2 thoughts on “In The First Circle Bookclub!

  1. Solzhenitsyn has very few characters that are both admirable and educated. His heroes are peasants who know right from wrong instinctively and haven’t been corrupted by being taught to look at things in more complicated ways, like Spiridon, the uncle from Tver, and Ivan Denisovitch.

    The New and Improved Rules were perfectly in character; they both increased the reach of the security state, by forcing the prisoners to name names, and attacked of the few privileges they had, by limiting their potential visitors. In the second aspect, it’s no different from the factions that want eliminate every amenity from our prisons in the name of being tough on crime.Report

    1. You know, I’ve never noticed that before but you’re absolutely right.

      Now, the “Simple Wisdom” (or “Book Dumb”) trope is pretty universal everywhere and it’s a good, solid device to use… and even now I’m finding myself wondering “well, given his society, wouldn’t his characters be based on amalgams of real people?”

      And thus I see that I am exceptionally vulnerable to the “Simple Wisdom” trope. Good eye.Report

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