Rating: 
Summary: A Low-Tech Matrix
Review: This novel is set in what passes for the best of the worst: Research duty for ex-Gulag inmates who know what misery really is. Working on idiotic deadlines set in response to Stalin's quirks, the prisoner-scientists live in a world of denial and unreality akin to Dilbert on crack. A worse fate befalls their jailer-managers, who are "free," agents of the government, and must justify repeatedly failing to meet the ridiculous deadlines that their bosses set out of fear of offending The Boss, which typically ends in either immediate execution or in joining the ranks of those in chains.
Some things that stood out as I read this book were the universality of the bureaucratic mindset: avoidance of responsibility, inertia as a policy, stonewalling, and turfmanship, all in place of actual achievement or progress in any meaningful way. Another thing is the prevalence of a false-accuser culture, where anonymus denouncements can destroy the innocent quickly, without explanation or even a trace. (Given the state of our own society today, and the risk/reward calculus that favors the accuser, this trait appeared even more ominous to me as I read the book.) The denial that gripped some of the inmates, either wholly (Rubin) or partially (Nehrzin, in the beginning, and others) about why they were in prison reminded me of "The Matrix," in that they were dreamwalking through life in a mist of Marxist/Communist mumbo-jumbo, rationalizing their fates as random chance, a mistake, the failing of the system even, but almost never as an understanding of their suffering being inherent in the System itself. As Nehrzin awakes to this, to a degree (and the author may be semi-autobiographical in his sketch of this character, like himself a decorated artillery officer imprisoned over virtually nothing), he opens his eyes to the existence of the matrix of lies, false theory supporting false gods, etc., that has fully ensnared Russia and all within her power, hostage not only to Stalin's perversity, creeping madness, and hurbis, but to a system that is itself a reflection of all of these characteristics, too. The xenophobic search for American spies undermining Motherland security under every bush, the rewriting of history to support the current lies, and the occasional mind that breaks free by rejecting those lies, as Nehrzin did, starting in his youth, reminds one of Ayn Rand's "We the Living."
Echoing "1984," the older prisoners remember things as they were before the official history filled men's minds. Things had been different than they were being told, better, materially and spiritually. The prisoners themselves were frequently veterans - those who had done the most for the State reaping an unlooked-for reward, like Belisarius blinded by a jealous Justinian, left to beg in the streets. The theme of war and survival is a thread that binds the veterans, either prisoner or "free," to each other. A bond of another kind exists between the inmates and their women - the latter mostly loyal, giving up their youth, and the possibility of starting a family, waiting for a release that may never come, sustained by the rare visit that bureaucratic stonewalling and trickery tries to prevent, their love provides a flicker of hope in the ashes of their ruined lives, where even being suspected of marriage to a political criminal was enough to make earning a living an impossibility, since the State was sole employer.
Something else that seemed relevant to America today was the culture war that Yaralov, an ex-prisoner now running a research lab as a Colonel, remembers while pondering his posible return to zek status, from his youth. He gave up the love of a Christian girl because while the Orthodox Church was legal in the 1920s, it was not politically correct. As an ambitious young man with a future, Yaralov was torn between his woman and his career. As the Church was chased out of the public square, it suffered from remembered abuses of thise in its' hierarchy, although those failures to meet the standard ignore the origin of the standard in question - the Church itself. The sellout of a certain medaeval Metropolitan to the Tartars, used as an example by Yaralov in telling his betrothed why he will not side with the Church becomes a metaphor for bureaucratic sellout - applied by her to Yaralov when he chooses the System over what they both know he knows as the truth.
Solzehenetsyn's account of life within the highest reaches of the Soviet Prison-Industrial Complex is both a fine story in its' own right and a warning to us that we can travel the same path, if we have already not begun to do so. It is also highly literate, filled with allusions to literary and historical figures from the full scope of the Western Canon, in which Russia shares, and contains very little in the way of anger - a remarkable achievement for one who emerged from the bowels of the Gulag. While anger is largely absent, satire abounds, especially comments by those on the outside about the "social origin" of others - in a supposedly classless society.
This long book is well worth the time invested in it, as it is a work of rare and tragic beauty.
-Lloyd A. Conway
Rating:
Summary: Immense
Review: Another triumph by Solzenitsyn. A deeply humane book, in which the author weaves several tales around the central thread of a Soviet research establishment where the researchers are political prisoners. The stories in themselves are gripping, but what again holds the attention (as in the author's other works)is Solzhenitsyn's deeply profound portayal of the human cost of the repressive system, and how deeply it affected all of the citizens of the RSFSR, however exalted or mundane their place within that system. Particularly interesting were the depiction of Stalin and his relationships with his lackies, and the inner workings of Lubyanka Prison in central Moscow. The ending has a thought-provoking sting in the tale for us in the West. Recommended.
