One of the most extraordinary literary documents to have emerged from the Soviet Union, this is the story of labor camp inmate Ivan Denisovich Shukhov and his struggle to maintain his dignity in the face of Communist oppression. Based on the author's own experience in the gulags, where he spent nearly a decade as punishment for making derogatory remarks against Stalin, the novel is an unforgettable portrait of the entire world of Stalin's forced work camps. An instant classic upon publication in 1962, it confirmed Aleksandr ...
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One of the most extraordinary literary documents to have emerged from the Soviet Union, this is the story of labor camp inmate Ivan Denisovich Shukhov and his struggle to maintain his dignity in the face of Communist oppression. Based on the author's own experience in the gulags, where he spent nearly a decade as punishment for making derogatory remarks against Stalin, the novel is an unforgettable portrait of the entire world of Stalin's forced work camps. An instant classic upon publication in 1962, it confirmed Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn's international stature as "a literary genius whose talent matches that of Dostoevsky, Turgenev, Tolstoy" (Harrison Salisbury).
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Absolutely fantastic. I swallowed it whole in one sitting. The stile mixes between first person and third person narrative, but it does so in an intelligent way. It's a very interesting read, and considering the fact it's a relatively short book, I reccomend any person with even a passing interest in Russian litterature, or the Gulags, read this. It won't take long, but it is well worth the money.
mrsp
Sep 15, 2011
Excellent
Great piece of literature that illustrates the true nature of Russian prison camps. Gives enormous insight into the nature of man, as an individual and in a society.
Ron Townsend
Mar 29, 2007
One day in the life of a Soviet
When my history teacher in my sophomore year in high school had us read this book there was concern that he was teaching us communism. That is true. He was teaching us just how bad it was in Soviet Russia and later as an adult I read 3 books by Dostoyevski and Tolstoy which greatly reflected how I better understood the Russian mind. Today, I feel we can still have good relations with the Russians. And that makes the suffering of those in the Soviet archipelago much more meaningful. I also read one of Solzhenitzen's books in graduate school and I feel like I am much better informed about our neighbors in the East. I am not a political science major. My major was in chemistry and Sakharov's bio was very good too.
