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sab3467's review
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
One of the best books I've ever read and another read I'll probably never forget.
It was a longer read than what I'm used to, but so worth it. In my opinion, this is historical fiction at its best. I've learned so much about Russian culture, the oppressive political context under Stalin, the ins and outs of living in the soviet union and as an exile. It's an emotional read, both in the sense that all these characters are facing life-threatening illness, the doctors/nurses are faced with inadequate work conditions but also in the fact that the socio-political setting is so harsh and inhumane. But it's such an amazing book to see all the painful pieces of this complex system through the eyes of real human lives and experiences.
I appreciate the translators Nicholas Bethell and David Burg, as the english version was absolutely amazing and I felt like Solzhenitsyn beautiful descriptive and emotional writing was not lost. As well, I loved the appendix and added letters to better understand the process behind the publication of Solzhenitsyn's work.
This book joins Romain Gary's Les Racines du Ciel, Albert Camus's La Peste, amongst others, in the list of novels that marked me forever and that I believe everyone should read!
It was a longer read than what I'm used to, but so worth it. In my opinion, this is historical fiction at its best. I've learned so much about Russian culture, the oppressive political context under Stalin, the ins and outs of living in the soviet union and as an exile. It's an emotional read, both in the sense that all these characters are facing life-threatening illness, the doctors/nurses are faced with inadequate work conditions but also in the fact that the socio-political setting is so harsh and inhumane. But it's such an amazing book to see all the painful pieces of this complex system through the eyes of real human lives and experiences.
I appreciate the translators Nicholas Bethell and David Burg, as the english version was absolutely amazing and I felt like Solzhenitsyn beautiful descriptive and emotional writing was not lost. As well, I loved the appendix and added letters to better understand the process behind the publication of Solzhenitsyn's work.
This book joins Romain Gary's Les Racines du Ciel, Albert Camus's La Peste, amongst others, in the list of novels that marked me forever and that I believe everyone should read!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer
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