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davehershey's review
5.0
Wow.
The first volume of Soltzhenitsyn's book was fantastic, this one is so much better. Yes, part 3 (which consists about 597 of the 672 pages) drags after a while. In it he takes the reader through the Gulag, with chapters on the overseers, the children and pretty much every other aspect of the camps. We know it is vital to never forget the horrors of 20th century totalitarianism, and this book ought to be required reading to help us never forget.
But it is the short part four where the best of the book comes in. Soltzhenitsyn talks about how the camp brought out who people really are. People, he argues, did not become evil in the camp. Rather, they were already evil and this brought it out. This reminds me of Jesus' teachings about those faithful in small things will be given more. Who are really are when you're poor and insignificant will be amplified if given the chance. At the same time, Soltzhenitsyn reminds us that it is not just that some are evil, for that dividing line runs through each of us (fun fact, that is the one quote you may be familiar with, and he says it twice, having said it early in volume 1).
How does that work? How is it both true that people in the camps who became corrupt already were like that, as opposed to those in the campus who persevered? Soltzhenitsyn speaks about a moral core, a nucleus, and I think that's it. We are all capable of horrific things. If I look at those camp guards, the people who performed horrible acts, and recognize they are part of the same human race, that has to be humbling. I'm just as human as they are. I am just as capable of evil, for that line goes right through me. We need to be honest with who we are and discover that moral nucleus that would enable us to persevere in the worst circumstances.
As our culture leaves some of its traditional foundations for morals behind...its easy to think we're in trouble as a culture. May we not be too quick to leave the wisdom of the past behind. This brings me back to Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning, which I read recently. If the Gulag is too intimidating in its length, check that one out first. Then come back here.
So slog through the first 600 pages and read closely the last 80. Its worth it!
The first volume of Soltzhenitsyn's book was fantastic, this one is so much better. Yes, part 3 (which consists about 597 of the 672 pages) drags after a while. In it he takes the reader through the Gulag, with chapters on the overseers, the children and pretty much every other aspect of the camps. We know it is vital to never forget the horrors of 20th century totalitarianism, and this book ought to be required reading to help us never forget.
But it is the short part four where the best of the book comes in. Soltzhenitsyn talks about how the camp brought out who people really are. People, he argues, did not become evil in the camp. Rather, they were already evil and this brought it out. This reminds me of Jesus' teachings about those faithful in small things will be given more. Who are really are when you're poor and insignificant will be amplified if given the chance. At the same time, Soltzhenitsyn reminds us that it is not just that some are evil, for that dividing line runs through each of us (fun fact, that is the one quote you may be familiar with, and he says it twice, having said it early in volume 1).
How does that work? How is it both true that people in the camps who became corrupt already were like that, as opposed to those in the campus who persevered? Soltzhenitsyn speaks about a moral core, a nucleus, and I think that's it. We are all capable of horrific things. If I look at those camp guards, the people who performed horrible acts, and recognize they are part of the same human race, that has to be humbling. I'm just as human as they are. I am just as capable of evil, for that line goes right through me. We need to be honest with who we are and discover that moral nucleus that would enable us to persevere in the worst circumstances.
As our culture leaves some of its traditional foundations for morals behind...its easy to think we're in trouble as a culture. May we not be too quick to leave the wisdom of the past behind. This brings me back to Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning, which I read recently. If the Gulag is too intimidating in its length, check that one out first. Then come back here.
So slog through the first 600 pages and read closely the last 80. Its worth it!
fyodor_bavinck's review
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
sad
medium-paced
5.0
The idealist shattered by some of the darkest reality known to man is still an idealist. His very human portraits of life at the prison camp are heartbreaking and clear-eyed. He writes with an urgency that is sorely lacking in modern writing.
inquiry_from_an_anti_library's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
sad
tense
slow-paced
2.0
Overview:
The Gulag, as a concentration camp, began shortly after the rise of Soviet Russian power. Initially for POW’s and undesirable foreigners, that quickly expanded for citizens. The Gulag was used to develop the nation. A system designed to obtain free labor. The prisoners would not earn anything, while the state profited from their labor. This was a reintroduction of slavery in Russia. The work was degrading, carried out under harsh conditions, and without appropriate tools. Under socialism, no one else but slaves would have performed the work. The prisoners were barely fed, with the little food they did receive being of a very poor quality. The guards stole a lot of food. Guards even made the prisoners compete and fight to get the food.
To get labor for the Gulag, there was a low tolerance for deviating thoughts. Anyone who was overheard to speak anything against the socialist system, no matter the significance of what was said or even the privacy of the claim, were heavily punished with major charges against them with long sentences. The Soviet system was much harsher against dissenters than previous regimes. Under the Soviet system, it was not just the dissenters who were punished, but their entire family. Even children were given the full measure of punishment, without exception if their crimes were unintentional. The children were trained to hate.
