One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich: A Novel

Written by Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn

Narrated by Frank Muller

Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn’s startling book led, almost 30 years later, to Glasnost, Perestroika, and the “Fall of the Wall.” One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovichbrilliantly portrays a single day, any day, in the life of a single Russian soldier who was captured by the Germans in 1945 and who managed to escape a few days later. Along with millions of others, this soldier was charged with some sort of political crime, and since it was easier to confess than deny it and die, Ivan Denisovich “confessed” to “high treason” and received a sentence of 10 years in a Siberian labor camp.

In 1962, the Soviet literary magazine, Novy Mir, published a short novel by an unknown writer named Solzhenitsyn. Within 24 hours, all 95,000 copies of the magazine containing this story were sold out. Within a week, Solzhenitsyn was no longer an obscure math teacher, but an international celebrity. Publication of the book split the Communist hierarchy, and it was Premier Khrushchev himself who read the book and personally allowed its publication.

“This reading is ably done. It is an unforgettable tale.”—Booklist

• Language: English
• Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
• Translator: Ralph Parker
• Release date: Mar 1, 2013
• ISBN: 9781470348373

Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn

After serving as a decorated captain in the Soviet Army during World War II, Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn (1918-2008) was sentenced to prison for eight years for criticizing Stalin and the Soviet government in private letters. Solzhenitsyn vaulted from unknown schoolteacher to internationally famous writer in 1962 with the publication of his novella One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich; he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1968. The writer's increasingly vocal opposition to the regime resulted in another arrest, a charge of treason, and expulsion from the USSR in 1974, the year The Gulag Archipelago, his epic history of the Soviet prison system, first appeared in the West. For eighteen years, he and his family lived in Vermont. In 1994 he returned to Russia. Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn died at his home in Moscow in 2008.

Reviews for One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich

[Melissa Sparks Herrington · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

It’s hard to know how to review this book. It was, it seems, a telling glimpse into the thoughts & emotions of a prisoner in one of these Russian prisoner camps. The way his perception of life had been altered by time in the camp was gut-wrenching. But the descriptions of everything from a crusty piece of bread to a wall they were building were so clear that it felt like you had been there & seen these things.

[Austin Deleel · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Fantastic read. Love his other books as well. This is short but tells so much.

[mrclarinet_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

When I was at university, I had free time so I bought this and read it in the sun underneath a tree in true student fashion. I finished it in an afternoon. It was a perfect day.

[shadowofthewind · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

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)

[esigel_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

It must be 35 years since I first read this book, and it is no less powerful the second time. It recounts a day in the life of Ivan Denisovich Shukhov, a prisoner in one of Stalin’s slave-labor camps in Siberia. It is an almost minute-by-minute account, from the time Shukhov first opens his eyes in his upper bunk to when he finally lies down again late at night. In between are hours of labor in the brutal Siberian winter, where a temperature of -27 Fahrenheit is not cold enough to keep the prisoners in for the day. Much of Shulkov’s thoughts and schemes revolve around food: how to hide part of his morning bread ration to eat at night, how to get a portion of the extra bowls of gruel that he snares for his work group, how to befriend a fellow prisoner so he can share in a piece of sausage from a parcel the man has received from home. The book reveals the tensions, backbiting but also the bedrock camaraderie that binds prisoners in the work group together, their affection for the foreman, a fellow zek who has tremendous influence on work assignments and food allocations, their shared hatred for guards or others who make their lives miserable. For Shukhov there is no dream of eventual liberty here, what concerns him every waking minute are food, survival and maintaining a shred of human dignity under conditions of unimaginable cruelty and privation. The political commentary is all the more devastating for its understatement. What did Zhukov do to merit his 10-year sentence? He and a fellow soldier escaped from German captivity during World War II, and when they made it back to Russian lines they were promptly arrested and judged to be spies: in the view of Stalin and his minions, what else could explain the fact that captured soldiers managed to return to their own army? No one can fully understand the barbarism and inhumanity of 20th century totalitarianism, and at the same time the unquenchable human struggle for freedom, without reading this masterpiece.

[realbigcat · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I read that Solzhenitsyn just died. This book is a litery masterpiece. It's hard to belive that place like the Soviet work camps of Stalinist Ruyssia actually existed. Solzhenitsyn writes from experience and captures the extreme hardships of day-to-day existence. A must have for everyone's library.

