Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn: Cancer Ward

[blueboatdriver]

I've just finished Cancer Ward by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn. A brilliantly written, easy to read Russian novel. Such different characters all thrown together by this turn of fate. I couldn't write a review like some on here can but I do highly recommend this book. I haven't seen it mentioned on here before and would be interested in what others think.

 

[Sergo]

Yep, it is a good book.
BTW, have you heard that the author came through the Cancer Ward himself?

 

[blueboatdriver]

Yes I have. He also spent time in the work camps from which I think he used his experiances to write One Day In The Life of Ivan Denisovich.

 

[bethm]

does anyone know whether this is generally considered one of his best works?
i haven't read any of his stuff yet but would like to so am just wondering where to start!

 

[bethm]

sorry!
just discovered the other solzhenitsyn thread, got some tips off that.
doh!

 

[abecedarian]

I just started Cancer Ward last night and I can tell right away this will take a little time to get through. This isn't a bad thing, it's just that sort of book. I think I need to stop and think about the characters and conditions they endure. My thoughts right now are that conditions in the ward are not so different from those in the prisons. The treatment is a little more humane, but certainly a few fries short of a happy meal, even by the standards of the day for this time period.