Reviews

Stories and Prose Poems by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

karinlib's review against another edition

4.0

Really enjoyed this story and poem collection. Most are set in Russia, but one is set in Uzbekistan.

r_musil's review against another edition

2.0

تا مرز سه ستاره دادن به خود داستان رفته بودم اما «خرده ریزها» انقدر بد بودند که ترجیح دادم به این همه کسالت و پیام اخلاقی و بینش های پلاستیکی همون طور که هست نگاه کنم

nickc777's review

slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

I was thoroughly engaged by Solzhenitsyn's Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, so had high hopes for this collection of short stories. Unfortunately I found most of them rather dull, obvious and heavy handed tales meant to bemoan modern society in favour of the true hearted revolutionary peasant of yesteryear. 

ngominh's review against another edition

4.0

Cũng như mấy cuốn Liên Xô khác, cuốn này cũng hơi man mác cái motif XHCN với những con người hạnh đạo. Truyện Matryona cho mình nhiều cảm giác nhất, giống bà Emerenc trong cuốn Cánh cửa của Szabo Magda. Còn mấy truyện khác mình không thấy thích, chắc do đã đọc Xô Viết quá nhiều trong 1 thời gian ngắn của mấy năm trước, nên giờ cơn bội thực vẫn chưa suy giảm.

Bài viết báo ở đây: http://vannghequandoi.com.vn/the-gioi/alexander-solzhenitsyn-song-khong-doi-tra_14097.html

chlkvnck's review against another edition

emotional sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes

dev0225's review against another edition

reflective slow-paced

4.0

This book is a handful of Solzhenitsyn’s shorter stories- it’s definitely slow paced and reflective, but his prose poems are particularly beautiful and impactful. He’s just amazing. Can’t go wrong with Solzhenitsyn. 

vanjr's review against another edition

4.0

"The Easter Procession" is one of the highlights of this collection of short stories. I found this volume to really an expansion of AS's regular polemic. Hard to find, but worth a read if you can get a copy.

____w____'s review against another edition

5.0

i liked the descriptions of sad Russian food: 'an unpeeled potato', 'taty soup', or 'millet porridge'. i love how 'unpeeled' effortlessly diminishes all appeal of the boiled potato.

and Soviet idiosyncrasies. everyone is forced to become casual law-breakers.

i really like the translation. although an article in the NYRB said Glenny's translation was bad, i like the inelegance and triteness. i feel it suits my idea of didactic Soviet literature.

fil's review

2.0

While Solzhenitsyn is a favourite of mine, there is a big difference between reading one of his novels and trudging through a collection of short stories, to say nothing of his prose poems (whatever that is).

'Matryona's House' was good if maybe too short; 'For The Good Of The Cause' would have worked well as a novel with its large cast of characters, bureaucratic delays and ultimate display of avarice; the others, except for one, were kinda fine... but just barely. 'Zakhar-The-Pouch' was excellent, there was almost a hint of otherworldly magic in the air as I read it, was he one of the fallen? No, of course not... but maybe he was...

Poetry for its own sake is already difficult for me (give me an epic poem anytime though) and these 'prose poems' were somewhat of a bore.

mimima's review

4.0

Apparently, I've been on a Solzhenitsyn kick lately, and that's ok. In fact it's pretty good. I'm not usually a short story reader, but this was my morning reading, so a bit at a time was perfect. By far the best story is the amazing "Matryona's House" highly recommended to me by a dear friend. Having said that, several of the other stories were also thought provoking, beautiful, and interesting. An excellent collection and one I will probably read again.