The way the authorities themselves complied with the laws, was to use a language that prevented them from thinking about the consequences of their actions. Defending oneself against this system was impossible, and going on a strike was useless. What was left was to change fate, to break out. Some tried to invent something useful for the state, which would have given them a release.
Caveats?
This book is very difficult to read. Contains poor organizational structure, as related content can be found sporadically in the book. Most of the book is composed of examples, without much systematic analysis.
jstivers85's review against another edition
5.0
This series should be required reading in all Highschools.
spacestationtrustfund's review against another edition
4.0
libbum's review against another edition
3.0
I'm not sure what more I can say about this volume that I haven't already expressed in my review of the first volume.
It's difficult not only from the depressive and shocking nature of the content, but as well as reading it as a non-russian with only a spattering of knowledge about this era. But I do feel far more confident this time round. I follow the stories, I know the vernacular, I know the timelines & things get worse - but I'm no longer surprised.
There are definite repetitions in this volume that, word for word, you read in the first volume. I guess, at each of these junctures we get an elaboration on each topic, but it makes such a long work even longer.
The most interesting part would have to have been the exposition of the thieves law and how they came to essentially run the camps from the inside with the guards blessings. Some of the worst parts were descriptions of how a person usually dies of scurvy, or that it's more efficient to bury people alive rather than shooting them first because dead-weight is more difficult to carry than barely-living weight.
Straight on to volume 3. What an eye opener of a document.
It's difficult not only from the depressive and shocking nature of the content, but as well as reading it as a non-russian with only a spattering of knowledge about this era. But I do feel far more confident this time round. I follow the stories, I know the vernacular, I know the timelines & things get worse - but I'm no longer surprised.
There are definite repetitions in this volume that, word for word, you read in the first volume. I guess, at each of these junctures we get an elaboration on each topic, but it makes such a long work even longer.
The most interesting part would have to have been the exposition of the thieves law and how they came to essentially run the camps from the inside with the guards blessings. Some of the worst parts were descriptions of how a person usually dies of scurvy, or that it's more efficient to bury people alive rather than shooting them first because dead-weight is more difficult to carry than barely-living weight.
Straight on to volume 3. What an eye opener of a document.
franciscodscn's review
5.0
The second volume of The Gulag Archipelago provides a thorough description of life in camp, camp society, and how people survived. The fact that Solzhenitsyn did a better job of staying on topic also made for a more pleasant read, as opposed to volume I, which can be quite dense, at times.
“Good Lord! Good Lord! Beneath the shells and the bombs I begged you to preserve my life. And now I beg you, please send me death.”
“Good Lord! Good Lord! Beneath the shells and the bombs I begged you to preserve my life. And now I beg you, please send me death.”
epictetsocrate's review against another edition
4.0
Ceea ce ar trebui cuprins în această parte este de necuprins. Pentru a concepe şi a pricepe acest sălbatic adevăr, trebuie să-ţi fi târât vieţi de-a rândul zilele prin lagăre, prin aceste locuri unde, fără o înlesnire cît de cît, nu apuci să supravieţuieşti nici măcar unei singure condamnări, căci lagărele au fost născocite pentru exterminare.
Urmarea: toţi cei ce au sorbit pînă la fund, cei ce au gustat mai din plin sunt în mormînt; ei nu vor vorbi niciodată. Esenţialul despre lagărele Arhipelagului nu va fi spus de nimeni, nicicînd.
Şi este mult peste puterile unui condei solitar întreaga întindere a acestei istorii şi a acestui adevăr, în ce mă priveşte, m-am învrednicit doar de o fantă prin care se poate întrezări Arhipelagul, nicidecum de o vedere din turn. Dar, din fericire, au mai ieşit la suprafaţă cîteva cărţi şi altele vor continua să apară. Poate că parcurgând Povestirile din Kolîma ale lui Şalamov cititorul va simţi mai aievea necruţătorul duh al Arhipelagului şi limitele deznădejdii omeneşti.
Dar pentru a afla gustul mării e de ajuns şi o singură înghiţitură.
Urmarea: toţi cei ce au sorbit pînă la fund, cei ce au gustat mai din plin sunt în mormînt; ei nu vor vorbi niciodată. Esenţialul despre lagărele Arhipelagului nu va fi spus de nimeni, nicicînd.
Şi este mult peste puterile unui condei solitar întreaga întindere a acestei istorii şi a acestui adevăr, în ce mă priveşte, m-am învrednicit doar de o fantă prin care se poate întrezări Arhipelagul, nicidecum de o vedere din turn. Dar, din fericire, au mai ieşit la suprafaţă cîteva cărţi şi altele vor continua să apară. Poate că parcurgând Povestirile din Kolîma ale lui Şalamov cititorul va simţi mai aievea necruţătorul duh al Arhipelagului şi limitele deznădejdii omeneşti.
Dar pentru a afla gustul mării e de ajuns şi o singură înghiţitură.