Review: One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Alexander Solzhenitsyn.

The words spoken and written about this novel far outnumber the millions of Soviets sentenced to the gulags it describes. It would seem, therefore, that the only possibility of saying something “new” is to describe our own personal reaction to the story. Even then, our words are not “new” in the sense of “groundbreaking,” but merely “new” in the sense of pedestrian uniqueness, much like a fingerprint.

Finishing this work is always a solemn experience for me. I believe it should be read several times in a lifetime because while certain passages or images will linger until we die, the emotional impact of the book as a whole is most significant and life-changing immediately upon completion. Ideally, it should be read in as close to a single sitting as possible, much like the underground hand-typed copies of Solzhenitsyn’s Gulag Archipelago were read before being passed along to the next hungry reader.

Ivan Denisovich Shukhov’s joyful tally of the good things his day included always leaves me speechless and reverent as if I am visiting the death bed or grave of a great but humble hero who triumphed over unimaginable evil against impossible odds. The fact that Solzhenitsyn writes from experience means that every decision, every rationale, every strategy Ivan employs to survive is meticulously noted, explained and evaluated. Solzhenitsyn’s sparse and explicit prose perfectly conveys the barren Siberian landscape, the brutal weather and the bitter human interactions of the prison camp. While a hero in every sense of the word, Ivan is not perfect, idealistic or selfless. He is a survivor who manages to navigate a hellish, brutal world with his humanity, intellect, self-consciousness, sanity and empathy intact.