One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich

A masterpiece of modern Russian fiction, this novel is one of the most significant and outspoken literary documents ever to come out of Soviet Russia. A brutal depiction of life in a Stalinist camp and a moving tribute to man's triumph of will over relentless dehumanization, this is Solzhenitsyn's first novel to win international acclaim. Introduction by renowned poet Yevgeny Yevtushenko. nStark . . . the story of how one falsely accused convict and his fellow prisoners survived or perished in an arctic slave labor camp after the war.--Time nFrom the icy blast of reveille through the sweet release of sleep, Ivan Denisovich endures. A common carpenter, he is one of millions viciously imprisoned for countless years on baseless charges, sentenced to the waking nightmare of the Soviet work camps in Siberia. Even in the face of degrading hatred, where life is reduced to a bowl of gruel and a rare cigarette, hope and dignity prevail. This powerful novel of fact is a scathing indictment of Communist tyranny, and an eloquent affirmation of the human spirit. n nThe prodigious works of Alexander Solzhenitsyn, including his acclaimed The Gulag Archipelago, have secured his place in the great tradition of Russian literary giants. Ironically, One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich is the only one of his works permitted publication in his native land. n nPraise for One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich n nCannot fail to arouse bitterness and pain in the heart of the reader. A literary and political event of the first magnitude.--New Statesman n nBoth as a political tract and as a literary work, it is in the Doctor Zhivago category.--Washington Post n nDramatic . . . outspoken . . . graphically detailed . . . a moving human record.--Library Journal nn