One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
“Here lads, we live by the law of the taiga. But even here people manage to live. D’you know who are the ones the camps finish off first? Those who lick other men’s left-overs, those who set store by the doctors, and those who peach on their mates.”
Ever wondered what life was like in a Soviet gulag? Then you’ve come to the right place. Solzhenitsyn tells it like it is in this gruelling account of survival in a Siberian labour camp, where having to work outside in -21 degrees is considered nothing. Meet Ivan Denisovich Shukov, better known as S854. Having already spent seven out of his ten-year mandatory sentence at the camp; he has, like others, been reduced to a feral, instinctive state of mind. On the outside he is as inert and passive as can be, because it’s the only way to survive. Those who do not close off their souls, those who show their spark and their fight are the first to die.
From the first clang of the rail for reveille to the last clang at night, Ivan treads the fine path between obedience and rebellion; of pushing the limits and tempting fate. In these twenty-four hours we learn about the hardships of camp life and the complex relationships between the guards and the ‘zeks’. We learn that one good turn for an inmate has its’ profits and that the phrase ‘no man is an island’ is not just a proverb, but a lifesaver. The true enemy of a ‘zek’ is the tell-tale convict, the bitter cold and a three-day sentence in the cell if you are caught smuggling more than your share of thin, cold gruel.
In order to get by, palms have to be ‘greased’ and favours done, and this account reads like a ‘how to’ guide on the finer points of deceiving the regime by the skin of your teeth. In many ways, this is a thinly veiled autobiographical work, as Solzhenitsyn himself spent eight years in a Soviet camp for writing derogatory statements against Stalin. Therefore the parallels between him and Shukov are many.
I especially liked the details of prisoner politics and how the hierarchical system worked among convicts as well as guards. Power in prison was a fickle thing. You had to be useful, you had to somehow ‘indebt’ yourself to others, be indispensable in a way. Those without practical skills were often considered the bottom of the barrel. As a character, Ivan is quick-witted and lucky to be a mason which gives him some kudos in his circle.
Despite being quite a short read, most of the characters are well-formed. They all have a back story of sorts that Solzhenitsyn allows to filter through the narrative in indirect ways. His method allows the reader to glean information without departing from the main story. Despite the sub-human conditions, the starvation, cold and back-breaking work, Solzhenitsyn’s biggest lesson is about how the survivors pulled through due to the ‘small victories’ against the brutal regime they were under. It is no doubt that Solzhenitsyn, like Shukov, often risked his life for an extra lump of black bread during his own seven-year stint.
The best part of this book is at the end. For all those who grow to care for Shukov and his welfare is a few lines that tell us he did make it out after all:
“There were three thousand six hundred and fifty three days like that in his stretch. From the first clang of the rail to the last clang of the rail.
The three extra days were for leap years.”
What a wonderful book. In my case, by the end of the book, I understood he’d come to terms with his incarceration so it wasn’t bad for him anymore. Of course, I read it in the original Russian and they are a rather fatalistic culture.
I saw Way Back today, another story of the Russian gulags, but these detainees escaped. Great story.
I know, ‘fatalistic’ is a great way to describe them. But I suppose the literature of that time reflected the hardships people had to endure. Reading it in the original Russian would probably bring out that flavour three-fold.
There’s something about labour camps that draw my attention. I am reminded of the poem ‘Vultures’ by Chinua Achebe, who based it on Belsen. I often wonder how people find the strength to cope after being in there, regardless of whether they were the prisoner or the guard. It’s mindboggling.
I had the pleasure of reading this for a history course, and two aspects of it stay with me to this day.
One, and which you’ve nicely spelled out here, is the unexpected lesson that assimilation, not rebellion, would help one survive in a gulag. So often we hear that having a strong outward will, or the “spark,” is what ensures survival in these situations. I’ll take Solzhenitsyn’s word for it on this one.
Two is the irony of freedom. The zeks look forward to the day they’ll have freedom… but they have no clue what they’ll do with it. Or if they even CAN do something with it, since this is only “freedom” in the sense of a Stalinist society.
The world of labour camps turns everything on it’s head. Prisoners had their whole philosophies on life chipped away and replaced by a whole new set of rules that, unfortunately, don’t operate in the world outside.
You are right. When people first went in they raged against the shackles on their wrists. It’s only when they came out they became aware of the more permanent one on their heart.
This book sounds interesting to read, you got the entire series of this book or I need to buy it on store?
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