One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich
Ratings74
Average rating3.9
“The belly is a demon. It doesn't remember how well you treated it yesterday; it'll cry out for more tomorrow.”
“That knife's a breadwinner too. After all, you can be put in the cells for keeping it, and only a man without a conscience would say: lend us your knife, we're going to slice some sausage, and you can go fuck off.”
[deep breath] it was a hard read, not that it was not well-written (it is captivating), but that I would find myself cringing while unintentionally imagining myself under the circumstances that characters went through. It reminded me of [b:Man's Search for Meaning 4069 Man's Search for Meaning Viktor E. Frankl https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1535419394l/4069.SY75.jpg 3389674] a bit.
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My edition is MMP, but has a different cover. Will try to remember to take a picture.
Many (including the author of the introduction of my edition) claim that One Day shows how dehumanizing the gulags were. This is not a constructive argument. Gulags were made by humans. Humans were sent to gulags by humans. You went into a gulag as a human, and, if you lived through it, you came out as a human.
One Day is simultaneously a lament about humanity as well as an ode to humanity. Readers ask, “how could humans do this? how is any of this human?” when the fact of the matter is that this is what humans do. Humans are cruel. Humans have done terrible things. Many humans reject the idea that our shared humanity is a basis for kindness and mutual goodwill. Still, even in the most “dehumanizing” of environments, we still realize that Ivan Denisovich is human. 8 years in the gulags, and he still hopes for freedom. He still takes pride in his work. He still looks out for his fellow man. One Day is a reflection of the brave human spirit.
One Day isn't a book about being a prisoner in a gulag. It isn't a book about living in the Soviet Union. It's about humanity, and about each one of us.
A classic that I finally read. The title is accurate. It is one day in his life. It shows how difficult life was in the Russian labor camps, and how miserable everyone must have been. Interesting, but short story, that makes you amazed that anyone had the strength to make it through those experiences.