Ilse’s Reviews > The Zone: A Prison Camp Guard's Story > Status Update
Ilse
is on page 41 of 177
I came to the conclusion that it is stupid to divide people into good and evil. And also into Communists and non-Party members, into villains and righteous, and even into men and women. Since the time of Aristotle the human brain has not changed. What is more, human consciousness has not changed.And this means there is no progress. There is only movement, unsteady at its foundation.
— Mar 04, 2026 09:53AM
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Ilse’s Previous Updates
Ilse
is on page 14 of 177
Everything went downhill & as a culmination of all this–guard duty in a prison camp.What I saw there shocked me completely.For the first time,I understood what freedom is, &cruelty &violence.I saw freedom behind bars,cruelty as senseless as poetry,violence as common as dampness.But life continued.What is more,life’s usual proportions stayed the he same. The ratio of good and evil,grief &happiness,remained unchanged.
— Feb 28, 2026 11:10AM
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Netta
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Mar 04, 2026 10:48AM
I’m so happy to see you are reading Dovlatov, Ilse! He’s one of my all time favourite authors, so I’d love to know what you think of this book ;)
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Netta wrote: "I’m so happy to see you are reading Dovlatov, Ilse! He’s one of my all time favourite authors, so I’d love to know what you think of this book ;)"Glad to hear that, Netta! I have been wanting to read Dovlatov since a friend on GR brought him to my attention when I joined GR ten years ago but it wasn't easy to find copies of his work. You can imagine how my heart made a little jump the moment I spotted a couple of translations into Dutch in the library after so many years :). Three years ago, I read the The Compromise, and after this will head for The Suitcase. Any of your favourites you would particularly recommend?
Ilse wrote: Glad to hear that, Netta! I have bee..."The Compromise and The Suitcase are actually my all-time favourites by Dovlatov. If, after reading The Zone and The Suitcase, you’d like to continue exploring his work, I’d recommend A Foreign Woman (but I’m totally biased — it just happens to be one of my comfort (re)reads).
The denial of progress is nicely revolutionary(or perhaps counter revolutionary 😁)
Of course the human brain changes, Ilse: It adjusts to changing circumstances. Do we bless slavery today as Aristotle did?
