Books - What are you reading?
Discussion
havoc said:
havoc said:
Edwin Strohacker said:
Don said:
Seven Eves is truly excellent. I devoured it in just a few days.
I think there were some liberties taken with the science on a few points in the name of the story, but as with all his stuff it was very in-depth and nicely written...
Just completed 'The Gulag Archipelago' - volume 2.
A commentator on the total work said (I paraphrase as I heard this as part of a lecture); "Solzhenitsyn writes throughout with such intensity that it is akin to listening to a 2000 page long scream of indignation and fury at the cruel and dehumanising system of the Gulag, and it's perpetrators, from Lenin and Stalin through the Cheka and NKVD and the prosecutors, down to the camp bosses, guards and zek (prisoner) trustees."
He berates the entirety of the Russian people for their complicity in allowing the system continue in the full knowledge of it's existence. He judges himself as equally guilty.
As a 'warning' to anyone considering reading this, it is not currently in print except in the abridged version, being about 1/3 of the original in length.
The abridged version, does miss out on some critical areas; particularly the concise way in which Solzhenitsyn lays responsibility for the creation of the Gulags at the feet of Lenin, and then shows how Stalin merely accepted his inheritance, and enthusiastically expanded it.
Original first edition copies of each volume are available with some searching, and unsurprisingly given it's length, the third volume is the most rare given how few people will have worked their way through the entire collection. My copy of the third volume actually appears to be unread.
For clarity
(because I found this initially confusing and unintentionally purchased an abridged version)
Volume 1 - Parts 1 and 2, 1974 - 620 pages + notes and index
Volume 2 - Parts 3 and 4, 1975 - 672 pages + notes and index
Volume 3 - Parts 5 to 7. 1978 - 523 pages + notes and index
The revisionists have now had some years to formulate their lies and excuses, but Solzhenitsyn has provided numerous footnotes to documents in the Lenin library in Moscow in anticipation of them, while acknowledging lack of absolute certainty where he must do so. This was written before the 'secret archives' were made available.
'Stalin's Cult of Personality' is again on the rise in Russia.
I am joining Orwell on 'The Road to Wigan Pier' for a bit, before returning to the Archipelago in Volume 3.
A commentator on the total work said (I paraphrase as I heard this as part of a lecture); "Solzhenitsyn writes throughout with such intensity that it is akin to listening to a 2000 page long scream of indignation and fury at the cruel and dehumanising system of the Gulag, and it's perpetrators, from Lenin and Stalin through the Cheka and NKVD and the prosecutors, down to the camp bosses, guards and zek (prisoner) trustees."
He berates the entirety of the Russian people for their complicity in allowing the system continue in the full knowledge of it's existence. He judges himself as equally guilty.
As a 'warning' to anyone considering reading this, it is not currently in print except in the abridged version, being about 1/3 of the original in length.
The abridged version, does miss out on some critical areas; particularly the concise way in which Solzhenitsyn lays responsibility for the creation of the Gulags at the feet of Lenin, and then shows how Stalin merely accepted his inheritance, and enthusiastically expanded it.
Original first edition copies of each volume are available with some searching, and unsurprisingly given it's length, the third volume is the most rare given how few people will have worked their way through the entire collection. My copy of the third volume actually appears to be unread.
For clarity
(because I found this initially confusing and unintentionally purchased an abridged version)
Volume 1 - Parts 1 and 2, 1974 - 620 pages + notes and index
Volume 2 - Parts 3 and 4, 1975 - 672 pages + notes and index
Volume 3 - Parts 5 to 7. 1978 - 523 pages + notes and index
The revisionists have now had some years to formulate their lies and excuses, but Solzhenitsyn has provided numerous footnotes to documents in the Lenin library in Moscow in anticipation of them, while acknowledging lack of absolute certainty where he must do so. This was written before the 'secret archives' were made available.
'Stalin's Cult of Personality' is again on the rise in Russia.
I am joining Orwell on 'The Road to Wigan Pier' for a bit, before returning to the Archipelago in Volume 3.
CR6ZZ said:
Have just finished this series. Sci-Fi set in a near future. Really enjoyed them. However, by pure chance I read "Shift" first and would recommend that Shift, Wool and then Dust is indeed the best order to read them in.
Funny you should say that because I read Wool and loved it, but when I realised that the next book was a prequel I had zero desire to read it. I hate prequels because you already know the ending.I might jump to Dust then. Was that any good?
blindswelledrat said:
CR6ZZ said:
Have just finished this series. Sci-Fi set in a near future. Really enjoyed them. However, by pure chance I read "Shift" first and would recommend that Shift, Wool and then Dust is indeed the best order to read them in.
Funny you should say that because I read Wool and loved it, but when I realised that the next book was a prequel I had zero desire to read it. I hate prequels because you already know the ending.I might jump to Dust then. Was that any good?
Completed 'The Road to Wigan Pier' by Orwell.
How much has changed since his time, and yet how little.
What a grim life he describes for the working classes of the day.
