Part II, Chapter 5, No Luck Today, My Lady Death! Summary and Analysis

In Part II, Chapter 5, Ginzburg is brought to the Magadan Infirmary where she is treated and allowed to take baths. She is treated by Dr. Angelina Klimenko, the wife of a secret police investigator. She allows Ginzburg to remain in the hospital for a month to recover. She believes Ginzburg had been closer to death than any of the others.

When she returns to camp, to Hut 8 where she is assigned, Ginzburg feels as if she has betrayed her friends by being treated so well in the hospital. Some of them are spiteful toward Ginzburg; others understand. The hut is bare and cold. The hard labor to which Ginzburg is assigned consists of hacking at the earth with pick and shovel, simply to bide time...