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A review by saralynnburnett
The First Circle by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
4.0
For those of you considering reading this – apparently there is a 'real version' so let me explain. I read (after already getting through most of this edition) that Solzhenitsyn first wrote this novel with 9 more chapters and a different beginning (Volodin calls the US embassy to warn of the USSR's attempt at nuclear capabilities) but he edited it down because he thought a lightened version might be more publishable in the USSR. It was not (shocking, I know ;-). So The First Circle wasn't published in its original form until 1978 in Russia and not until 2009 in the US. I wish I had known this before launching into this tome because I would have much rather read it as it was intended by Solzhenitsyn.
(btw- the 96 chapter version in English is available through Harper Perennial)
That aside, I really enjoyed this novel. It reminded me of many different things, ranging from Solzhenitsyn's other works to the comedy show The Office (roll your eyes if you must but you'll see what I mean when you read it). The sharashka zeks are well educated and are working (alongside non prisoners) on top-secret Soviet projects, the one around which this story revolves being a voice identifier. Initially, I found myself a little lost with the technical back and forth between Solzhenitsyn's cast of engineers and mathematicians, but I soon zoned it out and focused on the meat of this story – how to maintain your humanity when it is stripped away.
Though these zeks inhabit the 'first circle' of the Soviet prison system, ('limbo' in Dante's work) the effects of losing your freedom can be just as severe as those in more labor-intensive/deadly camps. Some characters even openly admit that they would prefer physical labor to being forced to work on projects that they don't morally agree with, so the main struggle throughout this novel is whether to cooperate or not and at what cost. (yay for Nerzhin!!!) The side to which you find yourself leaning at the end (meaning – do you find it a happy ending or a sad ending) should tell you a lot about your own moral standards.
The entire novel, though over 500 pages takes place in just a few days and so your insight into these characters is deep and you will find yourself self reflecting the entire time, which can be a good thing or a bad thing - I couldn't read this at night because it got my mind going too much to fall asleep.
Oh – and the portrait of Stalin is a total winner ;-)
(btw- the 96 chapter version in English is available through Harper Perennial)
That aside, I really enjoyed this novel. It reminded me of many different things, ranging from Solzhenitsyn's other works to the comedy show The Office (roll your eyes if you must but you'll see what I mean when you read it). The sharashka zeks are well educated and are working (alongside non prisoners) on top-secret Soviet projects, the one around which this story revolves being a voice identifier. Initially, I found myself a little lost with the technical back and forth between Solzhenitsyn's cast of engineers and mathematicians, but I soon zoned it out and focused on the meat of this story – how to maintain your humanity when it is stripped away.
Though these zeks inhabit the 'first circle' of the Soviet prison system, ('limbo' in Dante's work) the effects of losing your freedom can be just as severe as those in more labor-intensive/deadly camps. Some characters even openly admit that they would prefer physical labor to being forced to work on projects that they don't morally agree with, so the main struggle throughout this novel is whether to cooperate or not and at what cost. (yay for Nerzhin!!!) The side to which you find yourself leaning at the end (meaning – do you find it a happy ending or a sad ending) should tell you a lot about your own moral standards.
The entire novel, though over 500 pages takes place in just a few days and so your insight into these characters is deep and you will find yourself self reflecting the entire time, which can be a good thing or a bad thing - I couldn't read this at night because it got my mind going too much to fall asleep.
Oh – and the portrait of Stalin is a total winner ;-)