It’s a shame there are no reviews of this compelling memoir (July 2022) as it surely deserves more attention, not least because it’s about Lithuania, a less well-known European country for those outside it. Although it’s quite a complex and fragmented read, jumping about in time and place, it’s worth persevering with as it’s a powerful and evocative memoir of growing up in Lithuania over a turbulent century. The book opens with the author walking along Freedom Avenue in around 1938 and then a return walk around 2000, one of the many parallels the author explores along the way. She describes her childhood in the 1930s in Kaunas, then a prosperous European city in an independent country, goes on to the first Soviet occupation in 1940, followed by the Nazi takeover in 1941 and finally the return of the Soviets in 1944. So her adolescence and adulthood were spent under the Soviet regime with all that that implies. A central theme of the memoir is what happened to her father, a Jew, whose fate was kept from her for many years. We see all these tumultuous events through her eyes, and although at its heart it’s a family memoir, she also talks about friends and neighbours, and key cultural and political figures. An overview of Lithuania during much of the 20th century and thus of enormous interest to Lithuanians themselves as they try to make sense of the past, but also of great interest to non-Lithuanians. Many wonderful photographs enhance the reading. I hope that more people will be encouraged to discover this important and really fascinating book.

The Parallels of Dita; Surviving Nazism and Communism in Lithuania a memoir; by Silvija Lomsargyte-Pukiene

I had no idea what to expect of this book beyond what the title says. I was very happy I chose to read this book. It is written well in the translated English version but more importantly is the story of a life of a Lithuanian girl born in 1933. She experiences the take-over of her country by the Soviets, then the Nazis and once again by the Soviets until finally independence with the fall of the Soviet empire.
Her life during the years of war could have ended purely by chance. She describes times when bombs are dropped nearby or being strafed by fighter planes while trying to stay ahead of the Germans at one point and the Russian/Soviets as well.
The book contains many photos of her throughout her life which is nice to add images of what she looked like at six or sixty as well as her parents and grandparents.
If I have one request when the book is published would be a map of Lithuania and the surrounding countries. I had one open on my computer to follow along. Perhaps, this is just me as I like maps.
I am sure this is not a general book for all but it is a story of a woman’s life. I am a guy but I did enjoy reading this book I suppose because of the matter of fact way she lives, loves and sees good and evil while growing up.

I found the story interesting, I really liked all,the pictures thst were included. I don’t know if it was due to the translations, but I found the writing choppy and difficult to follow. There were few smooth transitions and it made reading the story more difficult.