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A review by secretsoda
In the First Circle: The First Uncensored Edition by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
challenging
informative
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
A fascinating picture of life in Communist Russia for intellectuals on the wrong side of the law. The book took me two months to read despite spanning only three days. An incredibly large cast of characters and numerous plot lines are employed. Unfortunately, many of these were hard to follow, especially when mentioned only briefly and then brought up much later.
I was glad to have read this book immediately after "Notes from a Dead House" and "A Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich." The contrast between this book and "Ivan Denisovich" seemed much greater than that between "Ivan Denisovich" and "Notes from a Dead House," despite Dostoevsky’s work being set in an entirely different era.
It was intriguing to imagine Ivan Denisovich toiling in his labor camp at the same time as the characters in this book worked in their prison labs. I appreciated how multidimensional the characters were. The story of the yard man, Spiridin, was my favorite part of the book. I was also fascinated by Reuben, who defended communism despite what the system had done to him.
Observing the lengths to which each character was willing to go in the name of self-preservation was interesting. There were those who were happy to act as informants on their fellow prisoners on one side of the spectrum, and those who refused to make tools that would be used to incriminate others, even if it meant returning to hard labor, on the other.
I was glad to have read this book immediately after "Notes from a Dead House" and "A Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich." The contrast between this book and "Ivan Denisovich" seemed much greater than that between "Ivan Denisovich" and "Notes from a Dead House," despite Dostoevsky’s work being set in an entirely different era.
It was intriguing to imagine Ivan Denisovich toiling in his labor camp at the same time as the characters in this book worked in their prison labs. I appreciated how multidimensional the characters were. The story of the yard man, Spiridin, was my favorite part of the book. I was also fascinated by Reuben, who defended communism despite what the system had done to him.
Observing the lengths to which each character was willing to go in the name of self-preservation was interesting. There were those who were happy to act as informants on their fellow prisoners on one side of the spectrum, and those who refused to make tools that would be used to incriminate others, even if it meant returning to hard labor, on the other.