[readingaria · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This great novel looks into the Soviet Gulag and the life of Ivan Denisovich, a man sent to the gulag for the crime of escaping the POW camps of the Germans in the Second World War. Solzenhitsyn uses his own experiences from the camps to make this story come alive and he tells the story wonderfully. It is hard to say much about this book because it is so wonderful and yet about such a terrible topic. The ups and downs throughout the day, the ways the prisoners survived, the constant work and the constant tettering on the line between life and death: all of this is portrayed perfectly by Solzenitsyn.This is a great novel and one people should read for so many reasons.

[figre · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book is deceptive in its simplicity. As the title promises, it is one day in the life of a convict in the Gulag. Its movement through the day almost feels as if nothing happens. However, we learn volumes about the man, the men, and the system. There is nothing earth-shattering in this work; there are no huge twists and turns to propel the plot – because the plot is too simple for such tricks. And, in spite of this “lack” (no lack at all), I was compelled to keep reading; to learn about a day in the life.In the introduction much is made of how the original was censored; how sections had to be removed to be published. And there is the indication that the work itself was groundbreaking. To today’s reader I think there is less that shocks. There is corruption, there is hardship, there is appalling treatment of human beings – but I think we have become immune to the shock. But that does not mean we have grown immune to the message; time and numbness do not take away from the power of the story. And in spite of time, the story still resonates with what it means to be human.

[Alun ap Rhisiart · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Wonderful book, quite engrossing, and an education for anyone who things that communism is 'worth another try'. The narrator is excellent, very well paced. Pity The Gulag Archipelago is not available on Scribd.

[jok_44 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Fellow reviewers have spoken at length about the accuracy and historical relevance of the portrayal of the Soviet Gulag system in _One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich_. They have detailed the harsh conditions, the complex mechanics of survival in the Gulag, the terror of Stalin's government, and the 'harrowing' experiences of the zeks - the slang term for the Soviet Gulag prisoner. I concur with all of these observations, but I would like to provide the potential reader with a view from another angle._One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich_ is uplifting. It is a story of the transcendent quality of the human will that allows one not only to survive, but to _live_ in the most adverse of situations. The protagonist, Shukhov, shows little fear, little pain. Instead he shows that a slave laborer can retain enough dignity to show pride in his workmanship, compassion for his fellows, and a drive to carry on.Throughout the story Shukhov is creating. He sews, builds a wall, fashions illicit tools. And though these things help ensure his survival, his ongoing occupation in these activities and his investment of himself in them shows what a basic part of humans the creative impulse is. For Shukhov, creating does not save his life, it is his life.In this world, there are people whose words are clear and inspiring, tempered with insight gained through adversity - the kind of adversity so severe that no person would choose to place themselves amongst it. Imprisonment, danger, fear of death. Solzhenitsyn is one of these; the wisdom he offers to us has already been bought and paid for. We others are fortunate enough to be lent what these people have to offer - those who have had no choice but to be there, and have lived to write about it. And if ever we find ourselves in a similar kind of adversity, we can remember what they have taught us, and know that adversity can be endured.Some say that life is suffering. The story of the zek shows me in suffering, there can be life. The story reminded me of how comfortable my life is and how trivial my concerns can be. The author's style and the skill of the translation (I refer to the H.T. Willetts translation, ISBN 0374521956) make this book accessible to everyone. This is fortunate, because everyone can benefit from the message to be found in _One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich_.

[charlie68_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

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.

[vaellus · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

It would be a peach as the first part of a long novel.If you want to go back 100+ years in the history of Siberian labor camps, read Dostoyevsky's House of the Dead.

[greatrakes · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I read this again in 2008, thirty five years after reading it the first time, and was just as impressed. A day in the life of a prisoner in one of Stalin's Gulags. Ivan Denisovich Shukhov is in his eighth year of a ten year sentence for political crimes, and has a good day. He gets an extra bowl of thin rancid soup, earns extra bread and finds a small piece of hacksaw blade which he intends to work into a cobbling tool. His internal commentary on his day makes it all sound so ordinary, the brutality, half-starvation, and forced labour in minus thirtydegrees, is described as if it is commonplace, which it is to him. A short novel but a compelling read, and a pean to resilience and humanity.

