Harry Hyndman > Recent Status Updates

Interesting look into gulag life so far. Think there are some good insights into the nature of communism in Stalin’s Russia as well as the grim humour prisoners used to keep their morals afloat.

reading the classics

“God puts Earth far away from heaven because even He can’t stand the smell of dead flesh. Death is not a soul catcher or a spirit, it’s a wind with no warmth, a crawling sickness.”

Some brutal evocative passages of characters reckoning with their imminent deaths, heightened by listening to the audio narration at the same time. Looking forward to seeing how this book deals with the time jump forward.

“Let me warn you, you who are thirsty for knowledge, against the thicket of opinions and the conflict of words.”

An absolutely exquisite book so far. I’ve loved the clarity of the prose, without getting bogged down in complex thoughts. The translation really conveys the philosophical discussions and points so sublimely. Looking forward to picking up part 2.

If I read the word “old sport” one more time I’m gonna FLIP

Really enjoying this book so far having got though the first chapter. I’ve found reading alongside listening to the audiobook an incredible way of navigating the different voices this book offers, as at first I was a bit disoriented by so many points of view.

I’m also loving the richness of musical references in this book and just how much I can gather incidentally about the political climate