{"product_id":"the-first-circle-9781860460906","title":"The First Circle","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eAt the height of Stalin's postwar terror, Innokenty, a young diplomat and scion of a corrupt ruling class, discovers an earlier and more spiritual tradition than that adopted by the October Revolution, the beginning of a process which is Solzhenitsyn's basic theme: the individual's experience of acquiring an immortal soul. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eUnwisely but generously, Innokenty helps a friend in danger of arrest, only to be arrested himself and sent to a special prison. This, the archetype of the Gulag, is described with masterful psychological insight. There are no heroes and hardly any villains; oppressors are no less victims then the oppressed. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn the great tradition of the Russian novel, \u003ci\u003eThe First Circle\u003c\/i\u003e is both a brooding account of human nature and a scrupulously exact description of a historical period.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA great novel... A majestic work of genius * Sunday Times *\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe First Circle\u003c\/i\u003e is arguably the greatest Russian novel of the century * Spectator *\u003cbr\u003eA future generation of Russians will be able to come to terms with their history through books like \u003ci\u003eDoctor Zhivago\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThe First Circle\u003c\/i\u003e * Financial Times *","brand":"Vintage Publishing","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51585927709015,"sku":"9781860460906","price":999.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9781860460906.jpg?v=1756489802","url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/products\/the-first-circle-9781860460906","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}