Rating:
Summary: First volume of The Gulag Archipelago
Review: I recommend that you read the entire Gulag Archipelago; The First Circle is a particularly specific work, dealing with the mind-numbing and devious prison for intellectually valuable polical prisoners during Stalinist Russia. A sort of think-tank was created by falsely accusing and imprisoning brilliant people. What occurred was not the total degradation of a labor camp, but the mind-numbing passivity of those whose future is not in their own hands. The First Circle refers to Dante's First Circle of Hell; the best circle, but hell nonetheless.
Rating:
Summary: If you like to read...read this
Review: I was first introdced to Solzhenitsyn's works when I was a freshman in high school, far too many years ago in a little town. The book was the Volume 1 of The Gulag Archipelago. It was really an eye-opener for me in so many ways, given that it was the first "really serious" book that I'd read.I believe that Solzhenitsyn is the best writer of the 20th century, or at least he's the top writer I've read so far (and I've read a lot of books). Maybe that's influenced by my early exposure, but I don't think so; I find his works just as compelling now as I did then. The First Circle is one of his most "accessible" works (that is, you can just jump in and start reading) and probably one of his best. A very compelling story; his portraits of the various vile creatures of the Soviet government have been shown to be quite accurate, and the way the various plots intertwine and are resolved is wonderful. The First Circle gives great insight into a culture totally foreign to most US citizens, as the book's a mixture of spy novel, guide to life in a Gulag camp, and brief introduction to Soviet society of the 1950s. A depressing place to be sure, but fascinating. Well worth reading.
Rating:
Summary: If you like to read...read this
Review: I was first introdced to Solzhenitsyn's works when I was a freshman in high school, far too many years ago in a little town. The book was the Volume 1 of The Gulag Archipelago. It was really an eye-opener for me in so many ways, given that it was the first "really serious" book that I'd read. I believe that Solzhenitsyn is the best writer of the 20th century, or at least he's the top writer I've read so far (and I've read a lot of books). Maybe that's influenced by my early exposure, but I don't think so; I find his works just as compelling now as I did then. The First Circle is one of his most "accessible" works (that is, you can just jump in and start reading) and probably one of his best. A very compelling story; his portraits of the various vile creatures of the Soviet government have been shown to be quite accurate, and the way the various plots intertwine and are resolved is wonderful. The First Circle gives great insight into a culture totally foreign to most US citizens, as the book's a mixture of spy novel, guide to life in a Gulag camp, and brief introduction to Soviet society of the 1950s. A depressing place to be sure, but fascinating. Well worth reading.
Rating:
Summary: Brillianr portrait of Stalin
Review: The best part of this book was the portrait of Stalin. It's hard to write about historic figures -- whether it's Lincoln, Hitler, or whomever, they usally end up sounding wooden or cliched. Yet here, the author "gets into the head" of Stalin. Reading it I felt, yes, that must be exactly what Stalin thought and felt like. The rest of the book is fine too, but Stalin remains the "character" I remember most.
Rating:
Summary: no evil characters in "The First Circle"
Review: The book's title refers to the first circle of Hell in Dante's Inferno. This is the least oppressive level of Hell. The prison camp described in this book offers plenty of food to the prisoners, no backbreaking physical labor, and a warm bed. Most of Stalin's prison camps are located in Siberia where the prisoners freeze and starve. What accounts for Stalin's leniency? The prisoners are scientists working on top secret projects like a telephone for Stalin's use that can't be tapped, and a system of identifying anonymous voices on public telephones by the voice prints, similar to finger prints. In Stalin's evil country, you are not innocent until proven guilty. You are guilty as soon as you are arrested. One prisoner was put in jail because his neighbors wanted his family's apartment and made up an unsupported lie about him. They got the apartment and destroyed his life and family. Most of the prisoners were WW2 vets, POWs returning from Germany. They weren't welcomed home with appreciation and honor. They were lured home by lies, and immediately imprisoned. There are many great characters. You'll remember Nerzhin and his wife, and wonder how things will work out for them. You'll remember Rubin, the sincere communist caught in the web of the system he believes in. You'll remember Innokenty Volodin, in trouble for doing a good deed, as innocent as his first name. When you read a mediocre book there are no characters to remember, just a predictable formulaic storyline and a group of people and events you find hard to believe. This is a rare opportunity for you to be a fly on the wall, halfway around the world, observing life in a Russian prison camp. The reason I give it only 4 stars is because I like happy endings and resolved problems. This book would make a good movie. There's plenty of room for a sequel (which hasn't been written) where we can find a satisfactory ending for some of the characters. Stalin the insane sewer rat died eventually and was denounced by Khrushchev, so maybe in time these people were allowed to live out the rest of their lives in freedom.