[rburdock_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Set in a post-war Stalinist labour camp, this novel, as the title suggests, centres on a single day in the life of ‘political prisoner’ Ivan Denisovich, from (before) sunrise to (well after) sunset. As one might imagine, Ivan has little to look forward to on this ‘typical’ day in the camp; ultra sub-zero temperatures, horrendous food, forced labour, and incessantly picky guards all await him, and his fellow inmates. As harrowing as the day is though, this day actually turns out to be one of the ‘better’ ones, which although bringing a little cheer to Ivan, leaves the reader puzzling (and more than a little shocked), over what must constitute a ‘bad’ day in one of these places.

Comprising of a mere 143 pages, I finished reading this classic rather speedily, although perhaps not as ‘speedily’ as I would have, if I were reading a novel that originated in English. As a qualified historian I’m wholly familiar with clumsy translations, and sadly this translated novel is no different. So if you’re planning on reading this yourself, then be prepared to re-read a number of the sentences, in order to fully decipher their full meaning. Don’t let that put you off though (or from reading any translated Russian literature for that matter), as the minor hindrance caused by having to pause and re-read, is completed negated by the quality of this work.

Along with other works that he penned during the 1960’s, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn got himself into a lot of bother from the Soviet authorities for writing this novel, and after reading it, it’s clear to see why. Aided by more than a liberal dose of anti-Stalinist sentimentality, Mr. Solzhenitsyn pulls no punches in describing the conditions in Soviet labour camps. Given that he himself spent eight years in these camps, after the war, this is no surprise, but because Mr. Solzhenitsyn was able to infuse his own experiences into this novel, One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich is an absolute ‘must read’ - just don’t expect to leave your chair in anything like a cheery mood.

Favourite quote: “There is nothing as bitter as this moment when you go out to the morning muster - in the dark, in the cold, with a hungry belly, to face a whole day of work. You lose your tongue. You lose all desire to speak to anyone.”

Favourite scene: Breakfast in the mess-hall. The description of what the prisoners ate and how they ate it is gross to the max. Very memorable and hugely powerful!!

What this novel has taught me about writing: Life experience can enrich a novelist's work immeasurably. Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn spent 8 years interned in Russian labour camps (followed by 3 more in exile) and this is clearly evident in the detail of this novel, and the depth of emotion it contains. Perhaps this advocates, although not exclusively, a policy of choosing a subject to write about that you have personal experience and knowledge of.

[docliz_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A classic which has become one of my favourite books. Brilliantly written it gives a glimpse into the brutal world of Stalin's Russia. The characters and scenes Solzhenitsyn painted are embedded in my memory. I have never felt cold like that and hope I never will.

[mimipark · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I guess our lives aren’t so shitty compared to what these people went through.

[katrynbaker · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Not an easy book to read, but well worth while. Describes life in a laber camp in, sometimes graphic, detail. I admit that I will probably not struggle through reading Solzhenitsyn's Gulag, but this (in my mind at least) serves as a more palatable (and shorter) substitute.

[albinorhino_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

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.

[barakketh · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

First time that I have read this book. Was hoping to manage to read this in one day but couldn't manage. Found this book disheartening and heartening in approximately equal measure, which was a surprise to me considering the topic of the book.

[drfp_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A very accurate and detailed look at life in Gulag. Yet I thought there was too little characterization in this novella to really pull me in - Shukhov is adequate but we only glimpse the other characters. This feels more like a factual or naturalist exercise than a fully engaging novel.Definitely worth a read but not the great piece of literature I was expecting. Perhaps Solzhenitsyn's longer works, Cancer Ward and The First Circle, will provide the storytelling elements I found lacking here?

[gazzy_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Draws out suffering like only a Russian can, just thinking about the passages about pieces of bread make me, well, hungry.

