This is an interesting story of one day in the life of a prisoner in a Soviet Gulag. It takes place in a cold January, the protagonist has to deal with the cold, guards, and fellow prisoners, he has a ten-year sentence for confessing to being a spy. He confessed to avoid being killed, his crime was being captured by the Nazis and then escaping. The prisoners are pit against each other for rewards of food, but have their own means of support. They have their own economy, and are able to bribe for favor. The book shows Ivan Denisovich'es expectations within his world, the world is portrayed very well with lots of interesting details. ( )

A fictional account of life in a Soviet Gulag, this story is a good example of how you can adjust your expectations, even in the worst of situations. Ivan Denisovich was sent to the work camps because he confessed to being a spy. He had no other choice than to confess, otherwise, he would be likely executed. All he really did was fight on the Russian Eastern front against the Nazis, get captured during a battle, and then escape. When he returned to his own lines, he was accused of being a spy and had to confess or face execution. This story was not unusual in Soviet Russia. People were imprisoned for no reason and sent to horrific work camps. As Russia was pushing the Nazis back from Eastern Europe, many who were in Nazi work camps, were sent to Siberia to work in Russian work camps. This was a reality many faced and why this book was extremely popular in the Soviet Union when it was published in 1962. Some good passages:"How can you expect a man who's warm to understand a man who's cold?" P19"Who's the zen's main enemy? Another zen. If only they weren't at odds with one another--ah what a difference they'd make. 71There in the line Shukhov learned some news. Again there wasn't going to be a Sunday this week; again they were going to steal one of their Sundays. He, like everyone else, had expected it, for if there happened to be five Sundays in a month, they gave them three and made them work the other two. 75""He dug in. First he only drank the broth, drank and drank. As it went down, filling his whole body with warmth, all his guts began to flutter at him at their meeting with that stew. Goood! There it comes a brief moment for which a zen lives. And now Shukhov complained about nothing: neither about the length of his stretch, nor about the length of the day, nor about them swiping another Sunday. This is all he thought about now; we'll survive. We'll stick it out God willing till it's over p 81""Shukhov went to sleep fully content. He'd had many strokes of luck that day: they hadn't put him in the cells; they hadn't sent his squad to the settlement; he'd swiped a bowl of kasha at dinner; the squad leader had fixed the rates well; he'd built a wall and enjoyed doing it; he'd smuggled that bit of hacksaw blade through; he'd earned a favor from Tsezar that evening; he'd bought that tobacco. And he hadn't fallen ill. He'd got over it. A day without a dark cloud. Almost a happy day. There were three thousand six hundred and fiftythree days like that in his stretch. From the first clang of the rail to the last clang of the rail. Three thousand six hundred and fifty-three days. The three extra days were for leap years. (last lines) ( )

Very good book. It made me aware of some history that I probably should have known already but didn't. It is the story of a man's day (beginning to end) in a gulag work camp. The characters are very memorable, and there are several beautiful quotes sprinkled throughout this novel. ( )

Solzhenitsyn's first literary work--a treatment of his experiences in the Stalinist labour camps--established his reputation and foreshadowed his masterpiece, The Gulag Archipelago (1973-75). Set in the forced-labour camp in which the author was interned from 1950 to 1953, Ivan Denisovich describes a typical day in the life of an inmate. Published during Nikita Khrushchev's de-Stalinization program, the work was released without interference from Soviet government censors and Solzhenitsyn became an instant celebrity

A quote on the back page says it is the most significant publishing event of the year, the year being 1963. A lot of things have happened between then and now. The world has changed and the Red Menace and Evil Empire have faded into nothingness. While a stark portrayal of prison life it was hardly shocking or well done. Yes the prisons were bad, yes life under Stalin was no bed of roses, but this book didn't capture it. The Gulag Archipelago in its immensity did. ( )