One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich
Alexsandr Solzhenitsyn
182 pages
First published in 1962, in the Soviet journal Novy Mir
Translated by H.T. Willets
FSG Classics
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FTC disclaimer, in which I refrain from making some snide comment about the FTC and the Soviets: This book was purchased by me after Cass taunted me with the suggestion that not all Russians are wordy. I have a hard time resisting a taunt.
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Truth in advertising! This book really is one day in the life of Ivan Denisovich Shukov, who is a labor camp inmate in Stalinist Soviet Union. Solzhenitsyn describes the harshness of the setting (Siberia), as well as the highly regimented routine that the inmates must follow. Ivan Denisovich obsesses over food (how little there is, the poor quality, the food boxes sent to other inmates by family, whether or not he’s getting his required allotment of bread) and muses about time:
“He looked up at the sky and gasped; it had cleared and the sun was nearly high enough for dinnertime. Amazing how time flew when you were working. He’d often noticed that days in the camp rolled by before you knew it. Yet your sentence stood still, the time you served never got any less.” p. 67
Funny, time never flies when I’m working.
This is a succinct and gritty look of life in the camps. Interestingly, there were two editions when I was buying this at the bookstore, and the little I read of them both showed two radically different translations. I’m tempted to buy the other version for a comparison.
I seemed to be on a Siberia kick when I went to Hawaii. It started with Grounded, in which the author relates his travels by train across Russia…a large part of which is Siberia. Then I read Colin Thubron’s In Siberia, and I followed that up with this book, which was appropriate, as Solzhenitsyn gets a mention in In Siberia:
“Yet she cannot bring herself to indict Stalin. The red stars on her gate commemorate her brother and sister. All she had, killed in the war Stalin won. Her fragility is deceptive. She has been a schoolteacher all her life, and wields a didactic energy. ‘Stalin may gave been wrong sometimes, with all those arrests. But even those are exaggerated. I’ve read Solzhenitsyn and I’m not impressed. He could only write about what he knew, and that was limited. It gives him no authority to guess at numbers. Sixty million dead. Now the archives are opening, you’ll find the numbers are less, far less than what he says.’” pp. 211-212
In contrast to the Soviet die hard, I was impressed. Maybe this is because Cass was right, and I finally read a Russian that wasn’t wordy.
This is by far my favorite Russian novel (excluding Nabokov) that I’ve ever read.
Amanda´s last [type] ..Classic Weekly- An Introduction
I’ve actually never heard of this one, but I think I’m still scared by Russians to attempt. Actually, I’ve also been thinking about joining the War and Peace bandwagon but am holding out for Joyce.
Glad this one worked for you, Jill. And yes, I’m VERY curious about translations after reading Dostoevsky–though unfortunately I think we probably had the better one out there…
Trish´s last [type] ..Sunday Salon 32- Books for Future Generations
I have been wanting to read this book for a long time now, and haven’t taken the chance. It’s good to hear that it’s not too wordy, as you know, something like War and Peace can be!
zibilee´s last [type] ..Top 5 Reads of 2010
I really loved this book.
Word Lily´s last [type] ..Socks done- socks to come
Reading about Siberia in Hawaii … there is something seriously wrong with that. Glad to hear that not all Russian writers are wordy. Maybe Fyordor D sucked up all the words and left poor Alexsandr with none!
Jenners´s last [type] ..A Eulogy for My Mom
I have never read a single Russian book, that I am aware of. This sounds rather interesting, however. Great review!
April´s last [type] ..What Im Reading This Week
I read this so many years ago, yet it still remains vivid to me. I liked it far better than those lengthy Russian novels struggled through in high school!
When I first saw this book was written by a Russian, I figured it wasn’t for me, but after your review, I just think it might be.
I really enjoyed Dostoevsky’s House of the Dead which is semi-autobiographical about his life in a Siberian prison. It’s definitely a wordier novel, but I think it’s worth it.
Trisha´s last [type] ..Book Review- Room
I’ve never read Solzhenitsyn, but Cancer Ward has been recommended to me several times and is on my classics project list. I’m adding this one, too!
Erin´s last [type] ..Thoughts on “Like Water for Chocolate” by Laura Esquivel
I’m tempted to try Cancer Ward even though it’s like 39483240 pages, just because I like Solzhenitsyn so much…but maybe after all those pages I wouldn’t like him so much anymore.
Happy you took up my challenge and actually like a book by a Russian author! I see a couple others are thinking of reading it too…*evil cackle*
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Ok…. *deep breath* I have never read a Russian novel.
There… I said it.
What a load off.
I do realize I should try though…. is this safe one to try Jill?
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I’m glad you liked this one Fizzy. I just picked it up today. I am attempting to slowly make my way through all the Nobel Prize winners. My edition is translated by Hayward and Hingley, so I hope it is equally as good. I know what you mean about Soviets being wordy, for sure. I tried to read Dr. Zhivago a couple years ago and found it killer.
Robbie´s last [type] ..2011 in TBR Titles
Yay for non-wordy Russians! And so non-wordy that you’d buy a second copy and read it again? That’s pretty cool
Kim (Sophisticated Dorkiness)´s last [type] ..Review- Food Fray by Lisa H Weasel
I’ll take your word for this, Fizzy, and try it.
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