics because it delves into the family history of Henrietta, highlighting the poverty and chaos some people have to endure. Dysfunctional interbred families that go on repeating the mistakes of past generations out of ignorance and circumstance. Skloot met with the family of Henrietta Lacks and discovered that they had no idea that her cells continued to live 20 years after her death. She highlights the misunderstandings that can arise when two worlds come together. Henrietta's husband believed his wife was still alive and locked in a prison cell when he was first told of the existence of the HeLa cells. His daughter worried that her mother could feel the pain of all the experiments conducted on her cells. We don't know how we would feel on hearing our long dead relative had immortal cells until we were in that position. A certain level of anger would be understandable especially given that some scientists have made a lot of money from the HeLa cell line whilst the family remain poor and unable to afford basic medical care. Of course we all agreed that it would be an impossible undertaking to trace every person who had ever donated body tissue to medical research and give them their fair share of any money made.

A well written interesting read that we would all recommend, not as dry as it first sounds.

The book was discussed at The Barrasford Arms, Barrasford, Northumberland. A picturesque village pub surrounded by castles and countryside, home to top chefs Tony Binks and Richard Muncaster. The food was of a very high standard, all agreed it was well worth the £30 per head for two courses  including the tip. Tempura King Prawns for starters were huge and well worth the £6.50 price tag, as was the slightly cheaper minestrone soup. We all went for the same main course, Roe buck on a bed of mash, very nice but could have benefitted from a bowl of summer vegetables, although we were all too full for pudding. The service was friendly and efficient leaving the Hussies with ample time to discuss the book. A great venue to which we will  return.