First published in 1962 in Novy Mir, the Russian literary journal, Solzhenitsyn's debut soon won classic status and remains one of the 20th century's literary masterworks. This powerful narrative records a typical day in one of Stalin's notorious work camps. After eight years as a zek, Shukhov, has perfected the art of survival, learning to accept rather than battle with the system. It is a world where keeping warm in sub zero temperatures, savouring the last crumb of one's daily bread rations, and storing a spoon in a ragged boot are major comforts. He exists in a quiet, uneducated, almost philosophical state of acceptance and while having long since directed his wife not to send him parcels but to save whatever she has for their children, remains alert to chances of an extra bit of food in return for a favour done. Author of Cancer Ward and The First Circle, Solzhenitsyn, the 1970 Nobel literature laureate, is the major voice of an era many would prefer to forget. Harry Willetts's superb translation conveys the blunt realism of the camp with its various hierarchies. Most of all, One Day is a vividly accurate portrait of a working man, cruelly humiliated, who never loses his humanity.
