Delivered exactly what it promised, a Day in the life of Ivan Denisovich. I initially was supposed to read Solzhenitsyn's other tome of a novel calledDelivered exactly what it promised, a Day in the life of Ivan Denisovich. I initially was supposed to read Solzhenitsyn's other tome of a novel called Gulag Archipelago, but multiple reviews online even videos on youtube kept suggesting to at least give this a try first as it's a "fiction" but really non-fiction account of what happened (for a day at least) in a life of a prisoner in the Gulag. Really good book, there's not much to unravel and analyze. It's what it is on face value, the life of a prisoner back then. Short but delivered what it was supposed to. I will be reading more about the Gulag in the next few months ...more
I usually start off "proper" reviews with a quote or two that I really liked but having just quickly checked my book tabs, there were too many sentencI usually start off "proper" reviews with a quote or two that I really liked but having just quickly checked my book tabs, there were too many sentences and paragraphs that I took note of to really choose which ones I want to highlight. Some are even spoilers, so I decided not to
I think most if not all my reviews and succeeding reviews of any classic literature that I enjoyed would contain something to the extent of, why did it take me x amount of years to finally pick this one up. I have been interested in Russian literature and history lately and Dosteovsky has been all over my feed. I have no regrets starting off with Crime and Punishment, as opposed to hundreds of advice online saying that one should start with Brothers Karamazov or Notes From Underground
It was such a journey going through the psyche of Raskolnikov. The plot itself isn't as complex as one would assume, but it's the philosophical implication that Dostoevsky portrayed that really made this novel what it is. With the thousands of reviews out there already not just on goodreads, I don't really think I need to say much to recommend this novel. Will I read it again in the future? Absolutely. I have already planned out reading a different translation of this. The P&V version that I have was really accessible and didn't feel as daunting as I thought this novel would be. In all honesty I really need to digest and contemplate a lot of things about this novel. I can truly agree with the statement that once you've read Dosteovsky, there's no going back. I will be reading more of his works in 2024 and the years to come...more