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Sara's Reviews > One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich
One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich
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The real significance of this novel lies in its exposure of the political system that fostered and supported the gulags of Soviet Russia. The writing is stark and matter-of-fact, just like the life of the gulag. It is weighty and yet there is no despair in the character of Shukhov. He brims with hope and appreciation. He is grateful when the weather is warm enough that the mortar doesn’t freeze. “It is a good day for bricklaying� he says.
What offence lands a man in such a prison? Very small infractions or none at all can draw a ten years sentence, and frequently that is extended, again without any explanation or reason. The injustice of the system is paled against the suffering inflicted in the camp, being worked at hard labor in freezing conditions, without proper clothing, with little food, and without any possibility of escape or rescue.
Perhaps the saddest thing is that prisoners become used to this life and come to value the small bits of joy they can squeeze from a crust of bread or a tobacco butt passed to them by a more fortunate inmate. And yet, that is what speaks to the spark of humanity that even these kinds of conditions cannot stifle...where there is hope there is life, without it how could any of them endure even a "good" day.
What offence lands a man in such a prison? Very small infractions or none at all can draw a ten years sentence, and frequently that is extended, again without any explanation or reason. The injustice of the system is paled against the suffering inflicted in the camp, being worked at hard labor in freezing conditions, without proper clothing, with little food, and without any possibility of escape or rescue.
Perhaps the saddest thing is that prisoners become used to this life and come to value the small bits of joy they can squeeze from a crust of bread or a tobacco butt passed to them by a more fortunate inmate. And yet, that is what speaks to the spark of humanity that even these kinds of conditions cannot stifle...where there is hope there is life, without it how could any of them endure even a "good" day.
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Reading Progress
November 9, 2016
– Shelved
November 9, 2016
– Shelved as:
to-read
May 20, 2018
–
Started Reading
May 20, 2018
– Shelved as:
cold-war
May 20, 2018
– Shelved as:
historical-fiction
May 20, 2018
– Shelved as:
russia
May 20, 2018
–
Finished Reading
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Fergus, Weaver of Autistic Webs
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rated it 5 stars
May 20, 2018 05:34PM
That's what I love about Solzhenitsyn - his Hope springs eternal. Wonderful review. I only skimmed this one as a kid, but will now make a point of revisiting it!
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I am really hoping to get to this one this month. I love your last paragraph, Sara. Everything becomes reduced to such simple 'pleasures' in the face of extreme hardship and injustices.
Fergus wrote: "That's what I love about Solzhenitsyn - his Hope springs eternal. Wonderful review. I only skimmed this one as a kid, but will now make a point of revisiting it!"I'm not sure Solzhenitsyn had so much hope himself, as much as an ability to see that it was the only thing that held people together when things become too extreme to be endured. He was certainly a brave man to expose the truth knowing what the price might be.
Candi wrote: "I am really hoping to get to this one this month. I love your last paragraph, Sara. Everything becomes reduced to such simple 'pleasures' in the face of extreme hardship and injustices."I've been trying to squeeze in too many reads this month, but this one is quite short and I read it in one day. Powerful imagery.
Funny you say that, Sara. Many, many years ago as an undergraduate I attended a literary gathering of emigres who had fled from Soviet Russia. I remember so clearly the main speaker insisting on Solzhenityn's (never readily apparent and disguised for political reasons) Christian beliefs!
That would make sense to me, Fergus. How interesting to have had contact with those people and know what it was from an insider's perspective. I knew several people (one very well) who escaped Castro's Cuba, so I know what they had to say about leaving Communism behind, but I do not think I have ever met a Russian emigre.
Great review, Sara. This book impressed me so much when I read it a long time ago. You wonder why there are still, till this day, people in Russia stating that life was so much better under Stalin!
Very puzzling, isn't it. I think people tend to forget the worst things and glorify the past. I see it already happening with WWII. We are losing all the veterans who fought the war, and the narrative is being rewritten.
I think the European experience is different in that respect. We still have the oral history of our grandparents and parents and more visable evidence from the war, reminding you what happened. Did you also read The Cancer Ward by Solzhenitsyn? Another really impressive novel.
We have the same, Hanneke, oral and of course scads of recorded first-hand evidence, but our history books are beginning to be written in a different way...so, I fear that when the oral is gone because all the people who lived it are gone, the recorded history can be suppressed and the truth can be eroded. I'm not sure why people like to do that, but I can see that what my great grandchild is being taught is not the truth in total, not lies exactly, just omissions.
Sara, a fantastic review reminding me of one of the books that I should have read !
Thank you, Angela. There are so many of those "must reads" that I wonder if I will ever get around to all of them.
Yes, I see your point, Sara, and you are right in that respect. History recording slowly changes in retropect. Interpretations of events can be differently viewed when new facts emerge.
Pardon me for throwing in my two cents. Back in the early 70's, S. was my hero for standing up to totalitarianism and for publishing The Gulag Archipelago. In there, he talks about rediscovering his faith in the infirmary of the gulag (he had developed cancer). That rediscovery is his element of hope. The original book was a long trilogy. Fortunately, a legitimate one-volume abridgment was created that includes all the most important stuff that sheds light on the rest of his work. /book/show/7...
Very good reviews of yours, Michael! Thanks!
Never apologize for adding to the discourse, Michael. I am out of my depth with Solzhenitsyn and know he is someone I need to read much more of before I can offer any real insight into his work. As a Christian myself, I think that is often the only hope people have against the cruelty and injustice of this world and I am so happy for those who have that rock to lean upon. I found this book amazingly readable and I hope to someday delve into the three volumes that have sealed his importance among modern writers. Although I was never blind to the atrocities under Stalin, It has certainly made me want to know more.
Sara you don't need to read the three volume set. It's long because S vowed to tell the detailed stories of those he knew who were destroyed by Stalin. He fulfilled that vow, but those details are not essential to his own story.The one volume, abridged version is best. It covers the rediscovery of his faith and all other essentials to his story.
Thank you, Michael. I will definitely check it out.
The scene in the infirmary, in which Solzhenitsyn assesses his life, is very moving. He has found real purpose and the courage to tell the truth no matter what may come. He prays to be saved from his cancer so he can carry this out.
I am in wonder that the Soviets allowed the publication of this book. They banned all his others. He had a great purpose to his life. I am glad he was able to fulfill his promise.
It happened during what historians called "the thaw." Stalin was dead and the Russians were feeling a bit more personal freedom under Khrushchev. A magazine, Novy Mir (a bit like our Life Magazine at the time), published "One Day." It had a tremendous reader response. But with the rise of neo-Stalinists, such as Brezhnev, it had to all go underground again. Secret manuscripts, known as samizdat, were passed around in the dissident community. A recipient would make a copy for himself, using a typewriter, and then pass on the original to another dissident. S had this image that even if the whole world was encased in cement, a living, green sprig would still grow out of one of the cracks. Such was his optimism
