Spufford's writing style is exquisite. Some of the most unique and interesting prose I have ever read if you consider this book one sentence at a time.

Ultimately this fact made me rate the book itself 3/5 although it felt like a 2/5. I just could not get into it. Nothing engaged me, I drifted off reading and probably missed something important - but cared so little to go back and re-read that section.

Why? I struggle to pin that down. The concept and subject matter interest me. Having read a number of Russian texts about the period before, including the unabridged Gulag Archipelago, this one seemed right up my alley.

Fascinating in a way that I love the text and hate the story. will certainly try reading Spufford again.