Name: Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
Year Won: 1970
Read: Apricot Jam and Other Stories
Original Language: Russian
Reason: "for the ethical force with which he has pursued the indispensable traditions of Russian literature"
About: "Apricot Jam and Other Stories" is a collection of short stories by Solzhenitsyn, all set in Russia (most during the revolution). They cover anything from the ousted wealthy lamenting over their apricot tree, to a shamed maiden who is pregnant with her seducer's child, to Russian revolutionaries.
Most stories are realistic (I'd imagine a great risk in the Soviet era - and Solzhenitsyn was expelled from Russia for exposing the Gulag system), but neither are overly pessimistic nor optimistic, which is kind of refreshing compared to a number of other writers from his era. (Who seem to mostly be churning out propaganda.)
What I liked: These are some well written short stories that (I think? Never been there, LOL) faithfully paint a picture of the world under Soviet control. That's pretty cool!
What I Disliked: For whatever reason, I never really latched onto any of the stories. They're good, I think, from a technical perspective, they just didn't especially engage me for whatever reason.
Should it have won a Nobel: Probably. If nothing else, Solzhenitsyn deserves all the acclaim for exposing the Gulag system to the wider world. His writing also is quite good, even if I'm not a huge fan of it. And the world he perserves in his words is intersting. I'm *glad* that someone as talented as him set his words to describing it, so people can have a faithful picture of Soviet life in thousands of years.
Next Up: "Then Come Back" the lost Neruda Poems by Pablo Neruda
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