Solzhenitsyn: A Soul in Exile by Joseph Pearce (PDF)

Description

Revised, Expanded EditionBased on exclusive, personal interviews with Alexander Solzhenitsyn, Joseph Pearce’s biography of the renowned Russian dissident provides profound insight into a towering literary and political figure. From his pro-Communist youth to his imprisonment in forced labor camps, from his exile in America to his return to Russia, Solzhenitsyn struggled with the weightiest questions of human existence: When a person has suffered the most terrible physical and emotional torture, what becomes of his spirit? Can science, politics and economics truly provide all of man’s needs? In his acclaimed literary and historical works, Solzhenitsyn exposed the brutality of the Soviet regime. Most famous for his novel One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich and his three-volume expose of the Russian police state, The Gulag Archipelago, he won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1970. Solzhenitsyn’s Christian faith deeply informed his response to the inhumanity of modern materialism as it took shape in twentieth- century Russia. His critique applies not only to Communism, however, but also to the post-Christian capitalism now dominant in the West. On the spiritual, cultural, and socio-political level, his writings still have much to teach the world. This book also contains a gallery of rare photographs.

User’s Reviews

Reviews from Amazon users which were colected at the time this book was published on the website:

⭐The centennial of Alexander Solzhenitsyn’s birth passed in 2018 with surprisingly little fanfare. Perhaps this reflects contemporary culture’s obsession with the present and forgetfulness regarding the past. Perhaps it reflects elite ambivalence about the author, whose critique of Soviet crimes was accepted but whose critique of Western moral relativism was rejected.Whatever the reason Solzhenitsyn’s centennial was largely passed over, I decided on December 11, 2018—his one hundredth birthday—to reacquaint myself with the man and his writings in 2019. My first stop was the revised and updated edition of Joseph Pearce’s Solzhenitsyn: A Soul in Exile. The first edition was published in 1999 after Solzhenitsyn turned eighty. This edition appeared in 2011, three years after his death.Unlike other Solzhenitsyn scholars, Pearce does not speak or read Russian. His biography is therefore dependent on other scholars who do, such as Michael Scammel’s 1985 Solzhenitsyn: A Biography, and English translations of Solzhenitsyn’s work by various scholars. The core of Pearce’s original research is his extended interview with the author in Moscow in 1998, which was simultaneously translated by Solzhenitsyn’s son Yermolai. Insights from this interview are scattered throughout the book.Despite Pearce’s dependence on other Russian-literate scholars, I found Pearce’s biography helpful for three basic reasons. First, it summarized the events of Solzhenitsyn’s life from birth to death. As far as I can tell, this is the only English-language biography to do so currently in print. That in and of itself is helpful.Second, it highlights the spiritual and moral vision at the core of Solzhenitsyn’s literary output. This vision runs through the center of Solzhenitsyn’s critique of Soviet crimes, of Western moral relativism, and of political and social developments in post-Soviet Russia. To understand Solzhenitsyn, Pearce argues, one must understand his Russian Orthodox faith. Pearce demonstrates how that worldview shaped Solzhenitsyn’s views on history, society, politics, and economics.Third, Pearce shines a sympathetic light on the controversies that began to engulf Solzhenitsyn once he was exiled from the Soviet Union in 1974, controversies that dog his reputation to the present day. While praising Solzhenitsyn’s pre-exile dissidence, Western authors—and some Russian authors—continue to portray Solzhenitsyn as illiberal, authoritarian, nationalistic, and anti-Semitic. Pearce makes a strong case that these portraits misinterpret Solzhenitsyn.For me, the key test of a biography is twofold: Did it get its facts straight, and did it make me more interested in the subject as a result of reading it. By that test, Solzhenitsyn: A Soul in Exile succeeds. Next up for me: A Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, Solzhenitsyn’s first book, the one that established his literary reputation.

