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INGRID C DURDEN's avatar

I read part of his Gulag archipelago and found it extremely boring. We had to read it for school.

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brian kennedy's avatar

I read it as an innocent man in prison in a foreign country while the State was dismissing my exonerating evidence and trying to railroad me into a 30 year sentence. I found the book riveting. I guess maybe you had to be there…

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Jared Wilkins's avatar

When you had to be there when Frodo had to let go of the ring. Oh wait, it's just a literary work.

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statsman's avatar

Wow, there is a considered and important opinion. Thanks for contributing.

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Margaret Anna Alice's avatar

Try reading it again—or listening to the audiobook if that’s easier. I guarantee you will see it with different eyes now that what he described is unfolding before our eyes in technicolor. His biting humor, countless firsthand accounts, and exceptional literary skill make his lessons from the gulags all the more captivating. It is a must-read for anyone who wishes to understand and resist tyranny.

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INGRID C DURDEN's avatar

It might be different now, as I would read it free will, contrast to the must from school, I would have time, then I only had a week to read that heavy book, and I am way older which causes your perception to shift. Thanks for the tip, I might just do that !

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Margaret Anna Alice's avatar

A week?! Goodness gracious, that’s not an assignment, that’s a recipe for sleep deprivation and incomprehension. Definitely worth revisiting at your own languid pace!

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INGRID C DURDEN's avatar

INdeed ! I had to read it way into the night. We had only a few books available. Hardly anyone wanted to buy it, new and expensive. So we circulated them.

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Jared Wilkins's avatar

I find it interesting that in the 90s in the post Soviet countries there has been a lot of propaganda how Soviet Union was bad and how Nazis are so mysterious and enigmatic. It was more popular to become skin head and slap a swastika tattoo than defend Soviet past among younger generation. Sure there have been bad things, but all countries have dark in their past.

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