meeting March 4th, 2016.
Solzhenitsyn wrote this book in 1957 after he returned from exile. It describes a camp in Karaganda, Northern Kazakhstan where he was actually interred for a period. It is set in 1951, the year before Stalin’s death and published in 1962.
Throughout the book we are only given access to Shukhov’s inner thoughts. He speaks to the reader in first person, and the narrator’s voice can also be heard as he tells the reader what Shukhov is thinking and feeling. It is in the style of stream of consciousness – so his thoughts jump around. we do not learn what any of the other characters are thinking.
The first time i read this book i was shocked by the conditions of the Gulag, the hardness of the life that the zeks were forced to live and the injustice of Shukhov’s sentence. Revisiting the book, over ten years later, I was struck by the positive aspects of the way Shukhov handles his situation, and by the mindfulness that it encourages. For example when he is working:
“Every other thought went clean out of his head. He had no memory, no concern for anything except how he was going to join the lengths of pip and fix them s that the stove would not smoke”.
When he eats he gives the food his total attention. At the end of the day the narrator comments: ‘Shukhov felt pleased with life as he went to sleep’. He has managed to fulfill his basic needs of food, warmth, rest and water. going further up the hierarchy of needs, he also has built a number of relationships within the Gulag. He also achieves a level of esteem through his pride in his work, and his practical abilities. Within the restrictions of the environment he achieves a degree of self-fulfillment through doing the best he can in the situation.
He lives mostly in the moment – anticipating the realms that are presently being written about the importance of living in the moment. Mindfulness!
themes that might be discussed
hierarchy of needs
lights – search lights in the camp, natural light of the sun and moon
snow, ice, cold
possessions
food
Have a good meeting. sorry i cannot be with you.
bermondseybookclub 