Alexander Solzhenitsyn: A Century in His Life

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.

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.

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.

All biographers should write with the balance of thorough research and psychological insight that Thomas brings to his life of Solzhenitsyn. It is highly evocative of an era that is still for those of us in the West, clouded by the ideological fog which both sides in the cold war helped to generate. Thomas makes his distaste for Stalinism and bolshevism clear. He should win over even the most stalwart ideologue, however, with his obvious love of Russia--its land and its people--and his equally obvious love for the brisk air of free expression. This is an important book.

Can't say enough about this book. The subject's life is truly epic, spanning the Russian Revolution, World War II and the cold war. Thomas is right when he says that if you judge a writer by how he affects history, Solzhenitsyn is the greatest writer of our century. Plus his life is riveting. I loved this biography as much as any I've read since Robert Caro's wonderful LBJ Volume One. It's neat to have a novelist doing a biography too, as that seems to add a dimension here. Anyway, this is a brilliant work about a riveting subject. Can't say enough about it.