Rating: 
Summary: Injustice in Stalin's Soviet Union
Review: The book's title refers to the first circle of Hell in Dante's Inferno. This is the least oppressive level of Hell. The prison camp described in this book offers plenty of food to the prisoners, no backbreaking physical labor, and a warm bed. Most of Stalin's prison camps are located in Siberia where the prisoners freeze and starve. What accounts for Stalin's leniency? The prisoners are scientists working on top secret projects like a telephone for Stalin's use that can't be tapped, and a system of identifying anonymous voices on public telephones by the voice prints, similar to finger prints. In Stalin's evil country, you are not innocent until proven guilty. You are guilty as soon as you are arrested. One prisoner was put in jail because his neighbors wanted his family's apartment and made up an unsupported lie about him. They got the apartment and destroyed his life and family. Most of the prisoners were WW2 vets, POWs returning from Germany. They weren't welcomed home with appreciation and honor. They were lured home by lies, and immediately imprisoned. There are many great characters. You'll remember Nerzhin and his wife, and wonder how things will work out for them. You'll remember Rubin, the sincere communist caught in the web of the system he believes in. You'll remember Innokenty Volodin, in trouble for doing a good deed, as innocent as his first name. When you read a mediocre book there are no characters to remember, just a predictable formulaic storyline and a group of people and events you find hard to believe. This is a rare opportunity for you to be a fly on the wall, halfway around the world, observing life in a Russian prison camp. The reason I give it only 4 stars is because I like happy endings and resolved problems. This book would make a good movie. There's plenty of room for a sequel (which hasn't been written) where we can find a satisfactory ending for some of the characters. Stalin the insane sewer rat died eventually and was denounced by Khrushchev, so maybe in time these people were allowed to live out the rest of their lives in freedom.
Rating:
Summary: The perfect novel.
Review: The theme of this book is not prison camps: it is nothing more narrow than life itself. And it is almost as rich in characters and stories within stories (here Solzhenitsyn is very like Tolstoy) as life: constancy in love, artistic integrity, the whimspy of fate, literacy in Medieval Novgorod, the prison in the Count of Monte Cristo, snow, how to sew, the law of unintended consequences. A few major abiding themes run like threads throughout the book, providing unity: First, the life of the "zek," the prisoner in Stalin's camps. Second, loneliness: not just of prisoners longing for a woman or lost loved ones, or of persecuted wives trying to make lives for themselves, but ultimately of each person. Every conversation carries a different meaning for the people involved. The author "gets inside of peoples heads" in an amazing way -- from the janitor Spiridon to the "Best Friend of Counter-Intelligence Operatives," Joseph Stalin himself. Third, and on a deeper level, integrity, both artistic and moral. Fourth, and I don't know if this was the conscious intent of the author or not, the book reminds us of the unity of Western civilization. Aside from mentions of Tolstoy, Dostoevski, Pushkin, and Lermontov, (which, I might add, also describes the company Solzhenitsyn belongs in, with honor), the book is honeycombed with references to the great thinkers and artists of European civilization -- from the ancient Greeks and the Gospels, to Dante, the Holy Grail, Bach and Beethoven. The Marxist Rubin even quotes Luther. Primarily, no doubt this is a reflection of the fact that the prisoners in the "sharashkas," the top-secret scientific work camps, were educated men, unlike, say, the hero of his shorter novel, One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich. (The contrast Solzhenitsyn draws to their well-paid Neanderthal captors is just one form of the irony that is his most distinctive and powerful stylistic weapon. But even the Neanderthals, including Stalin himself, are portrayed not as cardboard villains, but with insight and imagination.) These references also remind us that, as much as Solzhenitsyn has been accused of being a "Slavophobe," as if that were an insult, the Russian culture he loves is an integral part of Western civilization. This iconic dialogue of the ages, similiar to the works of great Chinese painters, also adds another layer of delight to the book. The final and greatest thread that unifies this work is the idea of achieving humanity, of becoming what a person ought to be, of heroism. The prisoners are poets, eccentric, and philosophers (though there are also scoundrels, and everyone is tempted that way), beaten down by life and the forces of disolution within, trying to preserve their souls, or civilization, from the barbarians who are their masters. In describing the simple heroism of some of his characters, Solzhenitsyn achieves brilliance. In my opinion, First Circle is the greatest of his works, and one of the most powerful pieces of writing of the 20th Century, at least. And it is not about the Gulag, primarily: it is about what it means to be human, and the choices we all face. Aside from the characters and stories, many of the scenes are wonderful (again like Tolstoy): of Rubin standing in the courtyard at night in the snow when he hears the train whistle, of the party at the prosecutor's house, of the arrest of the diplomat. If life is sometimes too strange for fiction, (and it is) there are also pieces of fiction that seem truer than life. First Circle is a marriage of style and substance made in heaven, or at least, the highest circle of hell. author, Jesus and the Religions of Man
Rating:
Summary: An Inspired Classic!
Review: This book will absolutely challenge your political and spiritual ideas, no matter what they are! I was brought to my knees in gratitude for the freedom we have in America after finishing this book. A true miracle that it ever got published, with all the KGB attacks and threats. A MUST READ!
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