[anoceandrowning · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

So there’s a part in this book when Shukhov is hoping to get a little something from a parcel that one of his fellow inmates received. He expounds the greatest piece of advice I have ever heard, which is to never let your belly get excited for what you don’t have. I’m going to try to do this. When all I have at home is flour, pickles, and a bit of rancid mayonnaise, I am not going to fantasize about a delicious vegetarian sandwich from Port of Subs. Because when I leave the house to get that sub, my grandma will call because she fell down and needs someone to take her to the emergency room. I will not get my sandwich, or anything else, until late at night. By then, Port of Subs will have closed and I’ll be stuck with pickles, flour, and rancid mayonnaise and will suffer from the lack of what my stomach's mind has already started eating. I like the larger applicability of this idea. It’s the sort of wisdom the Buddha would spout out. In fact, he probably did. The point is really driven home in this book, though. Shukhov’s world is ruled by food. He has to squirrel anything extra away to eat tomorrow, when the rations may be less substantial. The guards give the prisoners enough to stay alive, but not enough to ever be full. Shukhov is in a position unique amoungst his fellow prisoners, as he will, as per his request, never receive parcels from home. He’d rather his children eat well. His actions are such a fine example of sacrifice and suffering.I was surprised at how Solzhenitsyn didn’t make the camp crazy unbearable. I mean, it sucked, but there were no holocausty horror stories. I appreciated that. This was just a single day in the life of some guy in the Gulag. Shukhov’s story was powerful in its hoplessness, but was ultimately inspiring. It’s like when people climb Everest backwards in their swim trunks. Man’s triumph over adversity, be it a Russian work camp or physical therapy after getting attacked by a tiger, is always, to me anyway, compellingly readable.And I really dug the part where Shukhov was building the wall well just because that was how he did things. Even in a place as awful and monotonous as the prison, this man’s character was not to be shaken. I look forward to more Solzhenitsyn.

[veeralpadhiar · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Solzhenitsyn's books - be it fiction or non-fiction - never ceases to amaze me. I am glad that now I have finished reading almost half of his major works. And according to my expectations, 'One Day' was as captivating as his other works (Though 'Gulag Archipelago' is incomparable and a massive work).

If anyone wants to read Solzhenitsyn for the first time and does not want to dive in into his other heavier stuff right away, then I would recommend reading 'One Day In The Life Of Ivan Denisovich' first. If you like it, then perhaps you can move onto more serious work. I myself plan to complete the remaining volumes of Gulag Archipelago soon now that this book has rekindled my desire to read Solzhenitsyn again.

[mawls · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Story about a man in a work labor camp during Stalin years and communism. The idea of what kind of life it is comes across vividly especially at the end.

[osmium_antidote · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I am embarrassed to admit that I hadn't read this before - being an Eastern European Studies Major. I actually picked this up because my daughter was reading it for school. She thought I might like it since I really enjoy Isaac Babel, who wrote about the same time. Actually, I liked it more than Babel - go figure. It was a quick read, but effectively hammered home the idea of life in the Gulag. Even though it was a translation, I didn't feel like I was missing out on much.

[arctic1stranger · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Forget that this is "literature" or a Great Russian Novel, and just try to get to know Ivan. Solzhenitsyn catches and ordinary day in the life of prison camp, and his portrayal is both intriguely different from the lives of most people, but also disturrbingly similar. Ivan has a "normal" day, full of petty intrigues concerning food and work, mild hopes, and the great of not entertaining Great Hopes. The writing is not as angry as his portrayal of the Gulag, and the scary part of the novel is the realization that the reader could easily be accomodated to this kind of life.

[Andrew Wells · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Short and fascinating story. I prefer The Gulag Archipelago by the same author, Alexander Solzhenitsyn. But this gives you a nice taste without being too long or depressing.

[burningtodd · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Loved this book, very short, but great, Read it for ODS and I probably would not have heard of it otherwise, I'm glad I did. This is a story of one day in the life a prisoner of the Russian Gulag and his trials of living one day. I love Russian Literature and this is a prime example of why.

[bfertig_2 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Very quick, fairly brusque read of exactly what the title says - one day in the life of Ivan Denisovitch who is a prisoner of the collectivized work camps in mid 20th century Soviet Union. Pretty dismal stuff. The protagonist has been in the camp eight years and has two to go. The book starts at morning at camp, the main activity occurs during the work day, and ends in the evening, with the successful swiping and earning small additional morsels of food. Lots of descriptions of how cold it was and how to deal with wretched living conditions.Definitely worthy of classic Russian literature.

[mobill76 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Shocking, like a horror movie. It's the punishment of Gulag Archipelago rolled into one punch to the stomach. The images are stark and stay with you for the rest of your life. Read this and take nothing for granted again.