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Summary: Great book about the triumph of the individual.
Review: What an incredible book! It is a short one day read with no chapters and literally details one day in the life of a prisoner of the Gulag from waking up until giving thanks at night. If you ever wanted to know what it would be like to take each day one hour at a time this is the book for you. We are given just a brief insight into what life was like for the prisoners but I imagine that no book could truly tell their tale and have any of us truly understand. That said, this book does as good a job as could be done. The bitter cold, the cruelness of the guards, and the cruelness of the other prisoners are all detailed here. It is hard to imagine anyone living that way for 8 or more years and for that reason it is truly a testament to how we are able to survive and cope. I didn't want to put it down once in fear that I would miss what would happen next. By just concentrating on one day we are given insight without being overwhelmed and we are given just enough information to make us horrified and curious but still wanting more. I would recommend this book to anyone and not just an history buff as the story runs very well. I just purchased "The Gulag Archipelego" and cannot wait to read it too!
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Summary: Review of One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich
Review: This book is an excellent example of the horrors of the Stalinist work camps (Gulag) that were in existence for most of Russia's modern history. Alexander Solzhenitsyn masterfully weaves descriptions of minute details, which, surprisingly, do not become tedious, but provide a better understanding of the task or action that the main character performs, with a universal theme that all people can relate to - survival. The title accurately describes the setting of the book; its entirety occurs in one day of the life of Ivan Denisovich, a prisoner. This may confuse some in that everyday tasks and unique events around this main character provoke flashbacks more often than not, and provide a complete picture of this man's life before he was imprisoned and since he has been serving his ten-year sentence. All in all, this book has a superior edge to most other books on this same subject in that its author, ALexander Solzhenitsyn, went through the same struggles as the main character of the novel, providing valuable insights, thoughts, and emotions that tie the novel together. An excellent read - one that I would recommend to anyone.
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Summary: Good, but overrated
Review: This is certainly a good book. However, the minute descriptions of the work in the camp become tedious. Dostoevsky's House of the Dead is far, far superior in every way. Still, this book is definitely worth the read.
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Summary: Experience the life of a Russian prisoner
Review: Solzhenitsyn takes the reader into the world of Ivan Denisovich. The description of daily activities and reactions to others in the prison bring the reality to a level unprecidented. A great classic and must read for any lover of literature, Russian or other.
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Summary: Rude awakening
Review: I've used Solzhenitsyn's novel in the classroom to teach college students in the U.S. how to write a research paper; and this book has been also part of a literature course for 13-16 year old high school students in the Caribbean. It's a small book and is relatively easy for students to read, and they generally like it. Solzhenitsyn's One Day is a survival manual which exposes the horrors of the Soviet gulag system and presents human suffering under an oppressive system. One empathizes with Shukov and his fellow prisoners and is horrified by a system of government in which rule of man trumped rule of law. One Day can be read from a Christian perspective and ought to be discussed in conjunction with the U. S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Quite often, I've taken both approaches to it as a way of impressing how fortunate Americans are to live in a society of rule of law. This novel is good reading for kids from 12+, and adults will also find it enjoyable.
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Summary: You can tell which prisoners are going to die soon...
Review: ..they're the ones who lick other prisoners' bowls after the others have finished eating.No understanding of the 20th century is complete without knowledge of the Soviet labor camps. This book provides that in a couple of hours.
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Summary: one day in the life of Ivan Denisovich
Review: One day in the life of Ivan Denisovich, by Alexander Solzhenitsyn, is a story about a man, Ivan Denisovich, who lives in a Russian concentration camp. Presenting what is described as a typical "good" day at the camp, the book portrays the incredible pain and constant struggle interwoven in the daily experience at the camp.
The story begins with a wake up call, harshly delivered against the still-black sky. Ivan, who is freezing, tired, and aching, does not want to wake up. The warder informs Ivan that he will be punished for this decision with time in the "can"-a cold place of isolation in which prisoners are given even smaller portions of food than normal. The can is tolerable, according to Ivan, as long as you can work to keep warm. But as he follows the warder Ivan realizes that the warder is planning on having him mop the floor rather than having him stay in the can.
After Ivan finishes mopping he goes to the mess hall to get a warm bowl of gruel. Feeling very sick he decides to go to the hospital, but is sent back unassisted and unimproved. They tell him that they can only take two people out of work and those people have already been taken. He goes through morning call and his gang (the group that he sleeps, eats and works with) goes to the designated work site. They are working at building a power point. While their captain is trying to bargain for rates the gang finds different things to block off the windows and doors and to make a fire. Even though they sit by the fire, they cannot get warm. They go off to lunch and fight for trays to carry the gang's bowls on. Ivan also guards the bowls so no one can take the little food that his gang gets. The meal times and sleep are what they live for in the camp. Ivan eats his gruel slowly and manages to get an extra bowl by tricking the cook. After lunch the captain commands the gang to return immediately to work. They are laying bricks for the building. Ivan works hard to lay them perfectly, acknowledging the importance of making them straight the first time because the mortar freezes so fast. Ivan works at an amazing speed without making a mistake, while also watching everyone else's work to make sure the wall is being built straight. His work keeps him warm and he is aware that his portion size is contingent upon the amount of work that he does. Even after the sound rings to summon them to come in from their work Ivan does not let the mortar they made go to waste. He quickly lays more bricks and finds a spot where he can pour the rest of the mortar. After a long day of work they have the rest of the evening as free time. Ivan tells his friend Caesar that he will get in the line for packages while Caesar checks if he got a package. Caesar did get a package so he thanks Ivan and tells him that he can have his supper. Ivan is excited and knows that his wait in line was worthwhile. Ivan then goes to a friend who is selling tobacco and he buys some. Ivan returns to the barracks and he thinks about his day. He knows it has been a good day. He remembers about the extra food he got and his successful day at work. His pain is gone and he is able to have a cigarette. This is what camp life is all about, the simple things.
