Jul 16, 2008

God Bless You Alexander Solzhenitsyn


Beating all odds, Alexander Solzhenitsyn is still alive...and apparently still paying the bills.

Yesterday, the AP reported that Solzhenitsyn had authorized the release of an “uncut” English language version of The First Circle. (His translator died in 2005 and the project was put, as Solzhenitsyn would say, ‘in the drawer.’)

This is both good and bad.

Solzhenitsyn stands among the giants of the 20th century, both for his literary prowess and as one of the few people to tell both the Soviet Union and the United States to go to hell. Throughout his public life, he did it all in a very Solzhenitsyn kind of way. This ensured that neither the Kremlin, nor the editors of the New York Times, fully understood what on earth he meant.

Just was with his 1978 Harvard commencement address, the prospect of an “uncut” English language translation of First Circle is a mixed bag. This is especially true since his more recent works have been prone to spasms of self-indulgent prose.

Solzhenitsyn aficionados of the world, prepare yourselves.

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