Summary
One of the greatest Russian novels of all time, this epic explores the dark side of Soviet life in the final years of Stalin’s reign of terror.At the height of Stalin’s postwar terror, Innokenty, a young diplomat and scion of a corrupt ruling class, discovers an earlier and more spiritual tradition than that adopted by the October Revolution, the beginning of a process which is Solzhenitsyn’s basic theme- the individual’s experience of acquiring an immortal soul.Unwisely but generously, Innok…
Book Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781860460906 |
|---|---|
| ISBN-10: | 1860460909 |
| Author: | Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn |
| Publisher: | Vintage Publishing |
| Imprint: | The Harvill Press |
| Format: | Paperback |
| Number of Pages: | 592 |
| Release Date: | 1 August 2002 |
| Weight: | 620g |
| Dimensions: | 216mm x 135mm x 42mm |
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Critics Review
A great novel… A majestic work of genius
A great novel… A majestic work of genius * Sunday Times *The First Circle is arguably the greatest Russian novel of the century * Spectator *A future generation of Russians will be able to come to terms with their history through books like Doctor Zhivago and The First Circle * Financial Times *
About The Author
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn was born in 1918 and grew up in Rostov-on-Don. He graduated in physics and mathematics from Rostov University and studied literature by correspondence course at Moscow University. In World War II he fought as an artillery officer, attaining the rank of captain. In 1945, however, after making derogatory remarks about Stalin in a letter, he was arrested and summarily sentenced to eight years in forced labour camps, followed by internal exile. In 1957 he formally rehabilitated, and settled down to teaching and writing. The publication of One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich in Novy Mir in 1962 was followed by publication, in the West, of his novels Cancer Ward and The First Circle. In 1970 he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature, and in 1974 his citizenship was revoked and he was expelled from the Soviet Union. He settled in Vermont and worked on his great historical cycle The Red Wheel. In 1990, with the fall of Soviet Communism, his citizenship was restored and four years later he returned to settle in Russia.
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