Solzhenitsyn: a Soul in Exile [Paperback]

Joseph Pearce (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 2, 2000

Arguably one of the most significant writers of the 20th century, Solzhenitsyn has, since the fall of Communism, spoken out against the current Russian regime and now lives in seclusion. His faith has always deeply informed his literary and artistic approach and his response to the excesses of modern materialism. On the spiritual, cultural, and socio-political level, his writings have much to teach the world as it prepares for the new millennium. Based on personal interviews with Solzhenitsyn and his family, Joseph Pearce's major new book provides a profoundly fascinating insight into a towering literary and political figure.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Once a darling of the West for his high-profile rejection of Sovietism, Russian writer Alexander Solzhenitsyn lost some of his elevated status when his religious views became known. This comprehensive if uncritical biography of the winner of the 1970 Nobel Prize in literature is based in part on Pearce's exclusive interviews with his subject. Pearce details Solzhenitsyn's transformation from an ardently Marxist youth into a literary anachronism in post-Soviet Russia, with the bulk of the text focusing on the author's mid-century experiences. Solzhenitsyn spent years in a Soviet labor camp, then in exile in the gulag after being jailed for anti-Soviet sentiments found in his letters, and eventually was able to leave for the U.S. He emerged as a vociferous critic of the Soviet regime and a writer of international renown, with his memoir of his life in the gulag, One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, among his most famous works. Pearce explores Solzhenitsyn's literary output, emphasizing its cultural context and impact. During the 1970s, Solzhenitsyn lost critical support when he began to denounce what he considered from a religious standpoint the selfish materialism of the West. Ever the scholar, he located the origin of the problem in the transition between the sensibilities of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. Pearce, who has penned biographies of J.R.R. Tolkien and G.K. Chesterton, gives little credence to Solzhenitsyn's critics. So readers will gain a detailed impression of one of the leading intellectuals of the mid-20th century, but only an incomplete understanding of his latter-day contexts. B&w photos. (Feb. 1)Forecast: This book could be a tough sell, with a bio of Solzhenitsyn already in print, from a major writer (D.M. Thomas). However, Baker Book House has made the wise move of pricing its title low for a hardcover--lower even than the trade paperback edition of Thomas's book, and the Pearce has a special draw in that it includes previously unpublished poetry by the Russian author, which will ensure some interest.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Review

In his preface, Pearce poses the question, 'Exactly who is Alexander Solzhenitsyn?' An acknowledged literary genius whose life has contained polar opposites of atheism and orthodox religion, imprisonment and freedom, unimaginable poverty and wealth, a celibate life and a happy family. A man who has endured the political treachery of one wife and the devoted loyalty of another, has faced death in war and participated in its brutality, yet found time to write considered prose; who has survived cancer three times despite believing in imminent death. No other author of the same status has been as feted in his own country and a 'prophet without honour', exiled, then invited to return home by the President of his homeland. Pearce portrays Solzhenitsyn's life as a journey of discovery. From a Russian Orthodox religious childhood to an indoctrinated Marxist atheist adolescence coupled with the intellectual hothouse of university education. He portrays the arrogance engendered by officer training school and discovery of the unselfishness of unexalted people of lesser intellects. It is this and his education by fellow prisoners which draws him back to the Christian religion during his late twenties and lays the foundation for the principles which have governed all his works and political statements. His adherence to these principles of self-denial, anti-communism and materialism are reminiscent of St Augustus in revulsion of his former life and rigidity of purpose. Through interpretation of Solzhenitsyn's writings, Pearce establishes his incarceration produced a humanitarian consistency which developed from considering aspects of morality. This informs all his works, which are not just a polemic against the brutality of the State, but an illustration of how a man can keep his soul despite unremitting mental, physical and commercially inspired abuse. (Kirkus UK)

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Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Harper Collins Pb (October 2, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0002740419
• ISBN-13: 978-0002740418
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,454,199 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars This book meets a real need, January 1, 2002

By 

Extollager (Mayville, ND United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Solzhenitsyn: A Soul in Exile (Hardcover)

There are lengthy biographies of Solzhenitsyn by Scammell and Thomas, and specialized studies (e.g. Ericson's). Pearce's book meets the need of public and undergraduate libraries for a very readable, concise, and up-to-date biography of this controversial Nobel Prize winner. Pearce's book includes some otherwise unavailable recent material by Solzhenitsyn -- the prose poems at the end of the book -- so graduate libraries ought to have it, also.

Individuals who have read Solzhenitsyn's own autobiographical works and open letters might not need this book, but for most readers it will be a good introduction. It has the salutary effect of prompting one to go and (re)read works such as The First Circle. Pearce doesn't go into depth in discussion of Solzhenitsyn's books, but says enough to quicken interest in them.

Pearce shows affinity between Solzhenitsyn's positive ideas and those of people such as E. F. Schumacher (Small Is Beautiful). The critique of Enlightenment progressivism and positivism isn't detailed, but there's enough to remind me of writers as otherwise diverse as Phillip Sherrard (The Eclipse of Man and Nature), Russell Kirk, and the author of Ideas Have Consequences. I was also reminded a little of C. S. Lewis's prophetic novel That Hideous Strength, where Lewis presents a distinction between Britain and Logres, as I read Solzhenitsyn as quoted by Pearce, on the souls of nations. Familiarity with these writers -- who are often not known, or well known, to persons who presume to speak of their ideas -- can help one to understand where Solzhenitsyn is coming from.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars very good, February 4, 2004

By 

John Keck (Washington, DC United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Solzhenitsyn: a Soul in Exile (Paperback)

Pearce's biography of A.I. Solzhenitsyn may leave off the man's rougher edges, but manages to bring to the fore the centrality of Solzhenitsyn's religious convictions. This seems to be Pearce's forte and his mission in life. In today's cultural wasteland, when nearly no one looks past their momentary needs, it is very much needed. Very edifying.

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Portrays a complex man of integrity and faith, March 15, 2001

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Solzhenitsyn: A Soul in Exile (Hardcover)

Solzhenitsyn: A Soul In Exile is a new biography of Alexander Solzhenitsyn portraying a complex man of integrity and faith, and whose anti-materialist stance and call for a "moral revolution" are as relevant today as they were fifty years ago. Biographer Joseph Pearce reassess this influential Russian writer who gave voice to the more than sixty million victims of Soviet terror, and who won the Nobel Prize for "the ethical force" of his literary work. Even with the collapse of Communism, Solzhenitsyn continues to be an outspoken critic of Russian leadership's role in that country's economic collapse and consequent rise of lawlessness. This impressive, highly recommended biography showcases Solzhenitsyn's life and work as a courageous stand for truth rooted in Christian and moral beliefs as evidenced in his life, poetry, plays, novels, and pronouncements.