⭐Alenandr Solzenitsyn is a man certainly worthy of full scale treatment by a biographer. DM Thomas’ biography a couple of years ago was strangely unmoving,and barely mentioned Solzenitsyn’s religious views, which are at the core of his beliefs. At one time.AI solzenitsyn was the darling of the right in America,a virulent anti-communist who scorned ANYTHING resembling a welfare state{his attacks on free-market capitalism was soft pedalded by these same people}.Slowly, though, he became more and more removed from the centre of attention, and his novels became more and more obscure{and ,truth be told,rambling and quite boring.The red wheel trilogy…}This Biography places solzenitsyn’s religious beliefs front and centre and the core of his being{and the reason he was able to survive the hell of the gulag}. While these are quite interesting, and really have rarely been covered in the West, Solzenitsyn’s disdain for the West, his dismissal of pope John Paul II during and audience,his Tsarist tendencies and his almost messianic xenonphobia are not touched{though all are of one piece.] Solzenitsyn in many ways reminds me of Gandhi{without the charm}: wanting Holy Mother Russia to rise again to her greatness without the taint of western Decadence through a spiritual revolution. While he is a moral giant and an extraordiany example of the resilience of the human spirit, he is not served well by fawning, uncritical praise. Alexandr I solzhenitsyn deserves a full ,massive critical biography covering all of his life{his return to Russia has been bittersweet,his tv show was canceled for LACK OF INTEREST.Amazing how short peoples memories are!} This is one small step in the process. Interesting,but…

⭐I bought this book with high hopes, but now wonder about its accuracy and objectivity. For example, page 1 refers to “the murder of Tsar Nicholas, the Empress Alexandra, three of their children, and four servants.” The only problem is that the Royal Family had five children, and all five of the children were killed with their parents.Again, I nearly fell over when I read that at age 89, four months before his death, the repatriated Sozhenitsyn accused “the Ukrainian government of ‘historical revisionism'” because of its efforts to have the great famine of 1932-1933 labeled as “Russian genocide against the Ukrainian people” (p. 374). The author uncritically states Solzhenitsyn’s argument that starvation (a common Communist tactic, according to “The Black Book of Communism”) was not an instrument aimed at the Ukrainians (despite an appallingly high death rate there while the Soviets exported grain) but was part of the suffering endured by both Russians and Ukrainians. Author Joseph Pearce accepts Solzhenitnsyn’s statement unquestioningly, despite evidence to the contrary. In addition to the Harvard-published “Black Book of Communism,” ukrainiangenocide.org/ provides more information, such as this statement by the Italian Consul to the Ukraine in a 1933 letter: “The aftermath of the present tragedy in Ukraine will be Russian colonization of this country, which will affect its ethnic makeup. In the future, or even in the near future, no one will even speak about Ukraine or the Ukrainian people – and, hence, about the Ukrainian problem – because Ukraine will de facto become a territory with a predominantly Russian population.” Having attended high school with students whose parents were children in the Ukraine in 1932-1933, I was made aware of this horrible attempt at genocide.Finally, the author states he used many resources, but does not provide a Reference list. Instead he refers readers to the Notes which follow each chapter. A Reference list is more extensive and includes sources that may not appear in the Notes, which are rather sparse. This shortcut makes work for the reader. For example, Pearce refers to another biographer of Solzhenitsyn who lacked Pearce’s access, but produced a “book of exceptional quality,” even though Solzhenitsyn did not even answer the other biographer’s letters (p. ix). Who is this biographer, we may well ask, for Pearce does not indicate. Ironically, biographers who have access to their subjects seem to be less than rigorous in indicating their other means of research. An earlier example is William D. Miller’s biography “Dorothy Day,” which also lacks References and does not provide notes for statements the reader would like to check.

⭐If we are beginning to forget the profound genius and unparalleled moral power of Solzhenitsyn, then this book reminds us why he is worth not only remembering but re-reading, carefully and repeatedly. One of the greatest men of his and any age and one of the few truly great writers of the last century – a prophet, in truth. Joseph Pearce has done us all a great service. Read this book then read or re-read Solzhenitsyn.

⭐Reading this made me want to read more Solzhenitsyn. It far surpassed expectations. In this biography the author directs attention to what is most important in understanding the life of a man who stood up to state tyranny and won. And what is this thing that is most important? Faith in God: “The goal of Man’s existence is not happiness but spiritual growth.”

⭐For anyone wanting an introduction to Solzhenitsyn this book is perfect. It tells the life-story of a true modern-day prophet. Reviled by the Soviet authorities in his day, Solzhenitsyn has the last laugh: in 2010 President Putin made study of the Gulag Archipelago compulsory for all high school students.

⭐EXCELLENT BOOK.

⭐Great book. Yet the keeping is not as it would have been desired.

Keywords

Free Download Solzhenitsyn: A Soul in Exile in PDF format
Solzhenitsyn: A Soul in Exile PDF Free Download
Download Solzhenitsyn: A Soul in Exile 2011 PDF Free
Solzhenitsyn: A Soul in Exile 2011 PDF Free Download
Download Solzhenitsyn: A Soul in Exile PDF
Free Download Ebook Solzhenitsyn: A Soul in Exile