It is just a straightforward accounting of the drudgery Shukhov faces. There are no dragons here, not even any fights. And, short though it is, the novel still covers Shukhov’s entire day in great detail. The conceit of this novel is that it is literally one day in Ivan Denisovich’s (or Shukhov as he’s called throughout the book) life as prisoner Shcha-184 in a Soviet prison camp. That might sound odd considering the positive rating I’m giving this, but stick with me. In addition to reconciling the censorship performed both before and after Solzhenitsyn submitted this manuscript, Willetts had to contend with a uniquely dull story. I don’t know how difficult a translation this was for H.T. Indeed, as is often the case with books originally written in a language one does not speak, names of people and places would be a huge problem in this review. It’s books like One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich that make me glad I don’t do video or podcast reviews, because I cannot pronounce Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn’s last name.
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