One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Alexander Solzhenitsyn. In two translations: by Max Hayward and Ronald Hingley (Frederick A. Praeger, $3.95) and Ralph Parker (E. P. Dutton, $3.95).
Plato was convinced that the only political state one could rationally argue for had to be an organic extension of the human individuals who were its members. I don’t suppose many people now would suggest that they have ever experienced such a state. Whole countries scream that “ours” is better than “yours,” but none of them is prepared to undertake the rational organization Plato advocated. This means, of course, that we, each of us, spend as much time differentiating ourselves from our state as we do choosing officials, defending our status, and trying to please our neighbors. People have done this for thousands of years. If we have wondered whether or not we will do it in the future, Solzhenitsyn’s book reminds us that we’ll keep right on conforming and protesting and, in happy confusion, being our same old inimitable selves.
Already have an account? Log in
Join KR for even more to read.