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3.81 AVERAGE
3.81 AVERAGE
dark
reflective
slow-paced
dark
emotional
informative
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The simple cruelties and simple mercies described in this book are distilled from the core of what it means to be a person; we are inherently monstrous and utterly decent. Only in horrid circumstances does this most clearly show, and this book highlights those times perfectly. I hope never to live to see how people can truly be.
challenging
dark
informative
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
As a concept, this book was valuable to read to understand more about the soviet prison system, but it was also quite pointless. Understanding the stress and little control Shukov had in prison was interesting, but there were no chapters or sections to break up the book, nor was there any meaningful development after the first 30 pages or so.
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I read this over 20 years ago for a Russian literature course and the last lines had hit so hard they stayed with me until now and yet even though I knew they were coming, they hit just as hard on this reread. I think should be required reading for late middle school early high school. You feel along with Ivan. The characters are so realistic, neither perfect nor cartoon villains. The dehumanizing nature of totalities somehow blends with the indominable spirit in humans that refuses to be completely ground down - and both truths are weighted equally.
Woah. Eye-opening & so interesting to research the history around it and the effects of Solzhenitsyn’s work & how much it brought eyes to such evil and tragedy. What atrocities we commit against each other.
Tricky to review. Clearly an important book historically but I struggled with the first 100 pages and the abrupt writing style. It definitely got better and I enjoyed reading it for longer periods. Would read again, but would make sure to do it in one sitting.
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Had to read this for a course I took on Stalinism. Felt kind of slow for a short story, but very compelling and informative. It really gets into the detail of Ivan’s daily life that by the end of the book, you forgot that the whole thing was just one day, and not his entire sentence in the gulag. Very informing about the gulag system and Stalin’s cruelty during his time in power. A shame Solzhenitsyn ended up being a grifter and a Putinist, but I do appreciate what he’s done in contribution to telling the stories of gulag survivors
dark
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No