Shallow Graves in Siberia

De: Michael Krupa

Narrado por: Branko Tomovic

This is Michael Krupa’s story of how in 1939 he escaped the German invasion of Poland only to be captured by the Red Army, accused of espionage, and interrogated in the notorious Lubianka prison. He was then sent to the infamous Pechora Gulag, where most inmates died of overwork and starvation within a year. Amazingly, Kupra then escaped and made the gruelling journey from Siberia to Afghanistan.

This is a remarkable true story of survival and also gives a chilling insight into the brutality of Stalinist Russia. It reads like a thriller and is in the mould of Defiance, and Touching the Void in tales of human survival and endeavour against the odds.

©2004 Michael Krupa (P)2011 Audible Ltd

Amazing Story of Courage against all Odds

Would you listen to Shallow Graves in Siberia again? Why?

I would listen to it a couple of years from now. This book reads as if it is a movie.
Suspenseful, Fast Moving, and Gripping!

What did you like best about this story?

Michael Krupa is a man of faith. The overall story tells of many tragic near-death situations that are true to life and really happened. Although he never refers to this, as the listener, I began to believe that Michael received help from above. There were too many circumstances with an innocent bystander coming along side Michael getting him through really tough scrapes to believe they were accidental.

I liked Michael's prayerful approach to God, Our Savior, and believe that his conditions moved his heart - Bigtime. There is no more honest prayer than from a person who is in dire and desparate circumstances……
God brought him to freedom….

Which scene was your favorite?

Crossing the border

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

How much do we appreciate our freedom?

Any additional comments?

It is unbelievable how cruel and evil some people can be…….This book is a battle between
Good and Evil -
Proof that God is here if we call on him
Proof that the devil is also here and will harm us if he can.

Worth a listen; much better than some other reviews claim

This is a solid 4-star book. Not the very best, but good, and definitely worth a listen if you have an interest in the Soviet gulag / prison system, Polish history, or adventure / survival stories in extreme conditions. It’s an enjoyable story.

The book is notably similar to “The Long Walk” by Sławomir Rawicz. They’re not identical, but similar, and they make a good matched set if you’re up for a pair of listens.

The narrator of this book is also *much* better than some other reviews on here would have you believe with their bigoted gripes about “English speakers only please.”

The narrator has a moderate Slavic accent (probably Polish? but I’m less familiar with that than some other Slavic accents), which is arguably appropriate to the story. If that’s unfamiliar to you, the audio sample for this book may not really give a good feel for it. If you’ve ever had a long conversation with someone who has an accent different from your own, you’ll find the same here — it can be a little disorienting at first, but you’ll easily catch on to the way he speaks before long, and then you’ll hardly notice, or even enjoy it. Despite his accent, he’s clearly fully fluent in English — all of his pronunciations are consistent, confident, and unhesitating. I had no trouble listening at my usual 1.5 speed.

So his accent makes the narrative feel more real and authentic in some ways, which is a plus. AND more importantly than what accent he uses, he performs the text with a steady, practiced cadence that also indicates he has professional experience as a voice actor.

In fact, my sole issue with the performance is a slight quibble over tone. The narrator consistently performs with a laid back, laconic, dry tone. This is also arguably authentic to many Slavic people, especially Soviet survivors, so it’s not wrong at all. I just don’t prefer it personally, because it makes the book feel somewhat more academic, with very subdued emotion. But it does work fine for the text once you start to hear it as the suppressed world-weariness of traumatic survival, and so I came around to it eventually.

One final note: Is it really a true story?

I’d say probably — but the one kernel of doubt is that questions have been raised about whether that other book, “The Long Walk,” is actually true. There’s some inconclusive evidence that it may be fabricated, including claims that it’s true-ish, but it’s actually someone else who made the escape in that story.

Given the similarities between the books, it strikes me as possible that if one is false, both might be, with the second conceived to cash in on the success of the first.

But does it matter? No. Both books are fun and meaningful reads that give an accurate *sense* of the topics discussed, so I’d still recommend them both even if they were proved to be “historical fiction,” so to speak. And on balance, I’m inclined to believe that both are probably mostly authentic.

After all, even the great Solzhenitsyn could be coy about the “non-fiction-ish” accuracy of his works — true in spirit if not in every detail, so to speak — in part because he was depicting things he didn’t personally witness, or was attempting to remember from decades after the fact.

Awe inspiring true story of survival

Rarely does a book or story truly impact ones life, leaving in its aftermath profound contemplation. I thank God, Micheal Krupa lived to share his experience. And I thank Michael Krupa for having the heart to write it all down. A great treasure in the annals of the human race.

Harrowing Story of Survival

This is a nearly incredible story of a young man who during WWII was caught up in the eerily irrational cruel world of the Stalin Gulag. The story tells of the terrible treatment of prisoners, and the tender heroism of those who helped the narrator escape. It???s a one of a kind memoir.

The Narrator adopts a very slight polish accent, but it does not intrude or distract from the reading of the book.

My review

Sad and inspiring. Brilliant and courageous. Well worth the read. This is a must read.