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4.26 AVERAGE
4.26 AVERAGE
I read this when I was living in Chile in 1994. I found it fascinating and horrible, how random people could find themselves caught in the machinery of the state, with no recourse, no way out, and no hope for the future. It was like 1984, but real. What a nightmare! I was never able to read any of the subsequent volumes, but this one was enough to live an indelible impression.
I’ve read quite a few books about inmate’s experiences in the concentration camps of Nazi Germany, but never did I know much about the Gulag camps of Soviet Russia, which lasted much longer and are almost unknown even to the modern day. I know why this book is considered so exceptional, as Solzhenitsyn examines both general human experience as well as specific lives of the prisoners in the Gulags. It’s a dark book, not shying away from the horrific experiences the prisoners faced, and I can highly recommend it, whether you read an abridgment or decide you’re insane and want to read the full one as I am.
Full review on my blog: https://madamewriterblog.com/2019/12/11/book-review-the-gulag-archipelago-by-aleksandr-solzhenitsyn-volume-1/
Full review on my blog: https://madamewriterblog.com/2019/12/11/book-review-the-gulag-archipelago-by-aleksandr-solzhenitsyn-volume-1/
informative
reflective
I can't think of many books that have impressed more than this one. If this is an "experiment" in literary investigation, it has to be one of the most successful in human history. The attention to detail—the horrifying atrocities, the human moments amidst them, the humor implicit in even the darkest times—woven through each vignette, whether about Solzhenitsyn's own life, someone else he knew, or Soviet history in general, is staggering. He can describe panoramas as well as he can put instances under the microscope. The fact he's as funny as he is too is just icing on the cake. It's enthralling straight through and it's crazy to think, over 700 pages later, that this opus of his is just revving up. People were calling this essential reading right after it came out and I think they're still right now and always will be.
It's not quick or easy reading, but it is urgent and necessary history that shouldn't be allowed to disappear into the forgotten. The research undertaking is massive, and the pace keeps up [save that overly-long extremely dry (humor-wise) middle section about the legal system] because he goes from person to person, experience to experience, within chapters, paragraphs, sentences. The sheer volume of it is astonishing and the delivery of it is so matter-of-fact that the seeming-ordinariness contributes to the horror at both the events and the possibility that it could easily happen again.
Riveting, except for the trials in the middle, which all start to sound the same (the point, I know).
challenging
dark
sad
slow-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture
challenging
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
My Star Rating Breakdown:
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ --Perfection! I ADORE this book. I will read it over and over and over again. Will rant and rave about this to anyone who will listen.
⭐⭐⭐⭐.5 --So, so, so good. I have no complaints, but not every book can be my “favorite” so…
⭐⭐⭐⭐ --Now this is what I'm talking about! Wonderful. I enjoyed it a lot.
⭐⭐⭐.5 -- Not bad! Definitely above average but not quite a favorite. I would be willing to give it another go.
⭐⭐⭐ -- Average. I didn't love it or hate it, but I would happily recommend it to someone who I think might love it.
⭐⭐.5 -- Ehhh. This wasn't great. Or, it was an okay story but there were too many technical errors.
⭐⭐ --I'm not impressed. Hopefully it was a library book and I didn't pay money for it.
⭐.5 --Not the worst book I've ever read, but it was a close call. Might recommend to someone I don't like.
⭐ --Wow that was bad. No redeemable qualities. I dislike everything about it. I don’t condone book burning, but this might be an exception.
challenging
informative
slow-paced
A classic of Russian history
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture