The Gulag Archipelago 1918-1956 is a great firsthand account of the Russian prison camps, written by someone who not only lived in them but can also write well. Never turgid, the narrative does not suffer the handicap of many historical texts in which readers are bogged down with dates and irrelevant detail.
Rather, The Gulag Archipelago is presented in a series of vignettes, all of which discuss different elements of the experience. Because this work is so large, it is impossible to cover all of them in a single review. But I will say that for anyone curious about the subject, the abridged version is adequate. The book was originally written in a three-volume form, but then the author released an abridged version as a means for satisfying those Westerners who need not learn the intimate detail (he mentions this in his introduction) regarding all of Russian history.
Ok, so what are some of the topics covered? The prison industry, the history of it, why it was the way it was, what went on in those places.
What did one need do to be arrested? The answer: Not much. (Even so much as stealing a vegetable could land someone in prison for ten years).
This book transcends the mere non-fiction historical account because the author involves himself so much, speaking of his own personal experiences, as well as those around him he knew personally, and those he interviewed years later.
Philosophically the book also presents interesting questions — the idea of the arrest and what it means to that individual specifically, that individual who is the center of his or her own universe, now shattered.
And then, what went on in these horrible places? Torture? Yes. You can read several chapters on that. What exactly can bring a man to his breaking point? There are a number of ways for doing it, and the author delves into that.
The book finishes at just over 500 pages, and there isn’t much that does not get discussed. In other words, one does not need to be a historian or Russian scholar to appreciate this great work. This is written for the layperson, but is also highly effective because nowhere does the text dumb down the material for readers.
Other questions are later asked, such as “Why did we stand for it?” And if one is lucky enough to escape, (on those very rare occasions—and the author does discuss some tales involving escape) as someone who lived through it, Solzhenitsyn’s biggest advice is to have a plan. Those prisoners who attempt escape and manage it will certainly fail if they do not have a plan for the weeks, months and years afterwards. (More often than not, without a plan, one is likely to end up back in the prison from where his hell began).
Article comments
1 - susana palmes
I read the book when I was in college, I was impressed then but understand it better now. thank you