THE GULAG ARCHIPELAGO
by Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn
THE GULAG ARCHIPELAGO
Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn |
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 650)
Read in December, 2007
recommends it for:
Russion Lit/History buffs, with strong stomachs
Although this was really tough to slog through, by its end, I'm on the edge of my seat to read more. I hadn't known this was a seven part work, encapsuled in three volumes. I agree with another reviewer--it is hard to rate this (volume 1) with a certain number of stars, the implication being that everyone should read it--this is not your pollyanna bedtime story. But it is such an IMPORTANT work. Thank you to those who've translated it and distributed it. I hope all who value the first volum...more
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Read in January, 1975
recommends it for:
everyone
This might be the best book written in the twentieth century. It is, of course, an important historical document. Its six books one by one deal with the entire experience and history of the GULAG system; not just in terms of events but in the effect words and concepts have on reality. Here is where this book transcends history and rises to greatness. Solzhenitsyn uses the GULAG system to define the moral bankruptcy of the society and the philosophy that produced this nightmare, barbed-wire world...more
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Read in February, 2008
recommends it for:
Soviet history buffs, Russian literature fans
One of the most compelling non-fiction texts I've ever read. I naively picked this up after reading One Day In The Life of Ivan Denisovitch thinking it would be a longer version of a similar concept. Instead, it turns out this mighty work is half well-researched investigation into the processing of Soviet political prisoners and half personal account of the author's own experience in the "sewage-waste disposal" that led to the gulag.
I'll concede that Solzhenitsyn's personal accoun...more
I'll concede that Solzhenitsyn's personal accoun...more
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Read in October, 2007
This is not an easy read, and nor was it ever meant to be. It was originally written in Russian for Russians, and the odd sensibilities and colloquialisms that irritate many of my fellow Anglophones reflect this fact. It's extremely dense, and I probably won't get to the other four parts in the near future. However, anyone with an interest in the history of Communism, the Soviet Union, or political repression in general should read it. Yes, it's tedious, and it is tough going if you've never...more
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Read in January, 2002
This is the most significant non-fiction book that has been written in human history. This is the most significant positive book that has been written in human history. A few books are more significant, but they stray toward fiction and negative impacts here and there. This book is highly entertaining and gripping. I don't think that entertaining is necessarily the wrong word. This is a book about the survival, triumph, and complexity of the human spirit against a crushing system. That is high u...more
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This is an absolute must-read. Part history, part literature, Solzhenitsyn's Gulag Archipelago catalogues the crushing horror of the Soviet gulag system under Josef Stalin, anecdote by anecdote. It is literally an attempt to record the entirity of the varied gulag experience, from arrest to release (or death), of both the prisoners and the guards. If you're easily depressed by human suffering, prepare to be depressed, but this book is not primarily a list of Soviet atrocities. It is a story abou...more
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Read in January, 1995
I read this book looking for the story of people who were tortured, who lost everything, and still resisted evil. I found them. What Solzinietzin did with this book was take the years of imprisonment, torture, and other misfortunes that made up his adult life under the Soviet Regime, and tell all the stories. It's a long read, full of anecdotes that will make it worth it.
Also, its is a very comprehensive look at totalitarianism. This is a man who spent years tortured, in labor camps, h...more
Also, its is a very comprehensive look at totalitarianism. This is a man who spent years tortured, in labor camps, h...more
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Well, I actually liked reading this book, but had trouble accepted the politics. Solzhenitsyn's liberal use of "facts" and "truth" is no real matter when considering the conditions and constraints of the political climate at the time. However, there are some justified criticisms that need to be addressed. There are a few points where Solzhenitsyn tends to glamorize life in Tsarist Russia as easy and free of oppression which tends to give one the feel that this is written by...more
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I read this when it first came out. I was 'way too young to understand it all--I think in 7th or 8th grade. However, it did give me a sense of balance and an understanding of the limits of socialism as I grew up and read other things that were more leftward leaning. So I guess I got the basic point. Totalitarian state = bad. Then I read it again, when I was in college, I think--the same battered silver copy I read when I was a kid, and I realized what a rich book it was. A.S. is one of those ra...more
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I need to qualify my rating of three stars. Solzhenitsyn's writing is strong, detailed and justified considering much of what he writes about comes from personal experience. I understand, in fact, that this book could have easily never been discovered in the west had it not been smuggled out. All of this being said, the book is difficult.
It is long and painful to read. I believe that this period in Russia's history shows both the best and the worst that humanity is capable of. Each page ...more
It is long and painful to read. I believe that this period in Russia's history shows both the best and the worst that humanity is capable of. Each page ...more
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Read in August, 2008
This book is an absolute must for anyone interested in Russian history. It is filled with fascinating and gruesome descriptions of mental and physical breakdown in the USSR's gulag system. Despite the utter hopelessness described, Solzhenitsyn's unfailing humor in the face of life's cruel ironies makes the reader feel as if he were talking to you, telling you his story over a couple of beers at a bar. I found this book truly stomach turning, and it takes a lot to shock me.