The second part, an essay on the problems with socialism in Britain and to a lesser degree a warning about fascism generally is foretelling, and in some regards I think details, quite unintentionally, how Britain managed to dodge the communist bullet.
This did nonetheless have me laughing quite hard a few times.
Back to 'The Gulag Archipelago' in volume 3.
How much has changed since his time, and yet how little.
What a grim life he describes for the working classes of the day.
The second part, an essay on the problems with socialism in Britain and to a lesser degree a warning about fascism generally is foretelling, and in some regards I think details, quite unintentionally, how Britain managed to dodge the communist bullet.
This did nonetheless have me laughing quite hard a few times.
Back to 'The Gulag Archipelago' in volume 3.
I'm still trekking through the life and times of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, but am making a brief detour into post-war Berlin in the form of another Hans Fallada novel. Released in English in 2016 as Nightmare in Berlin, it's easy to see the naming scheme adopted for these releases.
Semi-autobiographic, it chronicles the life of Dr. Doll and his wife, Alma, as they try to exist in post-war Berlin. Much of their existence is spent trying to score morphine, making it a sort of WWII Trainspotting if you'd like. The translation, this time, is by Allan Blunden as opposed to Michael Hofmann, but both seem to have garnered praise.
Roughly 260 pages long, I'm already 140 deep and very, very curious to see where it ends.
I'm contemplating following up my reading on Atatürk with Eugene Rogan's The Fall of the Ottomans, but we'll see if that happens or not.
I wouldn't rule out fiction either, on the basis that it can recreate the sense of fear that permeated throughout Soviet society. To that end, William Ryan's novels from the 'Inspector Korolev' series are worthy of consideration, being set in the era of Stalinist purges, show trials and repression. If you'd rather read translations of actual Russian works from the era, then Solzhenitsyn's One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich is a novella about life in a Soviet labour camp.
There are thousands of books on the Soviets and even Wikipedia could be a useful starting point for getting a "Who's Who?" of faces in the Soviet Union. Obvious names like Lenin, Stalin and Brezhnev could probably be glossed over and read in greater depth elsewhere but others are only ever bit-players, like Simon Ter-Petrossian (Kamo), who was one of Stalin's compatriots in the early days.
I'd also appreciate recommendations for books on Nestor Makhno and the Black Army, so I'm all ears if anyone has any.
UPDATE
Finished Nightmare in Berlin. It's a shorter book than the other Fallada novel I've read, but it ends on a surprisingly optimistic tone. In fact, both of his books have a surprisingly hopeful ending considering just how grim existence in the Third Reich and its aftermath would have been.
Semi-autobiographic, it chronicles the life of Dr. Doll and his wife, Alma, as they try to exist in post-war Berlin. Much of their existence is spent trying to score morphine, making it a sort of WWII Trainspotting if you'd like. The translation, this time, is by Allan Blunden as opposed to Michael Hofmann, but both seem to have garnered praise.
Roughly 260 pages long, I'm already 140 deep and very, very curious to see where it ends.
I'm contemplating following up my reading on Atatürk with Eugene Rogan's The Fall of the Ottomans, but we'll see if that happens or not.
joshcowin said:
I know little of Soviet russia/rule and am interested in finding out!
Whilst I'm not Goaty Bill, who I surmise is better read on the topic than I am (I've not read The Gulag Archipelago either), I'd heartily recommend Simon Sebag Montefiore's writings on the subject. "Young Stalin" reads almost like a novel but is, in fact, a well-sourced look at the life of the Georgian altar boy, poet and bank robber (yes, really) who became Josef Stalin.I wouldn't rule out fiction either, on the basis that it can recreate the sense of fear that permeated throughout Soviet society. To that end, William Ryan's novels from the 'Inspector Korolev' series are worthy of consideration, being set in the era of Stalinist purges, show trials and repression. If you'd rather read translations of actual Russian works from the era, then Solzhenitsyn's One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich is a novella about life in a Soviet labour camp.
There are thousands of books on the Soviets and even Wikipedia could be a useful starting point for getting a "Who's Who?" of faces in the Soviet Union. Obvious names like Lenin, Stalin and Brezhnev could probably be glossed over and read in greater depth elsewhere but others are only ever bit-players, like Simon Ter-Petrossian (Kamo), who was one of Stalin's compatriots in the early days.
I'd also appreciate recommendations for books on Nestor Makhno and the Black Army, so I'm all ears if anyone has any.
UPDATE
Finished Nightmare in Berlin. It's a shorter book than the other Fallada novel I've read, but it ends on a surprisingly optimistic tone. In fact, both of his books have a surprisingly hopeful ending considering just how grim existence in the Third Reich and its aftermath would have been.
Edited by Levin on Monday 3rd April 19:43
joshcowin said:
Goaty Bill 2 said:
Back to 'The Gulag Archipelago' in volume 3.
Would you recommend this?I know little of Soviet russia/rule and am interested in finding out!
Shortly after having begun reading The Gulag Archipelago, I felt that level of obligation to this 'story' and period of history.
In fact, I may begin reading it again, at least the first volume.
I think a greater understanding is to be had with the benefit of reflection.
