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Cover of A Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

A Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich

by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

One prisoner's ordinary day reveals the human reality inside a revolutionary state turned labor camp.

Published
1962
Setting
Russia
Shelf rating
4.7

The story, briefly

Spoiler-free

Solzhenitsyn follows work, cold, hunger, rules, humiliation, and small victories through a single day in a Soviet labor camp.

Why we recommend it

  1. Life under the finished system

    It moves from Orwell's pigs making rules to the people forced to live under them.

What this book explores

Book editions

Paperback
Paperback

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Cover of Animal Farm by George Orwell

Animal Farm

George Orwell

The animals drive the farmer out and take over the farm. Orwell's 1945 fable is about what happens after that.

Read our take
Cover of Darkness at Noon by Arthur Koestler

Darkness at Noon

Arthur Koestler

A revolutionary is arrested by the state he helped create and ordered to confess to crimes he did not commit.

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References

References

The sources below include the primary text, editions, scholarship, archival materials, and other records that informed this page. They document A Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, its publication, and its place in literary history.

  1. 1A Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich — Open Library ISBN catalogue

    Official record
    Open Library, Internet Archive
    Used for

    Open Library ISBN catalogue used to verify the title, ISBN, and publication metadata.

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  2. 2A Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich — Google Books edition record

    Official record
    Google Books
    Used for

    Google Books catalogue record used to cross-check the title and edition metadata.

    View source
  1. 3A Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich — Internet Archive ISBN catalogue

    Official record
    Internet Archive
    Used for

    Internet Archive ISBN catalogue used to cross-check the edition and its availability in library holdings.

    View source
  2. 4A Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich — Library of Congress books catalogue

    Official record
    Library of Congress
    Used for

    Library of Congress books catalogue used to cross-check the bibliographic record by ISBN.

    View source
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Why these sources are here

The primary text is the baseline reference for every book page. Additional references document publication history, interpretation, and historical context where that evidence is available.

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