The long chapters ...more
The long chapters ...more
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Read in October, 2006
recommends it for:
everybody
Given its historical importance, I fully expected that The Gulag Archipelago would be a lofty read. What I didn't expect was that it works so well as a story. Instead of being a straight history book, Gulag lies somewhere between journalism and history, and Solzhenitsyn's narrative voice is familiar and engaging. The book feels less like a history lesson, and more like a conversation with a good friend who knows how to put together and express an interesting, important, h...more
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Read in January, 2006
recommended to Charles by:
Book of the Month Club 1975recommends it for: Thinkers
What can I say about this book that hasn’t already been said? Perhaps, that if you are interested in simple subject historical writings, this is definitely not the book for you. I first read this as a Sergeant in the Marines in 1975 and have reread it several times over the years. It moves at a Snell’s pace but slowly engulfs the reader as if you were the Russian peasant that Solzhenitsyn was writing for. Gulag Archipelago is not so much a history of Stalinism, as it is a story of surviv...more
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Read in February, 2008
I only read volume II of this book but this was the only option Goodreads gave me. This book is so big and it took me months to read, a little bit at a time. At times it was onerous but I feel vindicated in having gotten through it because whenever there was a part that was a little bit too long and tedious and I was skimming in full force it was followed by a part that was super insightful and interesting. If you want to know more about this huge part of history and how the Gulags changed pe...more
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Read in January, 1998
You can't really deal with this book without dealing with the samizdat phenomenon simultaneously. I've met a woman who read the entire thing in one night. Being a slow reader, I couldn't possibly imagine that; and asked her how she got through it? "Well. You only had one night to take the book, type out another version while simultaneously 'reading' it, and pass both copies on. More than one night, and it wasn't safe." I feel like this book was written by an entire generation of ...more
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Solzhenitsyn tells a historical/autobiographical story of the Soviet labor prisons and how Lenin and Stalin murdered and enslaved millions because of racism, paranoia, for political retribution and to construct the nations infrastructure.
If you don't have time to read all 512 pages then read "One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich" - it's told in a shorter more narrative form.
WARNING: Don't read it the winter - like I did - it's too depressing!
Read Dostoevsky's "The ...more
If you don't have time to read all 512 pages then read "One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich" - it's told in a shorter more narrative form.
WARNING: Don't read it the winter - like I did - it's too depressing!
Read Dostoevsky's "The ...more
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I read this book many years ago but can still remember so much of it. It is the searing, gut wrenching true story of one man's struggle during the worst of times. His courage and tenacity combined with the stark cruelty that surrounded him is a lesson in just holding on. My kids tease me about this book, I have at least two of these on my book shelf, but it's one of those unique reads that makes an imprint on your life. He was an amazing soul who endured a time in his life most of us cannot ...more
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Read in August, 2006
Sad, sad book. What happens to a country that doesn't have a written law? Read this.
All of these non-fiction books about what systems can cause human being to do to one another are valuable lessons. Today (Feb 2008), it makes me think about my own government secretly arresting and whisking people away then beating confessions out of them. Hm, I guess if you can make and execute your own laws, terrible things can happen.
If you read this one and Wild Swans together - they are a good match....more
All of these non-fiction books about what systems can cause human being to do to one another are valuable lessons. Today (Feb 2008), it makes me think about my own government secretly arresting and whisking people away then beating confessions out of them. Hm, I guess if you can make and execute your own laws, terrible things can happen.
If you read this one and Wild Swans together - they are a good match....more
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A Harrowing account of the times in Russia under Stalin.. I had to attempt to read it twice not because of the penmanship but rather how desperately sad the book can be.
His literary ability to be able to recount such things without any bitterness and with such humour in places enabled me to struggle on and finish it.
Most definitely worth reading if even just to realise that things are not so different today...
His literary ability to be able to recount such things without any bitterness and with such humour in places enabled me to struggle on and finish it.
Most definitely worth reading if even just to realise that things are not so different today...
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Read in September, 2002
recommends it for:
Anyone interested in history
This book, partially written while Alexsandr Solzhenitsyn was imprisoned in the Soviet Union, provides an excellent picture of what life was like under Soviet rule. The horrors and crimes committed by the Soviet Union towards its own people has been glossed over and forgotten since the end of the Cold War. However, like the Holocaust, oppression of the Soviet citizens byt the government should never be forgotten. I resommend anyone interested in World History to read this book.
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