• 1001 BYMRBYD Challenge
  • About Zee
  • Book Challenges 2010
  • Rory Gilmore Reading List
  • Zee’s Book Reviews

Wordly Obsessions

~ … the occasional ramblings of a book addict …

Wordly Obsessions

Tag Archives: Life of Ivan Denisovich

Book Review | ‘One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich’ by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

30 Sunday Jan 2011

Posted by mywordlyobsessions in Book Review, Excerpts

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

aleksandr solzhenitsyn, book review, Gulag, Joseph Stalin, Life of Ivan Denisovich, russian literature, Soviet, Soviet Union


One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich (Special Limited Edition)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.”

View all my reviews

Related articles
  • Fifty Years After ‘Denisovich,’ Traveling Back To Solzhenitsyn’s Gulag (rferl.org)
  • Two Gulags: A second warning to the West by Arthur Topham (radicalpress.com)
  • The book which shook the Soviet Union (bbc.co.uk)
  • A Russian Legacy – Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn (twicemodern.wordpress.com)
  • Musing Mondays (November 12) (wcs53.wordpress.com)
  • Aleksandr I Solzhenitsyn: A Prophetic Warning for the U.S.A. ? (therightofway.net)
  • “One story shook the Soviet Union.” (themillions.com)
  • Solzhenitsyn: ‘There’s Plenty of Freedom, But Little Truth’ | @ActonInstitute PowerBlog (palamas.info)

Share this:

  • Email
  • Print
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Reddit
  • Pocket
  • More
  • Tumblr
  • Pinterest
  • LinkedIn

Like this:

Like Loading...

RSS Links

RSS Feed RSS - Posts

RSS Feed RSS - Comments

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 635 other followers

Blog Stats

  • 335,739 hits

My Visitors

free counters

Recent Posts

Top Posts

  • Famous Quotes | Edgar Allan Poe
  • Book Review | 'Chronicle of a Death Foretold' - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
  • 10 Things You Should Know About Edgar Allan Poe
  • Book Review | 'A Streetcar Named Desire' by Tennessee Williams
  • Book Review | 'Veronika Decides To Die' - Paulo Coelho
  • Quick Review | '20 Fragments of a Ravenous Youth' - Xiaolu Guo
  • Hymn to Isis | (3rd-4th Century)
  • Book Review | 'The Diary of a Nobody' by George Grossmith
  • Book Review | 'The Running Man' by Stephen King
  • Quick Review | 'The Model Millionaire' by Oscar Wilde

The best of the best of the best…

Bookish tweets

  • @SuzaSays @macaraluv @ChrisEvans OMG. And a charity is born... The Evans Cable Knit Jumper Charity. Donated to the needy. Love it! 3 days ago
  • @ChrisEvans No worries. My mum will knit you one 😂😂 3 days ago
  • @PrestonSNorton My Best Friend's Exorcism by Grady Hendrix 5 days ago
  • @ChrisEvans My favourite scene 😂😂 That and the line #CSIKFC. HILARIOUS! 1 week ago
  • RT @Epic_Women: If you don`t understand my silence, then you don`t deserve my words. 1 week ago
Follow @WordlyObsession

Pinning stuff on boards is fun!

Follow Me on Pinterest

What’s on the Shelf?

Reading Wishlist!!

WP Book Bloggers List

For finding things…

50 books a year 1001 book list angela carter audiobook Benjamin Lebert book challenge book review books che guevara childrens fiction chinua achebe comic books crazy Dr. Gonzo dystopian edgar allan poe fantasy fear and loathing Fiction frankenstein goodreads gothic fiction Grapes of Wrath gustave flaubert Haruki Murakami hubert selby jr humour hunter s thompson ian fleming Indian literature Its monday what are you reading? japan japanese japanese horror story jm coetzee John Steinbeck Jorge Luis Borges kazuo ishiguro kurt vonnegut l. frank baum literary fiction literature liz jensen love story meme midnights children oscar wilde Paul Auster peter ackroyd poetry readalong religion roberto bolano Robert Rankin romance rory gilmore reading list rum diary ryu murakami salman rushdie science fiction short story stephen king sylvia plath teaser tuesday the motorcycle diaries the rapture Tokyo toni morrison Top Ten Tuesday United States ursula le guin virginia woolf war wondrous words wednesday writing

Blog at WordPress.com.

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.
Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy
%d bloggers like this: