Alexander Solzhenitsyn [Paperback]

D.M. Thomas (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 15, 1998

One of the most important literary biographies of recent times, this is not only the story of one of the century's greatest writers, but the history of Russia itself.

A rare combination of exhaustive research and novelistic style, Alexander Solzhenitsyn is the type of literary biography that appears rarely in a generation. D. M. Thomas depicts Solzhenitsyn's struggles, which led to years of imprisonment and subsequent exile, and paints a deeply affecting portrait of the intricate relationship between Solzhenitsyn's life and his art, always framing this masterpiece in the context of the historical times.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Russian writer/moralist Alexander Solzhenitsyn is not pleased about this biography that draws on interviews with his first wife. Nonetheless, British novelist D. M. Thomas views Solzhenitsyn throughout with sympathy, depicting a difficult but admirable man as important for his role in the struggle against Soviet totalitarianism as for the artistry of his fiction. The final chapters, on Solzhenitsyn's return home in 1994 after 20 years in exile, show "the ultimate dissident" still alone, disdained as old-fashioned and irrelevant in the new Russia. Thomas writes with a lyrical soulfulness that underscores his sense of connection to Russian artists. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

D.M. Thomas (Flying in to Love, LJ 11/1/92) casts a novelist's eye on a giant of 20th-century Russian literature in this first-rate, engrossing biography. This is a carefully researched narrative depicting the life of Solzhenitsyn (b. 1918), a life that parallels the modern history of his country. Thomas describes the many cataclysmic events of Solzhenitsyn's life: his early devotion to communism, his years in the Red Army and labor camp, his battle with cancer, his dissident writings, his exile to the United States in 1974, and his eventual return to Russia 20 years later. There is no dearth of biographical material on Solzhenitsyn?Michael Scammell's authoritative biography Solzhenitsyn (LJ 9/15/84) being the most significant thus far. But with his background in and obvious passion for Russian letters, Thomas does something a historian cannot: he paints a beautifully realized portrait of Solzhenitsyn as if he were a character in one of his own epic novels, a man bound by his rigid idealistic asceticism in a tragic century. This brilliant achievement is highly recommended.?Diane Gardner Premo, Rochester P.L., N.Y.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 608 pages
• Publisher: Picador; 1st edition (December 15, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312198264
• ISBN-13: 978-0312198268
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.7 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,303,494 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thomas hits the mark..., October 4, 2000

By 

Caz - See all my reviews

This review is from: Alexander Solzhenitsyn: A Century in His Life (Hardcover)

If you're a student or fan of the Russian poet/novelist, then this book is a must-read. It is a superb critical biography of the man who is a giant in the literary world. The book enlightens the reader on Solzhenitsyn's life and politics, in his timeless as well as his contemporary significance.

As is the subject of being written about, this is a giant read - 559 pages in hardcover edition. This is not only a finely wrought literary biography but also a chronicle of twentieth-century Russian history.

Thomas was masterful in his research, ferreting out the myriad substance that forms the great Russian author/writer. A rich and rewarding read.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Solzhenitsyn and Russia Come Vividly Alive, February 8, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Alexander Solzhenitsyn: A Century in His Life (Hardcover)

D.M. Thomas does a masterful job in showing the world a great writer, a great Russian, and a, oh so human, man. I was not left with a bad taste for Sanya or his writings. On the contrary, I am now even more an admirerer of the great man "Alexander Solzhenitsyn". Mr. Thomas is most fair in his criticism of Sanya's life and mistakes. He does not try and glorify or vilify the man. He has put together a story that moves the heart in all directions. You feel distaste for Sanya's character, then sorry for him, then you rise to the glorious heights of his literary endeavors. Mr. Thomas makes Solzhenitsyn very human and, I believe, prophetic. I am an admirerer of Solzhenitsyn and after reading this book my devotion to his truths are firmer. The book is long, but, I believe, readable. Much more than just one writer is eloquently portrayed and satisfactorily explained as to their importance to Russian literature. If you are interested in just how important men like Alexander Solzhenitsyn are to Russian literature and the world at large then this is a must read book.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Shockingly Beautiful Biography of a Powerful Man!, June 26, 2003

By 

Christiana Washington (Colorado) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Alexander Solzhenitsyn (Paperback)

This book touched me in ways I had not anticipated! The author brings Solzhenitsyn's life to the lay man in easy-to-understand terminology and fascinating facts. I could not put this very thick book down; from the moment I got it I was enthralled. The rich characters and cultural reflections given in this book are enough to make any Russian history buff salivate! I was inspired and truly blessed by this amazing biography.