Olga's Story

Olga Yunter was born in the summer of 1900 in a small trading outpost on the Siberian steppes. and ahd a happy childhood there, living a life experiencing the rich culture of the many nations that lived in the region. But as millions of lives were lost in the bloody Russian Revolution of 1917, Olga and her family were caught up in her struggle to save the town from the marauding bloodthirsty Bolsheviks. Olga, with a price on her head for anti-Bolshevik activities was forced to flee Russia for northern China. She lost her home three times- first to the Bolshevik takeover of Russia, then to the Japanese invasion of China during World War II, and finally to the brutal takeover of China in the late 1940s by the Communists. We learn of the life of her Olga from her childhood in Siberia, where she married an Englishman and lived through invasion and civil war. A rich and eventful life on four continents told told by compassion and passion by the heroine of this true story's granddaughter. Interesting things we can glean from this book is that a large proportion of the Bolshevik forces during the Russian Civil War (1918-1920) were German and Austrian prisoners of war. The Bolsheviks were from the beginning a movement against the Russian people. That the Bolsheviks were the first to use cattle cars to transport people to labour camps and forced exile, and that there were various different foreign communities in the northern Chinese town of Tientsin were Olga and her family lived for some years. The story of a remarkable woman living through earth-shattering and bloody events, and about experiences with people from all different walks of life and the many different nations and traditions with which she came into contact.

I have never read a more compelling story. The author's grandmother Olga was a fascinating woman who led a remarkable life spanning three continents. Ms. Williams has woven the stories Olga told her over the years together with extensive research to create a vivid biography. It is filled with human drama and rich history -- much of it unfamiliar to Westerners. Lively, artful writing enhances this extraordinary book which I thoroughly enjoyed and highly recommend.

The machinations of war and revolution come alive as the threads of one family's life are interwoven throughout the history of two World Wars, the Bolshevik Revolution and the rise of Communism. This book was especially poignant for me: my grandmother too was born in Russia. White Russian or Red, ordinary people were capriciously affected by the power struggle. Coincidentally,I read the book while on a two week trip to Shanghai, China and walked along the Bund (where some of the old buildings still remain standing) imagining the countless people affected by the Japanese invasion and by Mao's rise to power. I've also visited Victoria in beautiful British Columbia, Canada where Olga temporarily took refuge. This book has given me an understanding at how quickly events change. I pray that the free world will never again be overrun by those who wish to impose their views on society.