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Just finished reading Норильские рассказы. I think it is the best thing in the genre, I liked it more than Shalamov and Solzhenitsyn. Dovlatov may be a better stylist, but for me he is a bit too sarcastic. Where Shalamov describes evil russian gangsters, Solzhenitsyn describes evil Soviet government, and Dovlatov tells that we are all surrounded by absurd and stupidity, Snegow calmly describes people he met in the prison and in Norilsk, including top scientists and gangsters, politicians and engineers, GULAG officials and NKVD officers. Among all those groups, the author finds interesting people worth respecting.
It was very touching moment to read when the author was suffering from scurvy and anemia and forced to dig ground, he was discussing mathematical foundation of general relativity with other inmates. When the author was moved to work in first Norilsk nickel smelter as engineer, the story became more interesting and tense. As an engineer too, I felt compassion to the author when he described that he was given orders to improve the yield of Nickel by 20% or else. Or else in 1943 was scary. I wonder, if I was moved to the "sharashka" environment, would my productivity in Lines Of Code go up or down???
It was very touching moment to read when the author was suffering from scurvy and anemia and forced to dig ground, he was discussing mathematical foundation of general relativity with other inmates. When the author was moved to work in first Norilsk nickel smelter as engineer, the story became more interesting and tense. As an engineer too, I felt compassion to the author when he described that he was given orders to improve the yield of Nickel by 20% or else. Or else in 1943 was scary. I wonder, if I was moved to the "sharashka" environment, would my productivity in Lines Of Code go up or down???
