Archipiélago Gulag: 1918-1956: Ensayo de Investigación Literaria Book

One of the most compelling non-fiction texts I've ever read. I naively picked this up after reading One Day In The Life of Ivan Denisovitch thinking it would be a longer version of a similar concept. Instead, it turns out this mighty work is half well-researched investigation into the processing of Soviet political prisoners and half personal account of the author's own experience in the "sewage-waste disposal" that led to the gulag.

I'll concede that Solzhenitsyn's personal accounts are the real treasure here. He masterfully weaves his own story into the larger picture leaving no one to possibly mistake this for a vanity project. This is material is detailed, comprehensive, and utterly captivating - even though it carries many Russian idiosyncrasies.

Finally, I'd like to add that I spent most of February on this book, thinking there is no better time to read about the Siberian prison system than slugging through my own wintry prison everyday. As I was conducting my normal post-reading research, I happened to discover that my edition of the book only contains the first two volumes of the Gulag Archipelago. Apparently, there are several more volumes! I thought I had accomplished something! It was then that I finally understood the plight of the poor zek who thinks the transit system is the height of his suffering. "In camp, it will be...worse."