The first time I read this was for my school assignment and after I finished it I promised myself that I would definitely reread it. And I did. Just to break my heart all over again.
This is a heartbreakingly, beautiful, touching story about the life of a man named Andrei. Andrei's fate presents him with an endless series of tragedies. Events that you wouldn't wish on your worst enemy. He is a good young man who fights in the Red Army – he loses his family during the war to starvation. Then he gets a job in a factory, learns the locksmith trade, and finds himself a good wife. His Irinka. She is poor but very sweet, and hardworking. They have a good life, they are happy. They have three children and are building a small house. They are happy and satisfied when they are together and the little things they have, but all that is destroyed by just one piece of information. Of him going to fight in the war. Irinka with her strong, feminine instincts - immediately feels that this is their end, that their happiness has come to an end for all of them! When it comes time to part, it is one of the most touching, vulnerable, and saddest scenes. They, especially Irinka, who has awful feeling about this, can't seem to part with her other half, with her Andrei. Andrei tries to comfort her with the words "Take it easy, my Irinka, don't cry, say a nice parting word to me". Sobbing through her words, she tells him "My Andryusha, you and I will not see each other again in this world". They hug and kiss passionately – feeling and "exhaling" each other for the last time.
What is happening? Sadly, Irinka's nightmare is coming true, not for her dear Andryusha, but for her and her daughters, they will die under the ruins from the bombings. Andrei does not find out about it, at least for a while - but he is also in his own hell - he is captured by the enemies, the Germans, who torture him. Mentally and physically. When he finally escapes from the camp, he learns about his beloved Irinka and the daughters, he is completely depressed, but he has to fight for the only thing he has left - at least for a while. His son. Who is alive and who has become a captain. But luck left Andrei a long time ago, so after a short period he also learns about his son's death and has the opportunity to see the dead body and bury it sadly, in a foreign land. Andrei - deeply disappointed, depressed, and closed from the world with a heavy heart continues - to work as a driver.
However, a ray of light finally appears to him, that is when he is driving and finds a child around 5 or 6 years. He sees him wandering around, alone. When he learns that he is an orphan, he finds his reason for living. He takes the child saying to it "I am your father". In that difficult and broken time, there are these two lone, broken souls who find each other - they give each other a second chance for another – a better life. Andryusha feels alive again. His lost heart, broken into a million pieces, comes alive.
Sholokhov takes our hero through countless series of tragedies, mental and physical torture, and takes away the dearest, most important things in his life. By taking away his family – he rips his roots so deep – he can't heal them again, and when he thinks he can't grow or repair them back he finally gives him a whole new reason to live in the form of – 6 years old orphan boy.
“The trouble is my heart's got a knock in it somewhere, ought to have a piston changed. Sometimes it gives me such a stab I nearly get a black-out. I'm afraid one day I may die in my sleep and frighten my little son. And that's not the only thing. Nearly every night I see in my dreams the dear ones l've lost. And mostly it's as if I was behind barbed wire and they were on the other side, at liberty. I talk about everything to Irina and the children, but as soon as I try to pull the barbed wire apart, they go away, seem to melt before my eyes. And there's another funny thing about it. In the daytime I always keep a firm grip on myself, you'll never get a sigh out of me. But sometimes I wake up at night and my pillow's wet through."