Solzhenitsyn: A Soul in Exile - Hardcover

Pearce, Joseph

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0002740400 ISBN 13: 9780002740401

Publisher: HarperCollins, 1999

Synopsis

A major biography of the enigmatic and elusive writer. The political reactionary who spoke out against Communism now lives in seclusion, having withdrawn from Western culture and materialism.

Arguably one of the most significant writers of the twentieth century, Solzhenitsyn has, since the fall of Communism, spoken out against the current Russian regime and now lives in seclusion.

His faith has always deeply informed his literary and artistic approach and his response to the excesses of modern materialism. On the spiritual, cultural, and socio-political level, his writings have much to teach the world as it prepares for the new millennium.

Based on personal interviews with Solzhenitsyn and his family, Joseph Pearce’s major new book provides a profoundly fascinating insight into a towering literary and political figure.

About this title

Review:

The publication of this updated version of Joseph Pearce's biography of the great Russian writer is most welcome, indeed. With impressive clarity, Pearce conveys the fullness of a life lived at the service of freedom of the will and service to the truth. Where other critics and biographers have lamented Solzhenitsyn's departure from the modern progressive consensus, Pearce allows Solzhenitsyn to speak for himself. He presents an evocative portrait of a "pessimistic optimist" whose final words are catharsis and hope. The four new chapters in this edition give a good sense of the range of Solzhenitsyn's concerns during the last decade of his life and will correct many misunderstandings. --Daniel J. Mahoney, Author of Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn: The Ascent From Ideology Pearce has grasped with great insight the spiritual core of Solzhenitsyn's achievement as a writer, and indeed as a prophet to Russia and the world. He writes with warm sympathy for Russia's greatest literary voice in modern times. --David Aikman, Author, Great Souls: Six Who Changed the Century

Joseph Pearce is best on what matters most about Solzhenitsyn: the centrality of the author's Christian faith. It is no wonder that Solzhenitsyn chose to... provide Pearce with fresh information. Newcomers to Solzhenitsyn should start with this biography. They will find here a highly readable rendition of one of the most sensational lives of the twentieth century. --Edward E. Ericson Jr., Author, Solzhenitsyn and the Modern World

From the Back Cover:

Based on exclusive, personal interviews with Solzhenitsyn himself, Joseph Pearce's major new book provides a profound insight into a towering literary and political figure.

From his pro-Communist youth to his imprisonment in the Gulags, his exile in America to his return to Russia, this is the story of a man who has struggled with the most weighty questions of humanity. When a person has suffered to most terrible physical and emotional torture, what becomes of his spirit? Can politics and economics truly provide the answers a modern society needs? If peace and justice are never fully attained, what hope is there for the future?

Arguably one of the most significant writers of the twentieth century, Solzhenitsyn has, both before and after the fall of Communism, spoken out against the Russian regime. His faith has deeply informed his literary approach and response to the excesses of modern materialism. On the spiritual, cultural and socio-political level, his writings have much to teach the world as it prepares for the new millennium.

This new biography contains previously unpublished prose poems, written by Solzhenitsyn since his return to Russia. Many of the photographs are also published here for the first time.

About this edition

• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 0002740400
• ISBN 13: 9780002740401
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 320