This was glorious. And heartbreaking. It felt so constricting I felt at times I couldn't make it to the end. It managed to convey the beauty of a Russian winter with the absolute horror of its impact during the siege.

This is the second book I have read recently set in a siege - the siege of Sarajevo being the last one I read. Both exploring the idea of what this kind of experience does to an individual's humanity. This one was more hopeful I think despite the sheer scale of the loss of human life that winter.