Well this one took me a little while to read but it was definitely worth the effort. In Gulag Archipelago Solzhenitsyn has undertaken to demonstrate the full extent of Soviet Russia's prison system, and that appears to be no mean feat. He guides readers through the system from arrest on trumped up charges, through to sadistic torture and biased trials before the journey to camp begins. Its not an easy read given the harrowing nature of much of the subject matter yet its a measure of the writers skill that he maintains a dry sense of humour throughout.
The Soviet Gulag system is without a doubt one of the worst crimes against humanity ever committed and even in a century marred by two World Wars and their associated atrocities this stands out. That it is so little known has to be down to the secrecy of the Soviet state. But this book plays its part in shining a light onto this dark corner of human history.
This book is both important and informative but because the author tells the human stories behind the system rather than dwelling on numbers and statistics (which may have been hard to come by) it is compelling throughout.
There is further sections of the book still to read as it was published in several parts, and I'll be back to read them before too long.
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