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thereaderintherye's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
sam_mehdi's review against another edition
5.0
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.
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.
katmackie's review against another edition
3.0
A bleak and matter-of-fact account of one man's optimism during one of the better days in a Soviet labor camp.
Not so much uplifting as it is inspiring in it's portrayal of the human spirit through absolutely extreme conditions of adversity. Ivan is more than just a survivor, and his attitude is a testament to that. The fact that Solzhenitsyn pulled from his own experiences is even more incredible.
Perspective is important.
Not so much uplifting as it is inspiring in it's portrayal of the human spirit through absolutely extreme conditions of adversity. Ivan is more than just a survivor, and his attitude is a testament to that. The fact that Solzhenitsyn pulled from his own experiences is even more incredible.
Perspective is important.
citrino_girino's review against another edition
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
kategallo's review against another edition
3.0
An impactful read that highlights the brutality of hard-labour camps under Stalin's rule. Probably owing to a number of factors - translation, era of writing, and subject matter; this book is terse and, at times, dry. It illuminates the dichotomy between the mind-numbing repetition and never-ending paranoia that accompanied the lives of people in these camps. It was definitely a challenging read to get through - while it was certainly interesting, the language and subject matter required commitment to interpret, especially without prior knowledge of Soviet Communism. However, this was insightful, and is a book that will stick in my head for a long time.
oofym's review against another edition
dark
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Glad I read this, there's that quote about how books can be windows into someone else's life or a window into a different world. This is primarily what this novella is, it's not very fun to read, nor is it entertaining or particularly engaging, hell it doesn't even have much prose that stands out.
But as the title suggests, this is a glimpse into a day in the life of a man living in a soviet prison camp. To be able to read about this situation from an author who has lived through pretty much exactly what you're seeing in the book is a very special privilege and why literature is so important.
This is fictional, but it reads somewhat as an autobiography or a memoir, my edition came with some information on the authors life (Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn) and I'm very grateful that stories like this are out there.
I came out of this appreciating my very easy and untroubled modern life more. "A man who is warm will never understand the man who Is cold" so says Ivan, but this book helped me understand a fraction of that coldness.
But as the title suggests, this is a glimpse into a day in the life of a man living in a soviet prison camp. To be able to read about this situation from an author who has lived through pretty much exactly what you're seeing in the book is a very special privilege and why literature is so important.
This is fictional, but it reads somewhat as an autobiography or a memoir, my edition came with some information on the authors life (Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn) and I'm very grateful that stories like this are out there.
I came out of this appreciating my very easy and untroubled modern life more. "A man who is warm will never understand the man who Is cold" so says Ivan, but this book helped me understand a fraction of that coldness.
2beenough's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0