As Levin says above, don't ignore fiction.
Solzhenitsyn produced a number of books, principally as works of fiction, and I have the good fortune to know a (very) few people who have read a number of them. All agree that his works deserve great attention.
One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich
The First Circle
Cancer Ward
The Red Wheel
I also had the further good fortune to know one person, in the Polish army during the invasion of Poland and throughout the war, who briefly experienced the Gulags personally, and to have read her privately published biography after her death.
It confirms that the Gulag life is quite accurately described.
I say 'briefly' above, but not knowing one's fate for weeks on end whilst living like an animal in sub-zero temperatures, will be a stress beyond imagining for most people.
The Gulag Archipelago, is a history with personal experiences thrown in, with historical documents and other books referenced, and other people's stories included where they could be verified, generally by multiple witnesses.
It is much more elegantly written than any academic history book would be, firstly because Solzhenitsyn is an excellent writer, and if for no other reason than because he experienced it personally.
Much like 'Ordinary Men' by Christopher Browning, it will (should) leave most people asking; "What would I have done?"
Solzhenitsyn asked himself that selfsame question, and declares that he found himself wanting.
Nearly finished re-reading Aldous Huxley's Brave New World. Last read at least 10 or 15 years ago and, in some ways, even better second time around. Always overshadowed in its prescience and authority on the perils of modern society by Orwell's 1984, it nonetheless is a clever piece of work that we could all do well to ponder.
Digga said:
Nearly finished re-reading Aldous Huxley's Brave New World. Last read at least 10 or 15 years ago and, in some ways, even better second time around. Always overshadowed in its prescience and authority on the perils of modern society by Orwell's 1984, it nonetheless is a clever piece of work that we could all do well to ponder.
Wholly agree. The message is never irrelevant.Recently completed :
"End of the world running club" by Adrian Walker - UK hit by a series of meteor strikes, follows a group of survivors as they travel from Edinburgh to Falmouth and promised evacuation. An interesting enough basis for a good tale but a bit clumsily structured for my liking and I found the whole thing just a little bit dull. 2/5
After someone else mentioned it on here "Waiting for sunrise" by William Boyd. Great read, but not up there with Any Human Heart or Sweet Caress for me. I felt that the last quarter of the book was a little too contrived and had a few too many handy coincidences. 3/5
"End of the world running club" by Adrian Walker - UK hit by a series of meteor strikes, follows a group of survivors as they travel from Edinburgh to Falmouth and promised evacuation. An interesting enough basis for a good tale but a bit clumsily structured for my liking and I found the whole thing just a little bit dull. 2/5
After someone else mentioned it on here "Waiting for sunrise" by William Boyd. Great read, but not up there with Any Human Heart or Sweet Caress for me. I felt that the last quarter of the book was a little too contrived and had a few too many handy coincidences. 3/5
Edited by towser on Tuesday 4th April 13:08
Many thanks to Levin and Goaty, I often gwet really into a period of history or subject so I am sure this will be my next topic.
Bought this yesterday as though it looked good (city on fire) - https://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/oct/22/city...
Probably a mistake but I will give it a go, anyone read it? Paid £10 in smiths so hope I enjoy it
Bought this yesterday as though it looked good (city on fire) - https://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/oct/22/city...
Probably a mistake but I will give it a go, anyone read it? Paid £10 in smiths so hope I enjoy it
joshcowin said:
Many thanks to Levin and Goaty, I often gwet really into a period of history or subject so I am sure this will be my next topic.
Bought this yesterday as though it looked good (city on fire) - https://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/oct/22/city...
Probably a mistake but I will give it a go, anyone read it? Paid £10 in smiths so hope I enjoy it
If you enjoy it, then it's no mistake. The setting is very promising as, in my opinion, '70s NYC is when the city was at its most interesting. That assessment is probably based on having seen The Warriors and parts of The Panic in Needle Park, as well as liking the punk music the decade blessed us with. Let me know how it goes and I may just have to read it myself.Bought this yesterday as though it looked good (city on fire) - https://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/oct/22/city...
Probably a mistake but I will give it a go, anyone read it? Paid £10 in smiths so hope I enjoy it
Just picked up Melvyn Bragg's 'Now is the Time'.
A historical novel set in 14th Century England about Watt Tyler's 'rebellion'.
I've enjoyed a few of his previous novels although they were almost semi-autobiographical, not sure how this one will go down. I'll report back in a couple of days.
A historical novel set in 14th Century England about Watt Tyler's 'rebellion'.
I've enjoyed a few of his previous novels although they were almost semi-autobiographical, not sure how this one will go down. I'll report back in a couple of days.
lowdrag said:
It has been quite a while since I read any James Lee Burke and I mustn't leave it so long next time. His easy style of writing, his lazy but twisting plots are all difficult to devine and keep you reading. The latest is The Jealous Kind, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
I LOVE JLB, ever since I got a free copy of Black Cherry Blues on the front of a GQ about 25 years ago. I've now read everything he's published. I agree with your comment entirely!I'm currently reading the latest Rebus:
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