Vitaly Nikolaevich Syomin's (1927- 1978) autobiographical novella "The Swallow-Star" continues the "military" series "Samokat". The title of the series - "How It Was" - explains the publishing concept: to tell about the Great Patriotic War honestly and objectively - as far as possible. The honesty is guaranteed by the names of the authors: these are Russian front-line writers, eyewitnesses of the described, people with an impeccable personal and creative reputation. Objectivity, we hope, will be ensured by the "scientific apparatus": in each book of the series, the work of fiction is supplemented by an article by a historian, presenting the modern view of the described events.
Sergei, the hero of "The Swallow-Star", grew up in Rostov-on-Don. In 1941 he was fourteen years old; he met the first bombings, battles for the city, German occupation as a seventh-grader, together with friends, parents, teachers, - the misfortune was shared, and this helped to bear its weight. But then Sergei had a personal war to fight, which he had to fight alone: taken to Germany, he became an Ostarbeiter (German Ostarbeiter - worker from the East), a disenfranchised and almost free labor force for the German masters, who effectively revived slavery. For middle and high school age.
Author: Syomin Vitaly Nikolaevich Illustrator: Bychkova Yulia Publisher: Samokat Series: How It Was Genre: Young Adult Literature ISBN: 978-5-91759-245-9 Pages: 288 (Offset) Weight: 420 g Dimensions: 206x147x19 mm