This book does not have a wide reaching plot and is more about the personal experience of characters then an action book. Yet, I think this book shows you a lot about how hard it was in a concentration camp. It therefore helps you appreciate your current circumstances.
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Summary: A poignant account of the Soviet gulag
Review: Solzhenitsyn's first book is a stark description of life in a Siberian prison camp. The protagonist, a WWII POW, is accused of spying for the Nazis and sentenced to 10 years of forced labor. The story is at its best in the matter-of-fact approach by which Ivan Denisovich Shukhov describes a typical day. The reader is not subjected to tales of brutality or beatings. Even fears of the effects of countless days in a dehumanizing environment seem to take a back seat to the mundane challenges of daily life in the gulag. Shukhov's description of meal time is a good example: "... their bowl of hot and watery soup without any fat was like rain in a drought. They gulped it down. They cared more for this bowlful than freedom, or for their life in years gone by and years to come." Solzhenitsyn's message is clear. Humility is easily stripped away under oppressive regimes, and survival becomes the end game. Only the strongest can hope to retain their dignity, and even they will eventually lose that battle as the years go by. "One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich" is a great intro to Russian literature, and a poignant account of post-war life in a Stalinist gulag.
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Summary: 3650 days to go plus 3 more for leap years
Review: This was a good read, not a great one, but an interesting one at that. A chilling historical look at a way of life that many had to endured due to the effects of war, and the survival of the fittest within the confines of a Siberian labor camp. Ivan Denisovich tells us about a "Good" day in this life that he's been sentenced 10 years to unjustly. He was an innocent man beaten to within inches of death when he signed a confession of treason to save his own life. Reveille was tapped out by a stick, on windows covered with two fingers thick ice, and on this particular morning the outside temperature was a mere 37 below zero, not cold enough to call work off for the day. It had to be 40 below for that event to take place. Clad in foot rags and wet felt boots, trousers, jacket, a hat, and makeshift mittens, the men fell out into the darkness of the beginning day in formation to be counted. Once hopefully, if the guards got the count right the first time, which didn't seem to happen very often. They survived on a watery soup. If one was lucky, he might find a bit of a potato, or even a remnant of fish in his bowl. For the most part, it appeared as dirty dish water, littered with discarded fish bones, which were welcomed by it's diner as they sucked on them to get whatever bits they could from them. Along with this they were served a 200 gram ration of bread. Then it was off to whatever work detail they were assigned to for the day. Today they would be fortunate, they would be laying a block wall. Inside work, which they were grateful for seeing they would be sheltered from the extreme bitterness of the flesh cutting winds that blew outside. The harder your worked for your foreman, measured by the amount of work accomplished, the unit would be rewarded with extra food portions. So needless to say, the survivalists kept on the backs of the slackers to ensure their fair share, which kept tension tight between the men. Ivan paints a very descriptive portrait about the men that he shared this life with, the pathetic camp conditions they overcame, and the hopes and dreams, both lost and found. I was a bit taken back when I realized this all took place in the 1940's, not so very long ago at all. It just seemed too barbaric for the era. I have to say this is a good historical piece, as well as a look at the human nature's fight to survive. It's a quick read, and worth taking a look at.
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Summary: A Gem of Soviet History
Review: One of the major values of Solzhenitzyn's work lies in the fact that it is semi-autobiographical. And as such, his work documents a time in Soviet (as well as world) history that is often overlooked by younger Western eyes. For those of my generation, born after 1978, the Cold War lacks the menace and frightening magnitude that it conveyed for over forty years. With the implosion of the Soviet Union in 1991, the history of Soviet Russia has evaporated from popular thought and has left a gaping whole in the education of American youth. U.S. schools fail to illustrate that the Soviet Union was an empire that spanned seventy-four years, and nearly controlled half of the world. Fortunately, One Day In The Life... brings the history of this deceased giant to bear. Solzhenitzyn sheds light on what was occurring behind "The Iron Curtain." His discussion of the infamous Gulag and the oppression of individual thought allows the reader insight into why some people were so utterly fearful of a "Communist" takeover. I was most impressed how Solzhenitzyn refrained from making an outward assault on Communist philosophy and instead concentrated on the misdeeds of the Soviet Union as a state. He allowed the reader to form his or her own opinions on the merits of collectivist thought, and instead recited his memoirs of living in the Soviet Union. This was a very impressive, short novel, and should be considered required reading for high school history classes when discussion the Cold War or Soviet history.
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