This is the remarkable life story of Janine Milek. Born in Poland, she and her family were sent by the Russians to Siberia, where they were forced to work in labour camps. On their release they became refugees, spending time in Uzbekistan, Persia and Africa. Throughout these painful years of homelessness, starvation and hard work, Janine’s relatives died or were dispersed, leaving her alone for her migration to Western Australia in 1950. She began a new life working as a hospital cleaner and saving for her long-held dream of buying her own house. She befriended the Chappell family, including 18-month-old Tim, who as an adult began to tape Janine’s oral history. He has rewritten her stories to form this account, retaining the flavour of his friend’s language. The Persian Blanket is a readable but ultimately disappointing book, as the language and storytelling do not do justice to the material. While Janine’s experiences are extraordinary, this unsophisticated account does little to evoke them for the reader and makes no attempt to put them in any historical context. This is an interesting life story rather than a powerful memoir. Without the detail that might have brought her stories to life, this is a strangely unmoving book.

Mary Ellen Jordan is a Melbourne writer 

This review from Australian Bookseller & Publisher magazine is reproduced by kind permission of Thorpe-Bowker, a division of R R Bowker LLC. © Copyright 2008, Thorpe-Bowker

Tags: tim chappell and janine milek