"Electrifying, passionate, devoted, despairing, exhilarating...a tale of hope, resilience, grit and love". ("The Times").
"The gulag story lacks individuals for us to sympathise with: a Primo Levi, an Anne Frank or even an Oskar Schindler. "Just Send Me Word" may well be the book to change that". (Oliver Bullough, "Independent").
"Immensely touching...a heartening gem of a book". (Anna Reid, "Literary Review").
"The remarkable true story of a love affair between two Soviet citizens...as much a literary challenge as a historical one: the book can be read as a non-fiction novel". ("Telegraph").
"Remarkable...Figes, selecting and then interpreting this mass of letters, makes them tell two kinds of story. The first is a uniquely detailed narrative of the gulag, of the callous, slatternly universe which consumed millions of lives...The second is about two people determined not to lose each other". (Neal Ascherson, "Guardian").
"A quiet, moving and memorable account of life in a totalitarian state ...The book often reads like a novel...captivating". ("Evening Standard").